Andrew Jannakos won the top award (Overall Grand Prize) as well as Best Country Song award at the 25th Annual USA Songwriting Competition. Singer-songwriter Andrew Jannakos teamed up with co-writer Michael O'Neal Smith.
“I was so shocked that my song got selected winner of the top prize in the USA Songwriting competition, I hope I can continue to make music that you all enjoy. It’s amazing because I’ve also recently been signed to Sony Music Nashville Records” said Andrew Jannakos.
Flowery Branch, Georgia native Andrew Jannakos grew up in a small-town neighborhood where barbecue parties and backyard soccer games were everyday events. Jannakos performed a blind audition on NBC's The Voice in spring 2019 and has built a robust following on social media. Prior to the new track's release, he posted snippets of it on TikTok, where he has nearly 700,000 followers. He was on Adam Levine’s team of “The Voice”.
Following the hugely successful independent release of “Gone Too Soon,” which entered Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at #65 and helped Jannakos debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Emerging Artists Charts, he linked with a proactive management team that helped him begin meeting with record labels in Nashville. Recently, Jannakos inked a recording contract with Sony Music Nashville.
The Overall Second Prize of the USA Songwriting Competition went to Kristen Grainger & her band “True North” from Salem, Oregon, with their song "Keep the River on Your Right". They also won Best Folk Song with the same song.
The Overall Third Prize went to Bill Jenkins & Trystan Matthews, of Glendale, AZ, with their song "Thicker than Rain".
Notable winners include: virtuoso guitarist Al Di Meola with co-writers Leonid Agutin and Alex Sino won Best World Song category with their song "Just a Rainy Day". Notable finalists include Folk Singer-Songwriter Ellis Paul and Pop Star Chubby Checker.
Nine of fifteen category First Prize category winners this year were multi-way collaborations, including all the finalists in the Pop and Country categories. More details on the winners can be seen at: songwriting.net/
