Interact: Contests

CMT Listener's Choice Award Winner receives:

Tickets for (2) to the 2008 CMT Music Awards (Date TBA -- April 2008) Airfare, transportation, hotel not included.
Private tour of CMT studios in Nashville, TN. Airfare, transportation, hotel not included.
Tickets for winner and one guest to one scheduled CMT Television, Internet, or Radio performance taping. July 2007 - June 2008. Airfare, transportation, hotel not included.
CMT Branded Merchandise and Memorabilia package.
Offered one single-song publishing contract by a major publisher for winning song.
Three-day trip to Nashville for one (1) including airfare and hotel accommodations (limited to US travel within the 50 continental states and only in cities serviced by American Airlines). In the event that winner's legal residence is within 250 miles of Nashville, TN, only hotel accommodations will be awarded. $200.00 gift certificate to Sam Ash Music.
Your song pitched to music industry execs through our Winners Compilation CD for one year. r
Professional demo - your song recorded and produced at Parlor Studios on Music Row with professional singers, musicians and producers.
CMT branded Epiphone PR-5e Guitar
One MasterWriter songwriter software.
One SHURE SM58 microphone
One-year SongRamp.com pro membership.
Six-month SongU.com membership
Free NSAI Songwriters Symposium or Song Camp 101 or 102.
One-year NSAI membership.
One-year subscription to American Songwriter magazine.
One-year subscription to Music Connection magazine.
Certificate of Achievement

The 8th Annual CMT NSAI Song Contest

Check out last year's winners. The 9th Annual Song Contest will begin shortly. Details coming soon.

"The Dog Don't Know Sit"
Will Hopkins/Steve Mitchell

In 2007, Will Hopkins and Steve Mitchell had two cuts on the latest CD from Kassie DePaiva, star of ABC's One Life to Live. Will splits his time between Washington, D.C., and Nashville, while Steve lives in Nashville with his wife Leslie and daughter Molly.

"Grow Slow"
Beth Walker/Bob Dewald

Betsy Milcarek, who writes under the pen name Beth Walker, is a mom, business owner and volunteer EMT living in Flemington, N.J., with her firefighter husband Chip and their two daughters. She's been writing songs for about four years and does so around her other hobbies of boating, camping and watching Wesley College football.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Bod Dewald was originally inspired by pop music but began writing country songs after he discovered acts such as Alabama and the Judds. He continues to hone his skills in the craft of country songwriting.

"I Let Her Leave"
David Stewart/Tony Hoylen

Dave Stewart was born in Colorado, grew up in the south and on the West Coast and now calls Brooklyn his home. While most of his time is devoted to writing individual songs, other projects range from writing music for industrials to Scholastic tapes for young people to writing out the charts for Bobby Sherman's revival tour. His songs have been featured in indie films and on TV shows.

Originally from New Mexico, Tony Hoylen now resides in the New York City area. In addition to his work as a singer-songwriter, he is also an accomplished voice-over artist.

"Bad Tattoo"
Jerry Holthouse/ Tony Seibert

Born and raised in Richmond, Ind., Jerry Holthouse attended college in south Florida before he moved to the Nashville suburb of Murfreesboro in 2000. He is currently pursuing a career in songwriting and working as an art director.

Tony Seibert was born in Tampa, Fla., but spent his childhood in Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta. In the spring of 1997, he moved to Nashville to pursue a career in songwriting.

"70s Radio"
Shevy Smith

Shevy Smith is a writer who has spent the last four years of her life living in her Trailblazer with her yellow lab, playing acoustic college gigs and coffeehouses. All of these shows and the 300,000 odd miles they have entailed have taught her that a song can never be too authentic. She just wants to make music that moves her.

"The Bouquet"
Roy Holdren

Born in Kansas and raised on the savannas of South Dakota, Minnesotan Roy Holdren started playing in bands at the age of 10 and became a full-time musician at 19. Since discovering NSAI 14 years ago, he has been commuting regularly from Minnesota to Nashville to write with Nashville songwriters and pitch his songs.

"Stay"
LaLa Deaton

LaLa Deaton always wore her heart and emotions on her sleeve until she figured out how to put them into song instead. Music is therapy and not just for her as the writer, but for the listener who can connect with the emotion or experience of the song. "So many songwriters have touched me through their music without ever knowing me and that's powerful. A song can lift you up, make you cry, take you someplace you've never been or back to a time or place you never thought you'd remember", says LaLa. "I'm so thankful for the privilege to share my songs with you."

"Massive"
Freddy Litwiniuk

An indie success story, Freddy Litwiniuk is about to release a new CD. His music has been featured in several movies and TV shows.

"Black Violin"
Compton Maddux

Compton Maddux's songwriting carries on in the great tradition of Americana storytellers a la Bob Dylan, John Hyatt and Steve Earle. He takes the mythic agro-landscape of the south and midwest and spins a Faulkeresque fabric charged with sexual hijinks and swampy hooks. His songs deliver both poignancy and paradox in a rock 'n' acoustic package.

"Come Around"
Joey Avalos/Chris Cleveland

Joey Avalos is an Arizona songwriter who has sold over 50,000 records worldwide with bands like Six Point Restraint, Justifide and Stars Go Dim. He has been nominated for multiple Dove awards (Justifide, 2001) and recently co-wrote "Come Around (Stars Go Dim)," which won the December best song of the month at Songwriter Universe. He currently writes and plays guitar for the band Stars Go Dim, which will release its debut full-length album this summer. Joey resides in Gilbert, Ariz., with his wife Traci.

Chris Cleveland is a 22-year-old singer-songwriter and performer from Tulsa, Okla. He has traveled extensively for nearly a decade playing over 200 shows a year, and during his career, he has had the opportunity to collaborate with numerous Grammy-nominated artists. He co-wrote the song "Come Around (Stars Go Dim)" with Joey Avalos.

"Light at the End of the Bottle"
Megan Laurie

Megan Laurie is a native of Australia. The music industry down under undoubtedly recognizes the 22-year-old's promising talent, crowning her three consecutive Champion of Champions titles: Victoria, South Australian and Queensland. Megan is the only person ever to win the trifecta. In 2004, she moved to America to learn the ins and outs of the music business at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, where some of America's most famous country music artists jump-started their careers. There, she was awarded multiple commendations from the faculty.

"Beautiful Life"
Will Hopkins/Claire Ulanoff

Will Hopkins and Claire Ulanoff were among the five finalists in the 2005 CMT/NSAI Song Contest, and Will was one of five finalists in the 2004 contest as well. In the past two years, eight of his songs have been recorded by independent artists.

Claire Ulanoff began writing in 1995 after "one heartbreak too many." After moving to Nashville from Florida, she won the Tennessee Songwriters Association's most promising female songwriter award in 2002.

"You're Not the One"
Courtney Fera/Staphanie Fera/Matthew Rose

Identical twins Courtney and Stephanie Fera are emerging as one of Vancouver, British Columbia's leading alt-country rock duos. Born into a musical family, FERA has an instinctive ability to write catchy, relatable songs. Refreshingly honest lyrics complimented by intricate sibling harmonies capture raw emotions that simply can't be replicated. In the past year, FERA's debut album Familiar Feeling earned them best group or duo and Horizon nominations at the 2007 BCCMA awards and landed them a spot in the semifinals of the ISC (International Songwriting Competition).

Matt Rose has been writing songs and performing for well over a decade, establishing himself as one of Vancouver's most versatile musicians. As well as writing country/rock songs with noted Vancouver band FERA, his songwriting ability has garnered his own band, the Matinee (Blue Collar Records), a number of songs that have hit the college radio charts across North America. Matt has also written and performed with artists who include Beyond the Fall (EO Records/Warner), Jeff Johnson (604 Records), Ten Ways From Sunday, Rocky Jr. and the Day Release Program (Blue Collar Records), and he regularly does session work in Vancouver, playing anything from guitar to mandolin to the pedal steel.

"Eight"
Daphne Darling/Ron Lopata

With a fresh and fun sound and honest and mature lyrics, Daphne Darling uses an up-tempo musical flavor that can get the hardest of feet tapping. Not willing to be classified in one style, she coined the term variety pop to make people aware of her unique sound fused with pop, R&B and country.

"Sometimes"
John Langan/Chuck Smith

John Langan and Chuck Smith are longtime friends and collaborators. They began writing and producing country music together in 2000. Since that time, the two have penned award winning tracks including "Someone You Loved " (2005 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest country gold award winner), "She Rode the Bull"(honorable mention 2005 CMT/NSAI Song Contest and Mid-Atlantic Song Contest) and "To Love" (2004 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest country silver award winner). John and Chuck both reside in northern Virginia, playing in the popular area bands Who's Ya Daddie and the Brandy Stills Band respectively.