For Immediate Release – May 11, 2011 –The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), the world's preeminent global songwriting event, is pleased to announce its 2010 winners. ISC’s Grand Prize for 2010 is awarded to Australian native, Kasey Chambers, for her song “Beautiful Mess”, entered in the Folk/Singer-Songwriter category. Chambers also has the distinction of winning First Place in the Americana category for her song “Devil On Your Back” and Second Place in the Performance category for “Little Bird”.

Out of more than 15,000 entries, songwriters originating from Australia held a commanding presence in ISC with many First, Second and Third Place showings in their respective categories, including artists such as Basement Birds, Inland Sea, The Chemist, Washington, dirtgirl/dirtworld, Paul Dempsey, Jonah’s Road, Glen Richards, Children Collide, and many more. Of the 66 winners, 24% hail from Australia, making Australia the country with the most winners second only to the USA. This achievement demonstrates the extraordinary talent coming from the Aussie music scene.

Applauded for its high caliber of judges, ISC compiled a stellar panel of judges that elected the 2010 winners, including:

Recording Artists: Tom Waits; Kings Of Leon; Jeff Beck; Ben Harper; Kelly Clarkson; Timbaland; Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC); Robbie Williams; Peter Gabriel; Black Francis (The Pixies); Rihanna; Robert Smith (The Cure); Train; Jerry Lee Lewis; Ben Folds; Chris Hillman (The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers); Michael W. Smith; John Mayall; Ray Wylie Hubbard; Jeremy Camp; John Scofield; McCoy Tyner; Robert Earl Keen; James Cotton; Toots Hibbert (Toots & The Maytals); DJ Tiësto; Baaba Maal; Sandra Bernhard; Montel Jordan; John Digweed; Adele; Alejandro Sanz; Matt Thiessen (Relient K); Craig Morgan; Keane; Jazmine Sullivan; Regina Spektor; Terence Blanchard; Dan Zanes; Joe Nichols; and Chayanne

Industry Executives: Monte Lipman (President/CEO, Universal Republic Records); Amanda Ghost (President, Epic Records USA); Dan Storper (President, Putamayo World Music & Putamayo Kids); Ric Arboit (President, Nettwerk Music Group); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Lisa Ramsey-Perkins (Sr. Director A&R, Sony Music Nashville); Rick Krim (Exec. VP Talent and Music Programming, VH1); Brian Malouf (VP A&R, Walt Disney Records); Angel Carrasco (Sr. VP A&R Latin America, Sony Music and President, Discos 605); Doug Cohn (Sr. VP Music Marketing & Talent, Nickelodeon); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Dr. Demento (Radio Host of The Dr. Demento Show); Steve Lillywhite (Producer - credits include U2, The Rolling Stones, Morrissey, Peter Gabriel, and more); Kim Buie (VP A&R, Lost Highway); Brad Schwartz (Senior VP/GM, Much MTV Group); Tommy Morris (Talent Coordinator, The Comedy Store); and Leib Ostrow (Founder/CEO, Music For Little People)

In addition to the Grand Prize winner, many other Australian songwriters also share in the prestige and acclaim of winning their respective categories.

Australian Winners include:

First Place Winners

Kav Temperley, Kevin Mitchell, Josh Pyke, Steve Parkin (Basement Birds)

Winning First Place in the AAA (Adult Album Alternative) category for the song “Bus Stop” is Kav Temperley (Eskimo Joe), Kevin Mitchell (Jebediah, Bob Evans), Josh Pyke, and Steve Parkin. Collectively they form the indie “super group” Basement Birds. The group’s mutual admiration of lush vocal harmonies and alt-country style was the basis for forming the Basement Birds’ project and is heard in force on their catchy, eclectic homage to waiting at a bus stop from their self-titled debut release.