Dear Songwriter,
In case you missed the announcement: all Session One results are online on the UKSC website. Go to the dashboard page and enter your email to see your results. Star Ratings for each song are there, and so is the position reached and also your Certificate. Details and tips on saving and printing certificates are also on the website and scores/ratings are explained.

If you are listed as a Semi Finalist htis means your song is now in the next stage of the contest and will be considered for the Finals.The contest is till very much open and you can submit more songs in Session Two even though you have already entered in Session One. (Note: If you submit a new version or recording of a Session One song please be sure to add V2 after the title).

The Session One results are on the dashboard page here. Check out the song categories and FAQ pages as well to see updates and visit again soon as we will be announcing a new co-writing song challenge in the near future.

The last chance to enter songs for early results is at midnight on Sunday 30th June, so there are only hours left to submit your songs at www.songwritingcontest.co.uk

Everyone who enters a song before the deadline will have their results within days and this will include your Star Rating from the judges and your position and award in the contest for each song. Certificate for every song entry will be prepared and will be available for download and printing.

BUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT??

The judges have already read lyrics entries and listened to the recordings of many of the songs entered earlier in Session One. Now they are working very hard every day to process and judge the entries coming in during the last week and before the Sunday night deadline. Our aim is that all songs in Session One will have been through the complete judging process and be ready for results announcements with a week after the deadline.

At that time full results will be online on the UKSC website and you will be able to see your entries and see the judges results and download certificates. You will be able to access this by logging in with the email address you used to submit your songs, so there is no need to remember passwords etc.

If you have made it into the Semi Finals we will announce this within days of the deadline and Semi Finalist Certificates will be online for downloading. If you are a Semi Finalist at that point this means that your song continues in the contest through more selection processes and to be considered for a place in the Finals. If it goes into the Finals your Semi Finalist Certificate will be updated to a Finalist Certificate at that time.

Entry forms are at https://www.songwritingcontest.co.uk/entryform

So, if you want to have early results please try and get your songs to us before the midnight Sunday deadline to avoid disappointment. All songs submitted after the deadline, from Monday on, will go into Session Two and results for that second session will not be until after the 2024 contest closes later this year. Please contact us at any time if you have any questions.

Very Best Wishes,
From The UKSC Team

The UKSC WInning Christmas Song, Sailing Home For Christmas, has been announced early to in time for the big day. All other winners will be announced as they are confirmed, on the UKSC website.

SAILING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
This outstanding Christmas Song was written onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth, Britain's biggest warship and flagship on a 7 month Operational tour to the Far East in 2021 and was entered in the UKSC 2023. The song, written by Dave Emery, captures the emotions of being separated from family and the anticipation and delight of coming home. It has been released with all proceeds going to the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) and Culdrose Military Wives Choir who are featured on the track. Both charities give so much to support Armed Forces personnel deployed and their families back home. The UKSC congratulates the guys for this great song and performance and wishes all UKSC entrants a Very Merry Christmas.

Lyrics
Overhead, all the stars looking down our house,
Cold and bright
The curtains' closed
But the chimney smoke says
‘Come, it’s warm inside’

All at once, and the ache from each
Day I’ve been gone; 7 months
It fades to the past, I’m here at last
This Christmas has finally come

The butterflies start
A flicker in my heart
I feel my chest start to glow
I’m shaking as I ring the doorbell
And see you stood waiting there in the hall

I whisper, ‘Merry Christmas, darling
Been a really long wait I know
I’ve missed this, all that I wished for
Was coming back to see
You after sailing home’

From inside, and I’m hearing
The voice of a child calling out
The footsteps come
I hear you running racing
Through the house

The butterflies start
A flicker in my heart
I feel my chest start to glow
I’m shaking as I kneel to greet you
I just can’t believe
How much you’ve grown

I whisper, ‘Merry Christmas, darling
Been a really long wait I know
I’ve missed this, all that I wished for
Was coming back
To see you after sailing home’

So here it is then
Merry Christmas darling
And we’re stepping in from the cold
With this you’ve been making
My wish come true
Here underneath the mistletoe

I whisper, ‘Merry Christmas, darling
Been a really long wait I know
I’ve missed this, all that I wished for
Was coming back
To see you after sailing home’

So here it is then
Merry Christmas, darling
And we’re stepping in from the cold
With this you’ve been making
My wish come true
Here underneath the mistletoe

Come on let’s live this
Merry Christmas, darling
Leave our tears out here in the snow
Just this, it’s all that I’ve wished for
And now I’m back to see you after
You after sailing home
Sailing home

CREDITS
Music & Lyrics - Dave Emery
Choral arrangement - Pete Truin

Vocals - Phil Clark
Backing Vocals - Culdrose Military Wives Choir
Rhythm Guitar - Dave Emery
Lead Guitar - Adam Rosser
Bass Guitar - Lloyd Warlow
Drums/Percussion - Ben Jones

Produced by Gareth Young, The Cube Recording Studio

This is a short message to say that results have been updated on the UKSC website today to show all positions and star ratings for all songs entered before October. Semi Finals positions and awards are shown, and Certificates can be saved and printed. If your song moves on to the Finals your Ceritificate will be updated to show this and your song will compete for a winning place,

October entries are with the judging panels and we will announce these results in early November. So, if you still have songs to enter, submit them now to see your results very soon. Check results on the Status and the Dashboard pages on the UKSC website.

NOTE: You are very welcome to share your results and your songs with other songwriters in the exclusive UKSC Songwriting Community.

With the 2024 Paris Olympics approaching, the UKSC is again running its popular Olympic Theme category this year. The last winner of the Olympics category was successfully signed to a deal and released as a theme song for the Olympic Games under the direction of producer Mel Shaw (Founder of The Juno Awards and President of the Canadian Academy of Performing Arts and Sciences). It was covered by several artists in different genres from Rock to Anthem to Techno and also released as an Instrumental version. The song even had its own dedicated website during the Games. Watch a short video about the Anthem version of the Olympic winning track here on the UKSC YouTube channel. We have relaunched this category for the 2024 Olympic Games and the winning entry will be promoted during the Games in 2024. Songs may be in any style or genre. Instrumentals are also accepted in the Olympics Theme category.

Songwriters have until the end of October to submit songs to the UKSC 2023. The deadline is midnight at the end of Tuesday 31st.

Check out all the song categories (Singer-Songwriter, Pop, Major Artists, Unsigned, Indie, Lyrics Only to name just a few - there is something for every songwriter) on the UKSC website. And while you are on the website check out the great judges this year - the judges are waiting for your song entry!

Your last chance to submit songs!

The International UK Songwriting Contest 2023 closes for entries at the end of this month on October 31. This month is your last chance to submit songs this year. The final deadline is midnight on Tuesday 31st.

ARE YOU A FINALIST?
Within days of submitting your song you will know if you are in the Semi Finals. And very soon after this we announce Finalists and will tell you if your song is in the Finals and competing for a Winner position in the 2023 event. This will be an exciting time as Finalists are announced and winners selected. And there will be Live updates on the UKSC website and on social media.

OPPORTUNITIES
Opportunities to get involved as a songwriter this year include the new Major Artists section which offers the chance for you to nominate a target artist for your song or lyric. Crisis and Protest Songs is for songs about the social, economic, political and other crises, division, changes and and unrest we face today. The Unsigned category is for those of you looking for deals, and many different genre categories. There is a Cover Songs category for you to pay tribute to your favourite songwriters with your own cover and interpretation of their song (you can even make changes and rewrite parts of the original). This year we also have the Olympic Games 2024 section where you can submit songs suitable for the Paris Olympics (the previous UKSC Olympic Theme winner was signed and released internationally by top producer Mel Shaw). There is something for everyone, every genre is there, and full details are on the UKSC contest website - check out the Song Categories Page.

So... get your songs to us before the end of this month. We look forward to receiving them. The judging panels are already gearing up to be prepared, ready and waiting to select the Finalist and Winners for this year.

Very Best Wishes,
UKSC
songwritingcontest.co.uk

Hollywood actress and singer-songwriter Bonnie Piesse joins the UKSC judging panels in 2021. Bonnie was born in Australia and was well known for her many TV roles there before working on the Star Wars films with George Lucas and moving to the USA. She made the role of Beru in Star Wars her own, in Star Wars Attack Of The Clones and Revenge Of The Sith, and Disney have signed her for the new, and long anticipated, Star Wars series 'Obi-Wan Kenobi', alongside Ewan McGregor. This is now in production in 2021.

Bonnie is a highly aclaimed singer songwriter with songs placed and featured in movies and TV shows including the recent Home Box Office HBO docu-series 'The Vow' in which she was also a featured subject. She was described by Oscar nominated film director Luke Doolan as "the type of artist who’s work gets better each time you see or hear her. She has the voice of an angel and the mind of a warrior". When she is not busy at the Disney Studios acting in the new Star Wars series (or judging UK Songwriting Contest songs!!) Bonnie is working on songs for a new EP to be released in 2022.

Bonnie is a past winner of The UK Songwriting Contest, with her beautiful and enchanting song 'Ariella', so she knows the event very well and from both sides - as a contestant and as a judge. She is based in California and is a judge for both the UK and USA editions of the contest. You can discover more about Bonnie and hear her music on her website www.bonniepiesse.com

SUBMIT YOUR SONGS
The UK Songwriting Contest 2021 is now open for entries and we look forward to receiving your songs in this year´s event. Full details and entry forms are on the UKSC website at http://songwritingcontest.co.uk

Best wishes,
The UKSC Team