Kate Miller-Heidke

Queensland-based artists Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall took out the Grand Prize of the 2008 International Songwriting Competition (ISC) for their song Caught In The Crowd.

The song is an emotional tale of schoolyard bullying and peer pressure and was praised by the ISC judges for its powerful lyrical content and strong pop sensibility.

The judging panel featured a number of legendary artists and performers, including Tom Waits, Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20), Ray Davies (The Kinks), Chaka Khan, McCoy Tyner, Jerry Lee Lewis and Robert Smith (The Cure).

The Grand Prize consists of $25,000 in cash (US) and over $20,000 in prizes - the largest grand prize of any songwriting competition.

In its seventh year, ISC received over 15,500 songs from amateur and professional songwriters from 100 countries worldwide.

Kate and Keir's hit song Can't Shake It has recently been nominated in the Song of the Year category of the 2009 APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) awards. Winners will be announced in Melbourne on June 23.

To hear the winning ISC songs and enter the 2009 competition, please visit the International Songwriting Competition website.

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