Gathered in the BMI New York office are BMI's Charlie Feldman, Sydney's brother Mark Price Jr., Sydney's father Mark Price Sr., BMI's Samantha Cox, Lennon Scholarship winner Sydney Price, BMI's Ralph Jackson (BMI Foundation President), J.W. Johnson and Ben Tischker. photo by Dana Rodriguez

Established by Yoko Ono in 1997 in conjunction with the BMI Foundation, the John Lennon Scholarships are made possible through generous donations from Ono with matching funds from Gibson Musical Instruments. Over $150,000 has been awarded over the last eight years to students from select colleges, universities and music schools, and from national submissions from MENC: The National Association for Music Education.]]> 2005-09-13T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234450 3 Doors Down, Adams, Yolanda, Anderson, Bill, Arnold, Brad, Berry, Chuck, Black Eyed Peas, Branch, Michelle, Brown, James, Bryant, Del, Diddley, Bo, Evanescence, Five For Fighting, Fountains of Wayne, Green, Al, Hayes, Isaac, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Kelly, R., Lennon, John, Lil Jon, Lil' Kim, Linkin Park, Little Richard, Los Lonely Boys, Lynn, Loretta, Mann, Barry, Maroon 5, McLachlan, Sarah, Morrison, Van, Nickelback, Parton, Dolly, Price, Sydney, Roberts, Matt, Santana, Carlos, Seal, Sham, Simon & Garfunkel, Simon, Paul, Stone, Joss, Townshend, Pete, Twain, Shania, Usher1, Weil, Cynthia, White Stripes, The, Wilshire, Wilson, Brian, Winans, Mario, Ying Yang Twins, Pop, Rock, Feature, BMI Pop Awards BMI announced its 53rd Annual BMI Pop Awards on May 17, with top honors given to 3 Doors Down's "Here Without You" as Song of the Year, Lil Jon as Songwriter of the Year, and EMI Music Publishing as Publisher of the Year.

Pop Awards Photo Slideshow

2005 BMI Pop Awards Song List

Paul Simon's BMI Awards List

2005 Lennon Scholarship Winners

Del Bryant, President & CEO, and Barbara Cane, Vice President & General Manager, Writer/Publisher Relations, Los Angeles, hosted the dinner event. The writers and publishers of the 50 most performed songs of the past year were recognized, plus the overall song, songwriter and publisher winners. A highlight of the gala, staged at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, was a tribute to songwriter/artist Paul Simon, who was named a BMI Icon.

3 Doors Down	Lil Jon

"Here Without You" won the title of BMI Pop Song of the Year, with songwriters Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson and Matt Roberts of the group 3 Doors Down accepting; this distinction is given to the song tallying the most feature broadcast performances during the eligibility period. Published by Escatawpa Songs and Songs of Universal, Inc. and included on 3 Doors Down's Republic/Universal CD Away From the Sun, "Here Without You" has already been certified as a BMI Million-Air (with two million broadcast performances) and was previously honored as BMI's 2004 Most Performed Song on College Radio. Lead singer Brad Arnold was also named Songwriter of the Year at the 2002 BMI Pop Awards.

Nickelback	Paul Simon

Lil Jon wrote four songs on the Most Performed List of 50 to collect the BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year crown. The songs earning him the title were "Damn!" (YoungBloodZ featuring Lil Jon), "Freek-A-Leek" (Petey Pablo), "Get Low" (Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring the Ying Yang Twins) and "Yeah!" (Usher featuring Ludacris and Lil Jon).

Of the 88 songwriters who received 2005 BMI Pop Awards, two were triple winners: Chad Kroeger (SOCAN) of Nickelback and Sham. Other writer/artists earning awards included Michelle Branch, Five for Fighting, Linkin Park, Sarah McLachlan, Pete Townshend (PRS), Shania Twain, Maroon 5, Los Lonely Boys, R. Kelly, Seal (PRS), Lil' Kim, Evanescence, the White Stripes, Fountains of Wayne, Mario Winans and the Black Eyed Peas.

Paul Simon was saluted as a BMI Icon for his "unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." In a career dating back to the 1950s, Paul Simon has established himself among the best and most popular songwriters of the rock era. His songs have bookmarked moments in the lives of millions, whether with words of love, longing, humor, politics or, above all, hope. He has incorporated the rhythms of his native New York with those from as far away as Brazil and South Africa.

For his efforts, he is a 12-time Grammy winner, a two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee (as Simon & Garfunkel and as a solo artist), the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, an Oscar nominee, an Emmy Award winner, and the much-honored co-founder of the Children's Health Fund. His songwriting catalog has earned 39 BMI Awards -- including multiple citations for "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Mrs. Robinson," "Scarborough Fair" and "The Sound of Silence" -- and amassed nearly 75 million broadcast airplays, according to BMI surveys.

After a video tribute, the musical salute to Simon featured performances by 2004 Icon recipient Brian Wilson (who sang "The Sound of Silence"), British sensation Joss Stone ("Mother and Child Reunion"), Adam Levine and James Valentine of the Grammy-winning band Maroon 5 ("Homeward Bound") and soul gospel diva Yolanda Adams ("Bridge Over Troubled Water").

Simon enters the elite company of previously praised BMI Icons, including Bill Anderson, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Isaac Hayes, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Loretta Lynn, Carlos Santana, Dolly Parton, Al Green, Van Morrison and Brian Wilson.

EMI Music Publishing (EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc./EMI-Stone Agate Music), with 11 award songs, claimed the BMI Pop Publisher of the Year prize, given to the publishing concern with the highest percentage of copyright ownership in award songs. EMI's winning songs were "100 Years," "Bright Lights," "Damn!," "Freek-A-Leek," "Get Low," "Heaven," "I Don't Wanna Know," "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "Into You," "Unwell" and "Where Is the Love." EMI Chairman & CEO Martin Bandier accepted the crystal trophy.

Other publishers garnering three or more awards were Universal Music Publishing (Irving Music/Songs of Universal, Inc./Universal-Songs of PolyGram International, Inc.); Warner/Chappell Music Group (Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. and Rick's Music, Inc.); Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc./Loco De Amor Music/Zomba Songs Inc.; and White Rhino Music.

In addition to Song of the Year "Here Without You," BMI recognized the performance achievements of two other songs. "Someday" by Nickelback earned Most Performed Song on College Radio kudos for songwriters Chad Kroeger, Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake and Ryan Vikedal of the group and publisher Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," the most performed composition in BMI's repertoire of 6.5 million musical works, was certified as a 10 Million-Air, meaning it has been broadcast 10 million times. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" was written by Phil Spector, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and published by ABKCO Music, Inc., Mother Bertha Music, Inc., and Screen Gems-EMI Music, Inc.

Phil Spector	Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil

Another special presentation was the announcement of the First Place winner of the 2005 John Lennon Scholarship Awards. Sydney Price, a 17-year-old junior at Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in

Listen to the winning songs:

1st Place: "Moon Lullaby" by Sydney Price | bio

2nd Place: "On Me (Nothing For Free)" by Chriss Odom | bio

3rd Place: "Picasso" by Joshua A. Schroeder | bio

Honorable Mention: "Silhouette" by Nick Kruge | bio

Honorable Mention: "Not That Easy" by Liz Stahler | bio

Honorable Mention: "Left Behind" by Christina Brehm | bio

South Carolina State University student Chriss Odom received the 2nd Place award and a $5,000 scholarship for his song "On Me (Nothing For Free)." Joshua A. Schroeder, a student at Central Washington University, was the 3rd Place winner and received a $5,000 scholarship for his song "Picasso."

Sydney Price	Chriss Odom	Joshua A. Schroeder

Honorable Mentions went to University of Miami student Nick Kruge for "Silhouette," Berklee College of Music student Liz Stahler for "Not That Easy," and University of Texas at Austin student Christina Brehm for "Left Behind."

Nick Kruge	Liz Stahler	Christina Brehm

The 2005 judges included esteemed jazz specialist Suzan Jenkins, legendary record producer Russ Titelman, Warner Chappell Music's Sr. Vice President Neil Gillis, and BMI Vice President Charlie Feldman. The preliminary judges were Beka Callaway, Samantha Cox, J.W. Johnson, Wardell Malloy and Erica Tompkins, all from BMI's New York based Writer/Publisher Relations team. Thousands of students representing schools from every state participated in the competition this year.

Established by Yoko Ono in 1997 in conjunction with the BMI Foundation, the John Lennon Scholarships have been made possible through generous donations from Ono with matching funds from Gibson Musical Instruments. Over $150,000 has been awarded over the last eight years to students from select colleges, universities and music schools, and from national submissions from Music Educators National Conference (MENC) chapters.

The BMI Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1985 to support the creation, performance, and study of music through awards, scholarships, commissions and grants. Tax-deductible donations to the Foundation come primarily from songwriters, composers and publishers, BMI employees and members of the public with a special interest in music. Because both the Foundation staff and the distinguished members of the Advisory Panel serve without compensation, over 95% of all donations and income are used for charitable grants.]]> 2005-05-17T18:00:00-05:00