Brent Lillie

Dear Brent, Keith, Glenn & Lou Ann,

I am delighted to congratulate the four of you on making the Finals of the Lyric Writer Awards.

Due to the volume of submissions in this year's contest, it is truly an achievement to be in the favorite four and, hopefully, something that will drive you to write on in years to come.

With that said, there can be only one and, this time, it's "That's the Deal" by Brent Lillie. Congratulations to you, Brent. I look forward to hearing from you to discuss next steps.

On a personal note, I spent considerable time reading/humming through your individual pieces and I can tell you that you all share a common strength: The ability to weave visual detail into a dynamic story within the constraints of song form. Without exception, when I read your words, I see a picture and feel compelled to sing your message in my head. That's powerful stuff. And, very hard to do. Keep doing it!

Sincerely yours,

Lior & We Are Listening - We Are Listening

Australian songwriters and artists dominated the current International Songwriting Competition, with a staggering 34 finalists and 32 semi-finalists.

Honourable mentions included Australians Harmony James and Jonah's Road in the Country category with, respectively, Somebody Stole My Horse and Thank God, Jane E Robertson in the Childrens category with Rainbow (Inside Of You), Brent Lillie & Paul Harris in the Comedy/Novelty category with I've Done It and Paul Hicks in the Performance category with Making My Way Back Home.

This year's competition was the largest yet, with the biggest growth coming from entries outside the USA.

Finalists and semi-finalists in each of the 19 categories were selected from more than 15,000 entries.

The high profile judging panel announced the 59 winners who share in a cash and prize pool of US$150,000 and had their music heard by an impressive group of judges from a variety of industry backgrounds. - Country Music Bulletin

'The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) has announced its finalists today. Congratulations, the song "I've Done It" that you entered in Comedy/Novelty has been selected as a finalist. Being selected an ISC finalist is an accomplishment that acknowledges true songwriting talent. With only 287 finalists chosen out of over 15,500 entrants, this is an extraordinary achievement, and we are very pleased to offer our congratulations' - Candace Avery, Founder/Director, International Songwriting Competition.
'Strong lyrics and great hooks' - Eddie Raynor (Crowded House, NZ Idol).
'Wonderful music' - Peter Beattie, Former Premier of Queensland.
'Many of the songs are world-class. Brent has a strong grasp of a lyric - rarely have I seen better' - Hayden Bell ( The Veronicas).
'Simply great songs that leave you wanting more' - John Nutting, Saturday Night Country.
'Enjoyable songs with a ready-made niche audience' - Nick Erby, Australian Country Music authority.
'All the songs are winners. Barbed Wire is full of energy and fun' - Trevor Johnson, Country Capers.
'Whenever Brent presents a new song I invariably discover that I know the melody four bars before it gets there. Only a handful of songwriters possess the ability to endow a listener with this unexplainable musical precognisance. Mix this with Brent's lyrical talents and I am absolutely amazed that publishers aren't crawling over each other, waving contracts' - Adrian Stuckey, internationally recognised sound engineer (Crowded House, Split Enz) and former Musical Director, New Zealand Idol. - Various