Renowned for its prestigious celebrity judges, ISC received over 15,000 songs from amateur and professional songwriters from 100 countries worldwide, confirming ISC's status as the leading global songwriting event. In fact, for the first time in the competition's history, the majority of winners (59%) come from outside the USA. More than $150,000 in cash and prizes is shared among the 59 winners, including an overall Grand Prize of $25,000 (US) cash, the largest cash Grand Prize of any songwriting competition in the world, and $30,000 in merchandise and services.

Candace Avery, Founder and Director of ISC, says, "Over the years, ISC has received so many great entries from Gospel/Christian songwriters. This year the Gospel/Christian category was particularly strong and very diverse, with an extremely high level of songwriting, so the winners should take special pride in their accomplishment. This recognition of their songwriting skill is a well-deserved honor, and ISC is thrilled to provide the platform to make this happen for them."

Anthony Skinner (Franklin, TN, USA), Scott MacLeod, and Ross Huskinson are awarded First Place in the Gospel/Christian category for their song "To Really Love". Singer/songwriter Anthony Skinner's latest EP, Crush, is already receiving positive attention. Josh Jackson of Paste Magazine writes, "Anthony Skinner's latest is a celebration Radiohead-inspired rock with less cynicism and happier guitars." Skinner has a new song, 'Million Miles', on Grammy Award winner CeCe Winans' new release, Thy Kingdom Come.

Second Place honors are awarded to Wade Iedema (Lifetone) from Lismore Heights, NSW, Australia, for his song "Wildflower". Iedema is the force behind Lifetone, a band making music for a new generation of believers. Featuring musicians from across the East Coast of Australia, Lifetone's music focuses on God's grace and the power of his Word. Iedema wants his music to make a difference and to engage the mind and impact the heart. "Wildflower" can be found on Lifetone's first album Who Hopes For What They Always Had?

Greg Sczebel from Salmon Arm, BC, Canada, is awarded Third Place for this song "Homeland". Sczebel has been steadily building a buzz in the undergrounds of the North American music scene. At the age of 23 he has already performed with some of the industry's elite including David Foster, Michael Buble, Jars of Clay, Paul Brandt and Carolyn Arends. In 2005, his debut album, Here to Stay, was recognized with a Juno Award for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year. He is currently in the studio recording his highly anticipated sophomore album set to be released in 2008.

In addition to these winners, 12 other Gospel/Christian songs garnered an Honorable Mention in the category:

"All Is Well" - Renard Anthony Edwards (Ranthony) - Tampa, FL, USA
"Ashes Beautiful" - Amy Graham - Birmingham, AL, USA
"Beautifully Broken" - Jonathan Kingham / Cindy Morgan - Seattle, WA, USA
"Eyes Of Mercy" - Kris Miller / Jayron Weaver - Hemet, CA, USA
"Grace" - Timothy Thompson - Brentwood, TN, USA
"I Feel The Spirit" - Walt Cunningham Jr. / Nathan Johnson Jr. / Leon Haywood (Walt Cunningham And One Accord Featuring The Dartmouth College Gospel Choir) - Chicago, IL, USA
"Move On Down The Line" - Robbin Thompson - Richmond, VA, USA
"Our Anthem" - Jo Cinquina / Abe van Hatch / Daniel Const / Stuart Henry / Joshua Heglund / Joel Seneque (Stadium) - Perth, WA, Australia
"Surrender (Give My Heart)" - Zach Blickens / Sarah Blickens (Zach & Sarah) - Cedar Rapids, IA, USA
"Where Love Is King" - Roma Waterman - Melbourne, Australia
"Wonderful" - Jake Brothers / Matt Mellinger- Indianapolis, IN, USA
"You Give" - Jason Ward Witte - Sedona, AZ, USA

Along with the Gospel/Christian category, winners in all 19 categories are represented by songwriters from all over the world. The 2007 Grand Prize is awarded to Eduard Glumov (Aktobe, Kazakhstan) and Z. Mulls (Swarthmore, PA, USA) for their song "I'm Not Your Friend." The song, entered in the Rock category, was written by Glumov with lyrics provided by Z. Mulls of Swarthmore, PA, USA. This collaboration - from Kazakhstan to the USA - from one side of the globe to the other - perfectly reflects ISC's mission of creating a competition that is inclusive of songwriters worldwide. Glumov, a singer/songwriter, and Z. Mulls, a lyricist, met each other on MusesMuse.com, a songwriting resource website, and their musical collaboration produced the winning song.

For a complete list of 2007 ISC winners and to hear the winning songs, go to www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners.htm

Applauded for its high caliber of judges, ISC compiled a stellar panel of judges for the 2007 competition, including: "Weird Al" Yankovic; Cheech Marin (Cheech & Chong); David Cross (FOX-TV's Arrested Development); Tom Waits; Loretta Lynn; Julian Casablancas (The Strokes); Nelly Furtado; Ray Davies (The Kinks); Kenny Wayne Shepherd; Ornette Coleman; Youssou N'Dour; Sean Paul; Jerry Lee Lewis; Black Francis (Pixies); Robert Smith (The Cure); Cassandra Wilson; Craig Morgan; John Mayall; Joe Satriani; Toby Mac; Michael W. Smith; Chris Hillman (The Byrds); John Scofield; Hinder; Amy Ray (Indigo Girls); Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC); Macy Gray; Peter Hook (New Order); Paulina Rubio; Tiesto; Charlie Walk (President, Epic Records); Monte Lipman (President, Universal Records); Mona Scott-Young (President, Violator Records); Cameron Strang (President, New West Records); Steve Lillywhite (Producer - credits include U2, The Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Peter Gabriel, and more); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Betty Pino (DJ, WAMR Miami, pioneer of Latin radio); Angel Carrasco (President, 605 Discos and Sr. VP A&R, Sony BMG Latin America); Thomas Brooman (Co-Founder/Artistic Director, WOMAD); Dan Storper (President, Putumayo World Music); Nancy Wolpert (VP Home Entertainment and Nick Records, Nickelodeon/BMG); Leib Ostrow (CEO, Music For Little People); and Paul Majors (CEO/Founder Majors Music).

2007 Sponsors include: Electro-Voice, ASCAP, Berklee College Of Music, Cakewalk, Shure, D'Addario, Thayers, Sam Ash, Hear Technologies, Disc Makers, Sonicbids, Musician's Atlas, Sibelius, Karian Studios, OnlineGigs, The Music Business Registry, Mediaguide, ArtistMonitor, Platinum Blue Music Intelligence, Alphabet Arm Design, George Stein, Esq., SongU, Shari's Berries, The Indie Venue Bible, and Taxi.

ISC is now accepting entries for 2008. The 2008 competition will include many new judges and a new Music Video category. Go to www.songwritingcompetition.com for more information and an entry form.