July 13, 2020
Khalid and Post Malone Tie for Songwriter of the Year
“Without Me” by Halsey and Delacey receives Song of the Year SONY/ATV Music Publishing awarded Publisher of The Year
The 50 Most-Performed Pop Songs of the Previous Year Were Also Celebrated
Press Release
New York, NY (July 13, 2020) – Today, BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) paid tribute to the best in songwriting for its 68th Annual BMI Pop Awards. The top songwriters, publishers and administrators of the previous year’s most-performed pop songs in the United States were celebrated across all BMI digital and social channels. Major award winners for Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Publisher of the Year were also announced. To honor these achievements, BMI created a special page on its website where fans can watch video messages, listen to award-winning music and learn more about their favorite pop songwriters. For more information on BMI’s top pop songwriters, go to https://www.bmi.com/pop2020.
“We’re so proud to recognize BMI’s incomparable family of pop songwriters and music publishers whose talent, originality and creativity helped inspire many of the most popular songs of the past year,” said Barbara Cane, Vice President, Worldwide Creative. “With unique artistry and fearless authenticity, their music has the ability to inspire, uplift and empower us to drive the positive change that is so needed right now. We thank our community of music creators for sharing their gift of songwriting, and we look forward to celebrating with everyone in person at next year’s ceremony.”
Honors for Songwriter of the Year were shared by global superstars Khalid and Post Malone, who each penned four of BMI’s top-performing songs of 2019. Khalid’s “Beautiful People,” “Better,” “Eastside” and “Talk” dominated the airways and the charts, alongside Post Malone’s “Goodbyes,” “Jackie Chan,” “Sunflower” and “Wow.” The two songwriting heavyweights enjoyed a successful year, accruing numerous accolades and media praise between them. The catchy hit single “Talk” earned over 186 million streams on Spotify, making Khalid the most listened to artist on the platform, and garnered a GRAMMY nomination for Record of the Year, his sixth nod to date. Post Malone teamed up with fellow BMI songwriter Swae Lee for “Sunflower,” which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted in the top ten for a total of 33 weeks. The smash single received two GRAMMY nominations for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Post Malone was also named BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter of the Year in 2019.
The poignant break-up anthem “Without Me,” co-written by pop powerhouse Halsey and singer/songwriter Delacey, was awarded Song of the Year, nabbing Halsey her sixth BMI Pop Award and the first for Delacey. A reflection on lost love and one-sided relationships, the single marked the first time Halsey ditched her moniker and wrote under her given name, Ashley Frangipane. The intimate lyrics and departure from her character resonated with fans, driving the mega-hit to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Halsey’s first number-one single as a lead artist.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing received the coveted Publisher of the Year designation for the eighth time. The publishing giant represented 25 of the previous year’s top 50 songs, including “Dancing with a Stranger,” “High Hopes,” “Old Town Road (Remix),” “Señorita,” “Truth Hurts” and “You Need To Calm Down,” among others.
BMI also celebrated the songwriters and publishers of the 50 most-performed Pop songs of the previous year. This year’s group of honorees includes 47 first-time BMI Pop award recipients, who have amassed over 25 million song performances collectively. Among the songs honored are Taylor Swift’s “ME!” (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco) co-written by GRAMMY Award-winner Joel Little, the Billboard Hot 100 mega-smash “7 Rings” co-written by Tayla Parx, Michael Foster and Kaydence, top-charting single “Sucker” co-written by Mustafa Ahmed, Adam “Frank Dukes” Feeney, Homer Steinweiss and co-written and performed by the Jonas Brothers, “Done For Me” co-written by John Ryan and co-written and performed by hitmaker Charlie Puth, and Marshmello’s “Happier,” which spent a record 69 weeks at number one on the US Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Additional award-winners include P!nk, Camila Cabello, Billy Ray Cyrus, Teddy Geiger, Lady Gaga, Lizzo, Bazzi, Ricky Reed, Young Thug, Mark Ronson and more.
For a complete list of 2020 BMI Pop Awards winner and to learn more about your favorite songwriters, please visit https://www.bmi.com/pop2020 and on social media by going to @BMI and #BMIPopAwards to follow the conversation.
ABOUT BMI:
Celebrating over 80 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI®) is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in over 15 million musical works created and owned by more than one million songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI’s repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites, span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year. For additional information and the latest BMI news, visit bmi.com, follow us on Twitter @BMI or stay connected through Broadcast Music, Inc.’s Facebook page. Sign up for BMI’s The Weekly™ and receive our e-newsletter every week to stay up to date on all things music.
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