We are excited to announce the official 2025 American Songwriter Lyric Contest judges! This year’s panel includes some of the best award-winning songwriters and industry champions of songwriting around. Read more about our judge panel below!
Sean Douglas (Producer/Songwriter)
Sean Douglas is a GRAMMY-winning songwriter and producer whose compositions span multiple genres and have accumulated 20 platinum RIAA certifications and more than 4 billion streams on Spotify. A GRAMMY Award-winner for his work on Lizzo’s Cuz I Love You album, he also co-wrote Thomas Rhett’s country smash “Die A Happy Man” which won ACM Single of The Year, Billboard’s Top Country Song, CMA’s Single of the Year, BMI’s Country Song of the Year and earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Song. Douglas teamed up with Thomas Rhett again on the #1 hit song at Country Radio, “Slow Down Summer.” Douglas has won over 12 BMI awards for hit songs including Demi Lovato “Sorry Not Sorry” and “Heart Attack”, David Guetta ft Nicki Minaj “Hey Mama”, Jason Derulo “Talk Dirty” and “Wiggle”, and Chainsmokers ft 5 Seconds of Summer “Who Do You Love”. Sean’s body of work is as diverse as almost any you’ll find in the modern music industry and includes tracks with Madonna, J Balvin, Sia, Selena Gomez, Jonas Brothers, Dan and Shay, Cynthia Erivo, Anthony Ramos, Chromeo, Ashe, Mandy Moore, and Big Boi among many others.
Trannie Anderson (Songwriter)
A product of Waco, Texas, Trannie Anderson has been a key collaborator for many artists such as Lainey Wilson, Dan + Shay, Cole Swindell, Gabby Barrett, Nate Smith, Pentatonix, Reba McEntire, and many others. She has had over 70 songs recorded & released by major label artists including Lainey Wilson’s award-winning #1 hit single “Heart Like A Truck” as well as her #1 hit single “Wildflowers and Wild Horses”.
Sara Evans (Artist/Songwriter)
Sara Evans is a multi-platinum Country music star with a career spanning nearly two decades. She has over 20 top 15 singles, including five No. 1 hits like “Born to Fly” and “A Little Bit Stronger.” Her powerful voice has earned her awards from the Academy of Country Music and nominations for GRAMMY, CMA, and Billboard Music Awards. Beyond music, Sara released her memoir Born to Fly in 2020 and hosts the podcast “Diving in Deep with Sara Evans,” where she shares personal stories and interviews. She’s also recognized for her philanthropy, including her work with the Red Cross and raising funds for music education. Sara continues to connect with fans through her music and charitable efforts.
Toby Gad (Artist/Songwriter)
Toby Gad (@tobygadmusic) has been a force in modern pop music for decades, amassing over 15 billion career streams, a Diamond Award, and two ASCAP Song of the Year Awards. After his time as a judge on DSDS (German Idol), Toby recently released his own artist project, PIANO DIARIES – THE HITS, reimagining his most iconic songs alongside today’s rising stars.
Keith Hetrick (Producer/Songwriter)
Keith Hetrick is a GRAMMY-nominated songwriter and record producer who is renowned for his collaborations with artists like Jennifer Lopez, Snoop Dogg, Boyz II Men, and Charlie Wilson. Born in Anaheim, CA and now residing in Nashville, TN, Hetrick’s career highlights include a GRAMMY nomination for his work on Charlie Wilson’s album Forever Charlie, writing Wilson’s #1 Billboard R&B hit “I’m Blessed,” writing and producing K-pop sensation Wanna One’s platinum-certified single “It’s Me (Pick Me),” and producing Jennifer Lopez’s “On My Way” for the Universal Pictures film Marry Me. Keith’s work has also led to penning international campaign songs for Pepsi and Kit Kat with Now United, a global pop group formed by Idols creator Simon Fuller. Hetrick is also committed to social causes, as seen in his collaborations with organizations like End Slavery & Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Sam Ellis (Producer/Songwriter)
Sam Ellis is a GRAMMY nominated Canadian songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who has co-written #1 hit songs such as Lady A’s “What If I Never Get Over You” and Ingrid Andress’s Grammy, ACM, CMA nominated song “More Hearts Than Mine”. He produced and co-wrote Blessing Offor’s hit song “Brighter Days” which cracked #2 at Christian radio and has secured various sync placements including “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Keeping Up With The Kardashians”. He has secured a wide range of cuts by artists including Thomas Rhett, Kane Brown, Lady A, Demi Lovato, Brett Young, Sugarland, Cory Kent, Hunter Hayes, Lauren Alaina, Chris Lane, Jake Owen, Blessing Offor, Martina McBride, Danielle Bradbery, Jordan Smith and Jacob Sartorius. His production credits include Lady A, Hunter Hayes, Ingrid Andress, Blessing Offer, Danielle Bradbery.
Z Berg (Artist/Songwriter)
Z Berg is a Los Angeles-based singer and writer. Her first band was the Mark Ronson-produced teenage girl group, The Like, followed by indie super-collective JJAMZ, then Phases. She made her debut as a solo artist with “Get Z to a Nunnery” in 2020. As a background vocalist she’s sung with everyone from Bright Eyes and Jenny Lewis to John Legend and Maroon 5 to Jacob Dylan and Bruce Hornsby. Recently she wrote and sang on the GRAMMY-nominated #1 Billboard Soundtrack, “Aurora,” of Amazon Prime’s Emmy-winning hit series Daisy Jones and the Six. Warner Records is proud to announce “Strange Darling (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” eleven songs written and performed for the film, “Strange Darling,” in theaters now.
Jon Shave (Producer/Songwriter)
GRAMMY-nominated songwriter & producer, Jon Shave has generated over 18 billion cross-platform streams & millions of record sales worldwide. Starting out with stints in the famous Xenmanaia and then co-founding The Invisible Men, Jon’s credits are diverse, vast & culturally relevant at every turn. Now out on his own, Jon has most recently worked on Charli XCX’s album ‘Brat’ & shows no sign of slowing down.
Miles Zuniga (Artist/Songwriter)
Miles Zuniga is an American musician, songwriter, and guitarist, best known as a founding member of the platinum-selling, GRAMMY-nominated Austin rock band, Fastball. From their earliest hit songs, “The Way” and “Out of My Head,” through the years Fastball has continually honed its voice and sound, which has further evolved on its new album, Sonic Ranch. Powered by the exuberant first single and video “Rather Be Me Than You,” following the album release, the band recently rolled out a music video for their critically acclaimed new single and album track, “Hummingbird.”
In addition to his work with Fastball, Zuniga has written songs with several other artists, including Spoon and The Dandy Warhols. He has also ventured into solo projects, such as his 2011 album, These Ghosts Have Bones.
Jake Gosling (Producer/Songwriter)
Jake Gosling is a multi-platinum selling, 2x GRAMMY and 2x Brit Award nominated music producer, songwriter, remixer, label manager and publisher best known for his work with artists Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, The Libertines, One Direction, Paloma Faith, Shania Twain and KSI. Jake is a multi-instrumentalist who plays keys, drums, accordion, melodian, percussion and more but, making ‘beats’ and playing with samples is what he does best. Jake likes to use a mix of analogue with digital, mixing old sounds with new technologies. Jake has his own studio, Sticky Studios, in Surrey, UK and runs an indie record label, Goldun Egg Records. More recently, he has been working with the likes of Central Cee, Digga D, Venbee, Arrdee, Tion Wayne, Dlyan, 24kGoldn.
Rodney Clawson (Songwriter)
Rodney Clawson is an award winning songwriter with 24 chart topping country radio singles to his name. The Gruver, Texas native began traveling from the family farm in Texas to Nashville to write music and signed his first music publishing deal in 2000. In his 22 year career, Rodney has had hit songs recorded by George Strait, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Morgan Wallen, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Florida Georgia Line and many more. The Texas farmer turned songwriter has earned multiple nominations for Best Country Song at the GRAMMY Awards and multiple Song of the Year nominations at CMA Awards and ACM awards. Rodney won BMI and NSAI Songwriter of the Year in 2013 and 2015. To date, Rodney has earned six CMA Triple Play Awards (writing three #1 songs in one calendar year). Rodney has achieved many milestones as a songwriter – including being inducted into the Texas Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2023 as well as writing George Strait’s highest debuting single of all time, “I Saw God Today,” earning Strait his record breaking 56th Number One and CMA Single of the Year.
Kyle Clark (Songwriter)
Kyle Clark wrote Lily Rose’s RIAA Gold-certified single “Villian,” along with songs recorded by Jon Pardi, Chayce Beckham, Mackenzie Carpenter, Erin Kinsey, Restless Road, Mitchell Tenpenny and more. In 2022, he released his viral single “Hope It’s Hot Out.” Clark has opened shows for Kane Brown, Darius Rucker, Randy Houser, Cooper Alan, Tyler Farr, and Matt Stell.
Willie Watson (Artist/Songwriter)
Willie Watson is an American Folk Singer and founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show. His debut album was released in September 2024 on Little Operation Records. This is his first album of original songs.
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