2007 BMI London Awards Song List

Gabriel’s achievements, whether musical, visual or humanitarian, are the work of a true visionary. The co-founder of rock band Genesis, Gabriel left the group in 1975 to begin a critically acclaimed, Grammy Award-winning solo career. Thus far, he has released 11 albums featuring self-penned gems and BMI million-performance songs, including “Big Time,” “Solsbury Hill,” “Sledgehammer” and “In Your Eyes,” and composed soundtracks for numerous films, including Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. Amongst other bold endeavors, Gabriel founded Real World companies in 1987, housing his recording, publishing, film and multi-media ventures under one progressive roof. An early participant in Human Rights Now! and recipient of the Nobel Peace Laureates’ “Man of Peace” Award, Peter Gabriel founded world human rights advocacy supergroup TheElders.org in July 2007, with Richard Branson and Nelson Mandela.

“Unwritten,” co-penned by Danielle Brisebois and Natasha Bedingfield (PRS), received one of the organization’s highest accolades, the Robert S. Musel Award for Song of the Year. The award, named after the U.S. performing right organization’s longtime consultant to the U.K., annually honors the most-performed song of the year written by a member or members of BMI’s European sister organizations. Published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS) and recorded by Bedingfield, “Unwritten” was the title track to Bedingfield’s platinum-selling debut album.

International phenomenon “Crazy,” co-written by GianFranco Reverberi and GianPiero Reverberi (both SIAE), along with Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo Green, earned BMI’s College Song of the Year crown for tallying the most performances on American college radio. Published by Universal Music Publishing Ricordi srl (SIAE) and Warner/Chappell Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS), the award-winning song first leapt to the top of the British charts solely thanks to digital downloads.

Bestowed on the song with the most hits on BMI-licensed websites, the Internet Award went to James Blunt’s infectious “You’re Beautiful,” co-authored by Blunt, Amanda Ghost and Sacha Skarbek (all PRS), and published by Bucks Music Group Ltd. and EMI Music Publishing Ltd. (both PRS).

The Gorillaz’s “Dare,” co-written by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett (both PRS), took home BMI’s Dance Award. Also published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS) and featuring the vocal stylings of Shaun Ryder, “Dare” debuted atop the UK singles chart, officially making it the Gorillaz’s first No. 1 hit in Britain.

Prestigious “Million-Air” certificates were also presented throughout the evening in recognition of those songs that have achieved over three million U.S. radio and television performances — the equivalent of more than 17 years of continuous airplay. The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” topped the list, with a staggering nine-million performance award for songwriter Sting (PRS). Sting was also honored for five-million performance song “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.” Living legend Van Morrison (PRS) penned two hits on the list: his classic “Brown Eyed Girl,” which has amassed eight million performances, and four million performance song “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You.” Additional “Million-Air” recipients included Sir Elton John, John Lennon, Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Sir Trevor Nunn, Lord Lloyd Webber, Shania Twain and Steve Winwood (all PRS).

KT Tunstall (BMI), Harry Gregson-Williams, Rupert Gregson-Williams, Natasha Bedingfield, James Blunt, Pete Townshend, Snow Patrol members Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Tom Simpson and Jonny Quinn (all PRS), along with Alexandre Desplat (SACEM) and Karl Bartos (GEMA), garnered multiple awards in recognition of their songwriting skills: each composed two or more songs on the most-performed Pop, Film, Television, Cable, Emmy, Golden Globe or Urban Award lists. Reflecting music’s increasingly global reach, BMI also honored two Jamaican hitmakers alongside the European songwriters and publishers. Don Corleon, writer of "Break It Off" and "When you Gonna (Give it Up to Me),” and “Break It Off” co-writer Kirk Ford both received their first London Awards.

High-resolution photos from the event will be available to registered users only at bmi.com/press. To request access, please contact mediarelations@bmi.com.

When Amy Winehouse’s (pictured, top) Back to Black debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in March, it marked the highest bow by a British female solo artist ever. A few weeks later, Joss Stone’s Introducing Joss Stone smashed her record by debuting at No. 2. James Blunt, Corrine Bailey Rae, KT Tunstall and Snow Patrol are striking gold, if not platinum, in the U.S.

“The current British invasion is due to a number of factors,” posits Evan Lamberg, EMI Music Publishing EVP of Creative for North America. “Top 40 radio is playing less and less hip-hop and rap. This is leaving more opportunity for great non-urban songwriters. VH-1 has done a tremendous job being early champions of these British acts. [Also], these acts are coming over to the U.S. again and again. Nothing replaces the good old-fashioned way of getting your hands in the dirt and taking your music to the people.”

Universal Republic president Monte Lipman, whose label handles Winehouse, Mika and Katie Melua in the U.S., calls these acts “a breath of fresh air. They don’t have a formula.”

For many of these artists, the first point of exposure for U.S. fans has been the Internet. “The industry has democratized where artists are empowered at a grassroots level like myspace,” says David Sinclair, a London-based journalist who writes for The Times.

The latest wave started in 2004 when Snow Patrol quietly crept onto U.S. shores with Final Straw. The Scottish-Irish quintet, with its often intense, always melodic, alternative rock, toured frequently in the U.S., slowly building an audience. By the time Eyes Open came out in the U.S. in May 2006, Americans were ready to hear more. That album’s “Chasing Cars” became the go-to song for hip TV shows, airing on outlets like Grey’s Anatomy, and leading the track to take up residency in the upper reaches of Billboard’s Adult Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts. According to Universal Music International, the album has sold close to four million copies worldwide.

Scotland is responsible for much more than one-half of Snow Patrol and has also given us KT Tunstall. The Scottish lass began promoting herself in the U.S. long before her Relentless/Virgin debut came out in February 2006. Among her memorable gigs was a stirring acoustic set at BMI/Billboard’s SXSW brunch in March 2005.

Her big break in the U.K. came when she performed “Black Horse & the Cherry Tree” on the influential British TV program Later with Jools Holland with less than 24 hours’ notice after another act cancelled. Eye to the Telescope, which had come out to little fanfare, was re-released and eventually shot up to No. 3 on the British album charts.

In the U.S., “Black Horse” has spent more than a year on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Chart while the second single, “Suddenly I See,” has been locked in the upper reaches of the chart for more than four months. Eye to the Telescope has been on the Billboard 200 for more than 65 weeks.

The latest Scottish imports impacting in the U.S. are The Fratellis. The first major U.S. exposure for the Scottish trio, all of whom have adopted bassist Barry Fratelli’s last name, came from iTune’s use of the utterly infectious “Flathead” in television ads. The trio’s debut, Costello Music (Cherry Tree/Interscope), revels in retro music that sounds instantly recognizable while new at the same time. The group can also be heard on the soundtrack to the movie Hot Fuzz.

While bands like Snow Patrol and the Fratellis are having their day, solo artists like former British Army captain James Blunt are leading the charge.

While many of the U.K.-based acts come to the U.S. via the American label’s U.K. affiliate, Blunt’s entry point was through Linda Perry’s Custard imprint. Perry signed the singer/songwriter after he’d linked with EMI Music Publishing in London. By the time Back to Bedlam came out in the U.S on Custard/Atlantic, the album had already hit No. 1 in the U.K. The first U.S. single, “You’re Beautiful,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first song by a British performer to top that chart in 10 years.

Blunt rode the success of Bedlam and “Beautiful” to five Grammy nominations.

Like Blunt, fellow Brit Corinne Bailey Rae had already hit No. 1 in her native U.K. when she came over here with her sweetly nuanced, mellow tunes. Her self-titled chart topper made her only the fourth female singer in the history of the British charts to debut at No. 1 with her first album. In the U.S., her rise has been no less spectacular, bolstered by major TV exposure via outlets like “Oprah Winfrey.” Rae snared three Grammy nominations, including the coveted best new artist. Her debut has surpassed the platinum mark here, pushed by first single “Put Your Records On.”

While Rae has gotten her share of press, seldom has an artist caused quite the media stir as Amy Winehouse. She’s a critical darling as famous for her beehive and tattoos as her shimmery, soulful, girl-group musical style.

The Enfield, England native’s Back to Black has already sold more than 1.2 million in the U.K. and helped Winehouse capture the Brit Award for best British female artist in February.

“She’s one part soul diva, one part jazz singer and one part rock star,” says Lamberg. “A deadly combo.”

“Fortunately for us, Amy loves to tour,” says Lipman, who notes she’ll play U.S. dates in June and this fall.

Winehouse’s U.S. labelmate Katie Melua was born in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, but ultimately settled in Surrey, England. At 15, Melua won a televised talent competition and was on her way. The classic pop singer released Call off the Search in 2003 and the album went on to sell 1.2 million copies in the U.K. alone. Her second album, Piece by Piece, moved 1.8 million copies in the U.K., with worldwide sales of more than 3 million.

Like Melua, Mika is another British immigrant. His music was created out of the unending loneliness that Mika says often engulfed him after his family moved from Beirut to Paris and, ultimately, to London. Vocally, he’s a cross between Freddie Mercury (whom he references on his first single, “Grace Kelly”) and Robbie Williams. The colorful ’70s, psychedelic pop images that are the album art for Life in Cartoon Motion and his videos are as much a part of his image as his delectable, pop music.

“With Mika, the key word is different,” says Lipman. “Even though people respect the success you’re having, people [at pop radio] look at us kind of sideways and say ‘You expect me to play that?’ and we say your listeners have spoken.” Indeed, the album racked up several consecutive weeks as the No. 1 pop album on iTunes.

Like Mika, Lily Allen’s personality is as big as her music. Her music is classic pop, but she ties in ska, rap and her other influences to create a thoroughly modern and invigorating sound. Not surprisingly, Alright, Still has gone double platinum in her native England and platinum in Europe. It debuted at No. 20 on the Billboard 200 and continues to sell well.

Part of the strength of the current British invasion is its diversity. British rapper Lady Sovereign caused waves of excitement when she became the first non-American female signed to Jay-Z’s Def Jam label.

The press excitement has outweighed sales so far, but Sinclair says that’s not surprising given how outside the mainstream her music is. “She’s a grime queen, it’s deep hardcore. It’s like East London rap, drum and bass.” But that edge is what has made the Wembley, England native such a phenomenon at 21. “She’s very alternative,” Sinclair continues. “She’s a name that people like to drop and frequently do.”

Her debut album, Public Warning, entered the Billboard Top 200 at No. 48, but her popularity is sure to rise when she opens for Gwen Stefani this summer.

Similar to Lady Sovereign, Don Corleon relies on street rhythms to propel his sound. The leading Jamaican dancehall artist/producer has helped advance the dancehall movement in the U.S. through his work with such acts as Sean Paul, Rihanna, Beenie Man, Capleton, Bounty Hunter and Wayne Wonder. Kartel, noting a resemblance between the two, allegedly gave Donovan Bennett the Don Corleon moniker, as a takeoff on Marlon Brando’s “Godfather” character, Don Corleone.

As these artists continue to make inroads in America, Sinclair expects today’s success to continue to swell: “Everyone in Britain is trying to make a record,” he says, with only a little overstatement. “It’s a river that’s burst its banks and it’s flowing in all directions.”