CREATIVITY • COURAGE • INDIVIDUALITY • SELF EXPRESSION • INSPIRATION • OPPORTUNITY

For Immediate Release:

THE SONG ACADEMY YOUNG 2015 SHOWCASE Rising stars perform at Westfield, Shepherds Bush on the Southern Terrace on Sunday 21 June, 2 – 5:15pm

Winners of The Song Academy Young 2015 competition are announced and will perform live at Westfield, in the main atrium on Sunday 21st June 2pm - 5:15pm. There will be several opportunities to win exclusive goodies including Tom Odell signed T-shirts!

The Song Academy Young Songwriter competition is a leading songwriting competition for young people, aged 7-18 across the UK and Ireland. It’s a springboard for young people to get noticed by key players in the music industry, build confidence, have their voices heard & shine in the limelight. We’re delighted to announce that the 2015 winners are Rosie Sullivan, aged 12 from the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides with ‘Runs From The Storm’ and Aidan Reid, aged 16 from Newbury in Berkshire with ‘Battle Cry’.

The Young Songwriter 2015 competition received over 600 high quality entries from across the UK and Ireland, from Jersey to the Outer Hebrides! The competition is growing fast, with a 53% increase in entries over last year. 63% of entries were in the 13-18 year old category. Entrants songs have attracted a large following, with 60,000 listens already and users on our website spend over 4 minutes per session.

Every judge was fighting for their favourite entry to win the coveted title of Song Academy Young Songwriter of 2015. All judges were astounded by the originality & quality of the entries, both lyrically and musically. This year’s star studded panel of judges included: singer songwriter Tom Odell *see quote below, songwriter, record producer & musician Shahid Khan, aka Naughty Boy, grammy award winning songwriters/producers Eg White and Fraser T Smith, Nigel Wright (music producer and songwriter), Josh Record (singer songwriter), James Walsh (singer songwriter), Barry Mason (songwriter), Lyn Goddard (songwriter and producer), Jamie Theakston (TV and radio presenter), Nicky Cox (editor of First News), and Lou Rhodes (singer songwriter).

Tom Odell, singer songwriter said "When I was 13 years old I started writing songs, and over the following years I became more and more obsessed with it. But the thing that always kept me awake at night was how to get them out there for people to hear them. This is why I think the Song Academy Young Songwriter competition is a great way to inspire and help through this process, and its something I wish had been around when I was starting out."

Director of PRS for Music, Myles Keller said “This wonderful competition empowers young songwriters, enabling them to showcase their talent and offering them a ‘one of a kind’ opportunity to gain crucial feedback from some of the very best British songwriters. In the early stages of a career, this kind of help is like gold dust and really enables industry newcomers to build strong, sustainable careers. Music is integral to our nation’s identity and it is crucial that we nurture the next generation of songwriters now to ensure a creative future. PRS for Music is absolutely delighted to support such a positive and exciting competition.”

Fiona Kyle, General Manager Events & Entertainment for Westfield UK & US, comments: “Westfield continually looks for ways to support the local community and new talent. We are delighted to give the amazing young talent from Song Academy an opportunity to develop their skills and perform for large audiences. It also is an innovative way for us to delight and treat our consumers to live performances when they visit our centres.”

Please check out www.songacademy.co.uk/says15 for our highlights videos of Rosie and Aidan at EMI’s recording studio, with Tom Odell dropping in. Plus see who’s performing at our Young Songwriters showcase at Westfield, Shepherds Bush on Sunday 21 June in the main atrium, 2-5:15pm.

Interview with Rosie Sullivan winner of the 7-12 year old category How does it feel to be this year’s 7-12 Young Songwriter Competition winner? I was really excited when they told me, I was happy I was screaming! I wasn’t expecting it – I’m just a wee girl in living on an island up here! It’s very far north, you have to take a ferry, and even then it’s 12 miles where I live out in the countryside near the Loch.

@songacademyUK [email protected] www.songacademy.co.uk

Who are your inspirations? My Auntie she’s a singer and a songwriter – I probably get a wee bit of music from her. , I really like him and his music, and Jack Johnson. I love Ed Sheeran because he does a lot of stuff and I like his style of singing

What are your aspirations? I’ve always wanted to be a musician slash actress when I’m older – that’s my long time dream. I’ve been writing songs since I was 3, my auntie said my first song was called ‘Dolly on the Road’. It was about sitting in the car with my doll, but apparently I wasn’t old enough to write words so she had to write it down for me. The first proper song I wrote was when I was about 9 and that’s also when I started acting, and I’ve been writing songs properly since then.

Tell me about the song you wrote that won? Did lyrics come first? I was on holiday and I was looking out of a window. I came up with some chords and grabbed a pen and paper. It was snowing outside and it was howling with wind. I put together a sort of story about a boy all alone outside trying to run away from the storm but not succeeding and I compared it to life in a warm house. I only started playing the guitar 4 months ago!

Will you be performing at the Young Songwriter event in Westfield London on 21st June? Yes I’m so excited, I’ve only been to London once and lots of my family are going to see me. Most of my relatives live around the Brighton area so there going to travel from there and even my gran who lives outside wants to come down.

What do you like about the Young Songwriter 2015 competition? I like the fact that every young person who has a talent to write lyrics and tunes can get their voice out there and be heard by many people.

Interview with Aidan Reid winner of the 13-18 year old category How does it feel to be this year’s 13-18 Young Songwriter Competition winner? It’s really exciting, it’s been a stressful few weeks with exams, and I’ve been wanting something like this to happen for a while so I am really happy.

What was the inspiration for your winning song? I drew a lot of inspiration from the film ’12 Years a Slave’, I was left fairly disconcerted by the heavy content of the film and the inhuman hardships that this man had to go through – it’s a song about determination and survival, about the will and decision to carry on.

When did you start songwriting and why do you write songs? I can’t pinpoint exactly when I started songwriting but I’ve always loved writing, any type of writing not just songwriting so it was natural to me. I probably wrote my first songs when I was about 7 or 8 – they obviously weren’t great when I was that age! I would say songwriting is an outlet, it’s very therapeutic for me, venting my frustrations and feelings. It is above all something I enjoy, it’s always just made sense.

What musicians, artists or songwriters inspire or influence your music? I know most people say this, but my musical tastes are quite varied! – I really love Fleetwood Mac, Florence and Machine, Imagine Dragons…I also love classical music and film music like Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman.

Do you want to pursue music as a career? Songwriting and any form of writing is my passion. I love songwriting, I love instruments, I love singing I love all of those things but at the end of the day the main thing I want to do is any form of writing, whether it’s writing books, articles, songs, anything like that – if I can do anything like that I’d be doing what I want to do.

NOTES TO EDITORS About Song Academy Song Academy is a young people’s singing & songwriting academy – for both experienced and novice singers & songwriters aged 7-18. It’s a unique and creative outlet for musical children to express themselves, build confidence and have their voices heard.

After-school sessions (plus holiday workshops, summer course & birthday parties) are run across West London, with plans for expansion. Song Academy is a vibrant, stimulating environment, bringing together like-minded young people with professional songwriters and musicians. Members develop rapidly their musicality, creative writing, composition and performance skills, plus gain a host of vital life skills, through writing, performing and recording their own original songs. Members perform their songs with a professional band at the end of term at top live music venues, including The Troubadour and The Bedford . For press enquiries please email [email protected] or call 07710 023743.

About Westfield Presents Westfield Presents connects artists with audiences. The programme gives up-and-coming independent talent as well as those from leading UK music and cultural organisations a unique opportunity to perform in front of large audiences at a variety of stages at Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City. For further press information, please contact Portas [email protected]

@songacademyUK [email protected] www.songacademy.co.uk