Joe Sanders has been named a winner in the John Lennon Contest.
According to organizers, the John Lennon Songwriting Contest is an international songwriting contest that began in 1997. It is open to amateur and professional songwriters who submit entries in any one of 12 categories: Rock, Country, Jazz, Pop, World, Rhythm & Blues, Hip Hop, Gospel/Inspirational, Latin, Electronic, Folk, and Children's. The contest is open year-round and features two Sessions, resulting in a total of 72 Finalists, 24 Grand Prize Winners, 12 Lennon Award Winners and 1 Song of the Year.
Sanders was named one of the Grand Prize winners for Session 1. Session 2 submissions are open through December 15 with winners announced on March 1, 2016.
Grand Prize Winners of Session I and Session II will compete head-to-head in an online voting battle to become the Lennon Award Winner in their respective category.
Entries were be judged on originality, melody, composition, and lyrics (when applicable) by a panel of industry experts including Lamont Dozier, Bob Weir, Matt Pinfield, Jesse Harris, Natasha Bedingfield, Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas, The Bacon Brothers, Ken Komisar, The Veronicas, and Ryan Shaw.
Sanders grew up in Santa Monica and recently graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in music composition. His song, "Kundiman" was written in Tagalog, the language of the Philippines and won in the "world" category. For more information or to hear the song, visit www.joesandersmusic.com or https://soundcloud.com/jpsanders91/kundiman.
- Submitted by Dan Sanders
