BMI® (Broadcast Music, Inc.)® the global leader in rights management, honored internationally renowned super producer, artist, songwriter and DJ Mark Ronson last night with the BMI Champion Award at its 66th Annual BMI Pop Awards. The evening also celebrated the songwriters, publishers and administrators of the past year’s most-performed pop songs in the United States from BMI’s extensive catalogue. Hosted by BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill and BMI Vice President Worldwide Creative Barbara Cane, the private event was held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
As one of the most sought-after producers in the world, the five-time GRAMMY winner received the BMI Champion Award in recognition of his extraordinary creative accomplishments, dedication to charitable causes and commitment to supporting the next generation of songwriters and music makers. Marking the first time such an honor was given out at the BMI Pop Awards, Ronson joins an elite group of previous recipients including singer/songwriter/rapper Residente, Country superstar Keith Urban, Congressman Doug Collins (R-GA-9) and singer/songwriter and activist, Lee Thomas Miller.
After receiving his award, Ronson brought the house down with electrifying performances by special guests curated by the hitmaker himself. His protégé King Princess, backed by Ronson on guitar, performed a mashup of his hits “Somebody to Love Me,” “Ooh Wee,” “Joanne,” “Uptown Funk,” and “Bang Bang Bang.” Yebba followed up with a stunning rendition of “Back to Black” from Amy Winehouse’s 2006 album of the same name. Back to Black went on to sell more than 20 million copies worldwide, earning Ronson a GRAMMY for Producer of the Year in 2008.
Throughout the evening, video tributes were shown from many of Ronson’s celebrity friends including Quincy Jones, Nile Rogers, Sir Paul McCartney, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Martin, Josh Homme and Ellen DeGeneres to name a few. The 50 best-performing songs were also named and included a moving tribute to Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson and the late Chester Bennington of Linkin Park for their hit song “Heavy,” marking the band’s fourteen BMI Award.
The BMI Pop Song of the Year went to BMI songwriters Johnny McDaid and Ed Sheeran for the smash hit “Shape of You,” which spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart and 33 consecutive weeks in the Top 10, the longest run for a single in the history of the chart. Justin Tranter took home the coveted Songwriter of the Year award for the second year in a row for his hand in co-writing hit singles “Believer” performed by Imagine Dragons, “Cold” performed by Maroon 5 featuring Future, “Heavy” performed by Linkin Park and “Issues” by Juliana Michaels. Sony/ATV Music Publishing took home Publisher of the Year for representing 26 of the top 50 most performed songs of the previous year.
For a complete list of 2018 winners, visit bmi.com.
