BMI announced the winners of their 68th annual Pop Awards earlier this week, with Khalid and Post Malone tying for Top Songwriter of the Year honors, and the smash song “Without Me,” co-written by pop superstar Halsey and singer/songwriter Delacey awarded Song of the Year.
Videos by American Songwriter
The virtual handing out of the awards took away some of the emotional speeches, revealing red carpet interviews and crucial business networking typical of an in-person ceremony. Nevertheless, the genuine honesty of songwriters receiving recognition for their craft can be seen in the accompanying videos of Khalid, Post Malone, Halsey and Delacey.
Khalid and Post Malone 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.”
Halsey Wins Song of the Year: “Without Me”
“This song changed my life in ways that I never could have imagined. It was definitely turning the lemons into lemonade type situation.”
Post Malone Ties For Songwriter of the Year
“It’s a huge honor. I’m so blessed and lucky to be working with super talented people. I’m so honored to be a part of music and I’m so honored to be able to share my music with people.”
Khalid Ties For Songwriter of the Year
“This is unbelievable. I want to give a big shout out to all the fans because none of this would have happened without you… and to the black pop creators: Don’t limit yourself to a box. The sky’s the limit.”
Delacey Wins Song of the Year: “Without Me”
“It’s a dream of mine to be holding this award. You never imagine that when you write a song it’s going to connect with people. I’m insanely honored.”
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. 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.
This year’s group of honorees includes 47 first-time BMI Pop award recipients, who have amassed over 25 million song performances collectively. 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.
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.”
