Nailah is finalist in International Songwriting Competition

Soca singer/songwriter Nailah Blackman and her manager/songwriter/producer Anson Soverall have made it to the finals of the 2020 International Songwriting Competition.

The two categories Blackman and Soverall are nominated in are the music video and world categories. The songs are Boujee (music video) and Games (world).

Songwriters Dale Ryan and Emmanuel Rudder are also finalists with Blackman and Soverall in the world category.

The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) “is an annual song contest whose mission is to provide the opportunity for both aspiring and established songwriters to have their songs heard in a professional, international arena,” its website said.

It added that the competition, “is designed to nurture the musical talent of songwriters on all levels and promote excellence in the art of songwriting.”

Amateur and professional songwriters and musicians are invited to participate, it said.

Soverall and Rudder are among the 12 finalists in the music video category. And Blackman, Soverall, Ryan and Rudder are among 16 finalists in the world category.

Soverall said in a phone interview that Carolyn Pasea of Question Mark Entertainment entered the songs in the competition sometime last year. Pasea also informed them that they were finalists.

The competition which was established in 2002 usually has over 26,000 entrants.

For Soverall, this further validates Blackman’s position as a home-grown artiste with wide international appeal.

“This is a big deal because we are just chipping away at that international playing field against some of the best of the best in the world.

“Time and time again, she is showing that she can become a finalist or be a nominee or make it. Things like the Black Entertainment Television (BET) nominee or being accepted into the Recording Academy.

“All of these things are ways Nailah continues to show that she is able to represent the country as well as the genre on an international stage.” Blackman was nominated for a BET Viewer’s Choice award in 2018.

Soverall said of his own nomination that he was excited to see all of the hard work showing results. He said that Blackman and the team are very results driven.

“Sometimes it is easy for the hard work to go unnoticed. Yes you might see the song popular with views or hear it on radio. But when you get international recognition for hard work it is always a good thing.”

There is also a People’s Choice for each category and so Soverall called on people to vote every day for Blackman and the team.

The ISC’s website said the finalist songs were now in the hands of judges and winners will be announced in late April or early May as soon as the judging process is completed.

There will be 71 winners who will share in the cash and prizes, the website said. It added that its winners will also benefit from a multilateral promotional campaign designed to give international exposure and give attention to their songwriting achievements.

Some of the ISC’s categories include jazz, blues, lyrics only, rock, teen and unpublished.

For more info: https://songwritingcompetition.com/