Music fans made their voices heard as they voted for their favourite songs among the finalists and declared “Silver Into Rain,” written and performed by Luna Li featuring beabadoobee, the winner of the 18th annual SOCAN Songwriting Prize. Hannah Kim, aka Luna Li, is published by 88 Rising/Kobalt Music Publishing Canada, and Beatrice Laus, aka beabadoobee, is published by Sony Music Publishing.
In addition to the prestige of winning, the winner receives a $10,000 cash prize, a Yamaha musical instrument valued up to $2500 (minimum advertised price ) and a $500 gift card from Long & McQuade.
Luna Li began her musical journey at a very young age, attending the Classical Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Classically trained in piano and violin, she went on to master the harp, electric guitar, bass and drums. Luna Li rose in notoriety after her multi-instrumental jam sessions went viral during the pandemic, as they featured her playing the harp, keyboard, guitar, and violin. Her debut album Duality, was released in 2022, and Luna Li her follow-up is scheduled for 2024.
“It’s an honour to be recognized by SOCAN and the community around me,” said Luna Li. “‘Silver Into Rain’ is, ironically, a song about self-doubt, and a lack of belief in myself, so to me this prize is a particularly meaningful symbol of support. I feel incredibly lucky to have so much encouragement early on in my career.“
The SOCAN Songwriting Prize is the only major songwriting award in Canada where fans vote to determine the winner. Eight outstanding songs created by Canadian songwriters over the past year are nominated by a panel of 10 esteemed music industry experts. The public is then invited to vote once a day for their favourite song, for one week, to determine the winner.
“Congratulations to Luna Li. ‘Silver Into Rain’ is a deeply moving song, deserving of this incredible honour,” said Jennifer Brown, CEO of SOCAN. “We all know a great song when we hear it, but few of us understand the fusion of emotion and storytelling that happens to create it. Canada is home to exceptional songwriting talent, and the eight songs nominated for the 2023 Songwriting Prize exemplify some of the finest in Canadian music.”
The winner of the Prix de la chanson SOCAN, the competition conducted separately for songs in French, was “Ton shift est pas fini,” written by Gabriel Bouchard and Mathieu Quenneville, performed by Gab Bouchard, and published by Éditions Bravo Musique Inc.
Also featured in the English category were the following extraordinary songs:
- “always” – written by Felix Fox-Pappas, Chester Hansen, Eliza Niemi, Alexander Sowinski, Leland Whitty, Jonah Yano; performed by Jonah Yano; Hansen, Sowinski and Whitty published by Third Side Music Inc., Yano published by Secretly Canadian Publishing.
- “Big Steppa” – written by Bolu Akande and Tosan Arenyeka; performed by aRENYE.
- “Grab Your Guts” – written by Maylee Todd; performed by Maylee Todd.
- “IF THERE’S NO SEAT IN THE SKY (WILL YOU FORGIVE ME???)” – written by Saya Gray; performed by Saya Gray; published by Saya Gray/Kobalt Music Publishing Canada.
- “Levels” – written by Max Akres, Jeremy Alain, Corben Bowen, Zachary Djurich, Chris Larocca, Herag Sanbalian, Jacob Wilkinson-Smith; performed by Boslen. Larocca published by Kilometre Music Group. All rights on behalf of Kilometre Music Group B administered by Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.
- “Put ‘Em Down” – written by Jeffrey Maurice, Joshua Qaumariaq; performed by The Trade-Offs.
- “STEPMOM” – written by Dacey Andrada, Justin Tecson; performed by Dacey.
The 2022 winner of the SOCAN Songwriting Prize was “Welcome to the Garden” written and performed by Emily Steinwall. Previous winners are available to view at SOCAN Songwriting Prize.
SOCAN plays no role in determining the nominees or winners, apart from ensuring that they meet eligibility criteria.