Maren Morris, Laura Veltz, Halsey, Sony Music Top Winners At BMI 2021 Pop Awards

Halsey (Photo: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com)

MAREN MORRIS, LAURA VELTZ, HALSEY and SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING received top honors at YESTERDAY's (5/10) 69th annual BMI POP AWARDS. All winners were announced in a special online celebration and on BMI’s social channels, including the recipients of SONG OF THE YEAR, SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR and PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR. Fans can view the complete list of winners, listen to their music, and watch exclusive content, including first-hand accounts of the songwriting process behind some of the award-winning songs, by going here.

SONG OF THE YEAR was awarded to “The Bones,” co-written by BMI songwriters LAURA VELTZ and MAREN MORRIS, who also performed the song. A metaphor for the importance of a strong foundation in a relationship, the chart-topping single appeared on MORRIS' sophomore album, "Girl," and steadily climbed to the #12 spot on BILLBOARD’s Hot 100. This is the first BMI POP AWARD for the pair, who already have a combined total of 14 BMI COUNTRY AWARDS between them.

International pop star HALSEY was named SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR for having written four of the previous year’s most performed songs, including “Nightmare,” “Graveyard,” “Be Kind” and “You Should Be Sad.” The two-time GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter released the single, “Nightmare,” in the leadup to her third LP, "Manic." Released in JANUARY 2020, the album debuted at #2 on the BILLBOARD 200 with two of the record's lead singles, “Graveyard” and the biting, Country-tinged breakup anthem, “You Should Be Sad,” landing on the BILLBOARD HOT 100. With this award, HALSEY earns her tenth BMI POP AWARD after receiving accolades for SONG OF THE YEAR at the 2020 BMI POP AWARDS.

SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING earned PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR for the ninth time, having represented 24 of the top 50 award-winning BMI Pop songs including “3 Nights,” “Boyfriend,” “My Oh My,” “Roses” and “The Man.”  

BMI also honored the songwriters, publishers and administrators of the 50 most-performed Pop songs of the previous year. This year’s class of recipients included a record 59 first-time POP AWARD winners such as BENEE, EDGAR BARRERA, DOJA CAT, TREVOR DANIEL, METRO BOOMIN, NOAH CYRUS, RODDY RICCH, SAINT JHN, JP SAXE and more.

Well-known hits like “10,000 Hours” co-written by JESSIE JO DILLON and SHAY MOONEY, “Bang!” written and performed by AJR, DUA LIPA’s infectious dance anthem “Don’t Start Now” co-written by CAROLINE ALLIN and IAN KIRKPATRICK, and TAYLOR SWIFT's “Lover” were also among the songs being recognized.

BMI VP Worldwide Creative BARBARA CANE commented, “It is an honor and a privilege to represent some of the best Pop music creators in the world. Their songs are groundbreaking, dynamic and inspiring, and we celebrate their dedication to craft, discipline and success. Music is today’s greatest communicator uniting us, uplifting us, and shaping our most intimate and defining memories. Today as always, BMI applauds the creativity and artistry of these remarkable songwriters.” 

« see more Net News