The winners of the SongDoor 2014 International Songwriting Competition have been announced: the Grand Award has gone to Hudson Henry of Los Angeles, California for this song, “Addicted,” which also won the Hard Rock/Alt-Rock category. Entries were received from 21 countries on four continents. All of the winning songs can be heard at http://songdoor.com.
“it’s a true honor and privilege to be picked as the winner of such an amazing competition,” says Henry. “I feel like the endless hours of work and struggle are finally paying off. It means so much to me, from the bottom of my heart. A couple years ago I didn’t even think I’d get the chance to play a guitar again after having a serious heart virus.”
The virus to which Henry refers is called acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart. The accumulation of fluid puts pressure on the heart, which causes an immense amount of pain.
“At one point a priest came into my room and read me my last rites on the hospital bed. I honestly thought I had lived my life and accepted death at 21. While recovering from the aftermath of the virus, I wrote and wrote for hours. My album “New Eyes,” which includes the song “Addicted,” was birthed from the writing I did during my recovery.”
“For the first time, most of our judges went out of their assigned category to choose this song,” says SongDoor president Tony Zotta. “That really speaks to the appeal and ‘gravitational pull’ of the songwriting, which really does grab you.” Henry explains that the hard-rock tune is a paean to those whose lives revolve around the Internet.
Co-writers Jason Afable, Randy David and Paul Stephens were second in the voting for their gritty country song, “USA Today.”
This was also the inaugural year for SongDoor’s uVote campaign, which allows the public to vote for their favorite of 30 finalists. The finalists with the most votes were Billyy Playle and Donna Devine of Delft, The Netherlands, for their instrumental composition, “A Near-Life Experience.” They won a $500 cash prize. This year’s “Staff Favorite” was Soft Rock finalist “Hallmark Holiday,” by Siena Castañares, from Ohio.
The competition was generously sponsored by SongU.com, Broadjam, 16 Ton Studios, MasterWriter, Herringbone Recording Studio and Hard Twist Music/BMI. Not just the winners won — every songwriter who entered this year’s competition receives a free 45-day all-access trial to SongU.com, a free Broadjam membership as well as free song-editing software to help them improve their skills.
As winner of this year’s Grand Award, Henry wins a single-song publishing contract, a one-year Platinum membership to SongU.com, a full-band demo cut at 16 Ton Studio on Nashville’s Music Row, Masterwriter software, a Broadjam membership and a host of other prizes valued at more than $7,900. For more about this year’s SongDoor winners, visit http://www.songdoor.com or http://hudsonhenrymusic.com.
Here is a list of all of the winners of the SongDoor 2014 International Songwriting Competition:
Grand Award Winner:
HARD ROCK/ALT-ROCK CATEGORY: Hudson Henry | California, USA
“Addicted”
Category Winners:
CHRISTIAN:
Daisy Chute | Midlothian, United Kingdom
“Give Thanks”
COUNTRY:
Jason Afable, Randy Davis & Paul Stephens | Tennessee, USA
“USA Today”
INSTRUMENTAL:
Malte Vief | Sachsen, Germany
“Bambule”
POP:
Debra Gussin, Ryan Martinez & Mike Westbrock | California, USA
“U So Mean Nothing 2 Me”
HARD ROCK/ALT-ROCK:
Hudson Henry | California, USA
“Addicted”
SOFT ROCK/SINGER-SONGWRITER:
Adam Stern | California, USA
“We Belong (Together)”
SongDoor 2015 is open for submissions on April 15, 2015. The entry fee remains at $10 per song. For more information, visit http://songdoor.com.
About SongDoor
SongDoor is an annual event designed by songwriters, for songwriters. The competition is open to amateur and professional songwriters worldwide. Judges include seasoned music industry producers, artists and engineers who have worked with/for such artists as Britney Spears, ‘NSYNC, Neil Young, Lynrd Skynrd, Jimmy Buffett, Garth Brooks, Keith Urban and many, many others. All entrants receive approximately $170 in free songwriting tools, regardless of whether or not they win any of the official awards.