The International Songwriting Competition is very pleased to announce its 2002 winners!

ISC received almost 7,000 entries in its inaugural year, with the Grand Prize going to the song "Skeletons" by Andy Schmidt and Kevin Gagnepain. This winning song was entered into the Rock category.

Songwriters Andrew J. Schmidt and Kevin Gagnepain are the founding members of the acclaimed group Stir, formed in 1994. In the past, songwriting for the group was done primarily by Schmidt, with some collaborations on arrangement and bass parts by Gagnepain. "Skeletons" marks a new beginning for the duo, truly representing these two members of the band as co-writers for the first time. It is artistically appropriate because "Skeletons" is a song about starting over. When asked, Gagnepain replies, "I 'm not sure if it's our age, or the age that we live in, but everyone around my life seems to be starting over. People are changing careers, relocating, getting divorced... life-changing events. And, everyone has some baggage that they carry around. You are who you are, things change and you have to figure out who you are going to be... that is life." Relationships and transitions are inevitable in life: you can't get around them, and that is why they have always been source of inspiration for the band.

Look for Stir's new album, yet untitled, on April 22nd of this year. You can check out the band at www.stirband.com

ISC prizes included a total of $65,000 (USD) in cash and merchandise and were shared by 38 winners in eight categories. Sponsors included Oasis Cd Manufacturing, Xytar Digital Systems, Epiphone, Ernie Ball Music Man, Sennheiser, Lexicon, Crate Amplifiers, Nady Systems, Sonicbids, M Works, Alphabet Arm Design, Taxi, Guitar World, and Revolver.

ISC is now accepting entries for the 2003 competition. For more information, please go to www.songwritingcompetition.com

The complete list of winners is as follows:

Grand Prize:
Skeletons - Andy Schmidt, Kevin Gagnepain (Long Beach, CA, USA)

Country:
1st Place: No Boys Allowed - Laurie Webb, Peebe Siebert (Nashville, TN, USA)
2nd Place: Lipstick In Las Vegas - Sam Gay, Scott Parker (Bon Aqua, TN, USA)

R&B/Blues:
1st Place: Somethin' Strange - Ty Stephens (Montclair, NJ, USA)
2nd Place: 555-EXTC - Andrew Yankiwski, Neal Cornish, Chris Wiebe (Winnipeg, MB, Canada)

World Music :
1st Place: The Rhythm In Me - Danny Davies (London, England, UK)
2nd Place: Illegally - Javier Vargas, Jeff Espinoza (Salamanca, Spain)

Rock:
1st Place: The Boxer - Carbon Leaf (Richmond, VA, USA)
2nd Place: Mother - Bryan Cote, Ryan Leclair (Bolton, ONT, Canada)

Rap/Hip-Hop:
1st Place: Father Forgive Me - Alroy Dias "Charisma" (Scarborough, ONT, Canada)
2nd Place: Closest Thing - Patricio Russell "Illin' P" (Boston, MA, USA)

Pop/Top 40:
1st Place: Sweet - Kathy Ziegler (New York, NY, USA)
2nd Place: Tonight - Elcodrive (Boston, MA, USA)

Folk/Singer-Songwriter:
1st Place: Goodbye Rollercoaster - David Lane (Surry Hills, NSW, Australia)
2nd Place: Star - Karen Ires (New York, NY, USA)

Lyrics Only:
1st Place: Somebody Loved - Deb Talan, Steve Tannen (Northampton, MA, USA)
2nd Place: Sing Me to Sleep - Steve Tannen (Northampton, MA, USA)

Peoples' Voice Online Voting:
Whatever It Takes - Stephen Stohn, Jody Colero, Evren Ozdemir, Jim McGrath (Toronto, ONT, Canada)

Honourable Mentions:

1000 Mile Stare (Pop/Top 40) - Gary Pearson (Melbourne, VIC, Australia)
Awkward (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) - Brice Woodall (Arlington, VA, USA)
Bananas (Rap/Hip-Hop) - Ryan Conway, Elan Cohen, Brian Forbes, Kevin Saunders (Norwalk, CT, USA)
Black Flowers (Rock) - Elcodrive (Boston, MA, USA)
Boxing Day (Pop/Top 40) - Darin Murphy (Austin, TX, USA)
Don't Shoot The Messenger (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) - Gordie Sampson (Cape Breton, NS, Canada)
The Great Disappearing Act (Pop/Top 40) - Kat Goldman (Toronto, ONT, Canada)
Half A Heart (Country) - Gail Swanson (Kihei, HI, USA)
I Wanna Be Held (Country) - Mark Lightcap (Chico, CA, USA)
I'll Get By (Rock) - Larry Elyea, Ako Mack, Emerg Mcvay, Richard Gartner, Chris Elsner (Mesa, AZ, USA)
It's A Great Place To Be (If You're Lonesome) (Country) - Steve Spurgin, D. Caplinger (Carson City, NV, USA)
It's Too Bad (Pop/Top 40) - Francesca Cezan, John DeGrazio (New York, NY, USA)
Michelle's Song (Pop/Top 40) - Amber Wallace, Ric Wallace (Suwanee, GA, USA)
Need To Make A Dollar (R&B/Blues) - Keith Dunn (Rotterdam, Holland)
Never Been To Memphis (R&B/Blues) - Chris Fitz (West Roxbury, MA, USA)
Rain (Rock/Alternative) - Jayne Sachs (Englewood, OH, USA)
Santos Football Club (Me And Mr. Pele) (World) - Inacio Zatz (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
She's Pretty (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) - Frank Swart, Billy Beard (Corte Madera, CA, USA)
Valentine's Day (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) - Bob Hillman (Iowa City, IA, USA)
Wish Me Luck (Pop/Top 40) - Wons Phreely (Sydney, NSW, Australia)

Congratulations to all winners!