The First-Place winners from Billboard Magazine’s 15th Annual World Song Contest appeared on Saturday night to the great delight of an excited music loving crowd at The Mansion Theatre in Branson. The eclectic evening ran the gamut of styles from Rock to Pop to Country to Rap/Hip Hop and beyond. The performers haled from all over the United States and as far as Ireland and Republic of Ghana in West Africa.
The contest winners, chosen in eleven categories from thousands of entries, were invited to Branson to receive their awards and perform the winning songs, by contest organizer and legendary music industry veteran, Jim Halsey of the Halsey Institute. Halsey stated, “This is the most talented group of songwriter/ performers that we have ever seen in the Billboard World Song Contest. If I could, I would sign every one of them to a deal!”
In addition to the more than $30,000 in prizes awarded in the Contest, a panel of industry executives awarded three cash prizes for best live performance at the Branson event.
The contest and live performance winners are:
LATIN: 1st- Mariella Gonzalez (The Mariella Show)- Flyaway &
1st Place- Best Live Branson Performance – $5000 prize
COUNTRY: 1st- Rick Huckaby- Ain’t Enough Blacktop
2nd Place – Best Live Branson Performance $1500 prize
RAP: 1st- Derrick Ashong (Soulfege)- From The Soul
3rd Place – Best Live Branson Performance $1000 prize
ROCK: 1st- Jimi Anderson (Jimi Anderson Band)- Another Way To Run
POP: 2nd- Matt Gorney (The Specimen)- Do U Damage
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN/GOSPEL: 1st- Carmen Calhoun- Dare 2 Be
R&B: 1st- Leah Tysse- You Don’t Scare Me
JAZZ: 1st- Alyse Black- Stood For Stand For
DANCE: 1st- Jeremy Yeremian & Alyson- Here With Me
ELECTRONICA/SOUNDTRACK: 1st- DJ Boom, Victoria Patchen, & Scotty Beam (The DBC)- Back To You
WORLD: 1st- Robert &Wendy O’Hearn & Paul McCann- Lost Sons Of Erin
AMERICANA/FOLK: 1st- Jared Scharff (Jared Scharff & The Royals)- Bedroom Eyes
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