The winners of Session I of 2009 have been announced, and we here at the John Lennon Songwriting Competition are excited about our new crop of winners. As always, there were a plethora of amazing entries, and we are thrilled with the talent that always presents themselves year after year. Don't forget to check out the latest songs as well as the latest news and updates at www.jlsc.com.

David Choi, a past winner of the JLSC, continues to pursue his musical dreams at full speed. His debut album, entitled "Only You," has three bonus tracks for a special Korea edition. Be sure to pick up a copy!

Interested in the full track listing? Here it is!

1. Always Hurt
2. Love
3. Won't Even Start
4. Heart
5. Something to Believe
6. Windmill
7. Let Go
8. Our Song
9. Only You
10. Don't Fade Away
11. I Can Get Used To This
12. Thief in the Night
13. Hold On
14. Enjoy the View

Korea Edition Bonus Tracks:
1. How Long
2. We'll Make It Last All Afternoon
3. Only You (cover version)

Interested in hearing some great sounds from past JLSC winners? Then be sure to pick up a copy of Colourslide's new album, "Everybody's Right About Everybody." This exciting new release will be available in the fall.

Until then, there's plenty of time to learn more about Colourslide, a talented rock group. Their big break came when they won the $20,000 Maxell Song of the Year prize for their entry, "Wake-Up Call." Already, these JLSC winners have performed with the likes of Natasha Bedingfield, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Cheap Trick, and Blind Melon. They hope that their upcoming album will help them gain more exposure and maybe even a record deal.

Hear that, industry bigwigs? Colourslide might just be the next big thing!

The Chico News & Review recently caught up with 2008 Session One Grand Prize winner Mamadou Sidibe and his wife, Vanessa. This publication based out of Chico, CA gives the public an introduction to a truly unique musician.

Sounds of Mali Visiting string-masters take over Cafe Culture

The winner of the World Music Grand Prize at the 2008 John Lennon Songwriting Contest was a song called "Ay Masilian" by Malian songwriter/musician Mamadou Sidibe and his wife, Vanessa. The lovely, lulling song (hear it at www.musicmali.com) features Mamadou on vocals (sung in the Maliaa language of Bambar) and on an instrument called the kamel n 'goni.

The kamel n 'goni is a popular eight-string instrument that Mamadou invented as a teenager by adding two strings to the traditional donzo n 'goni. or "hunter's harp," while growing up in the Wassoulou region of southwestern Mali, in West Africa. Vanessa accompanies on vocals and karinye, a traditional meud percussion instrument played with a metal stick.

The Sidibes reside in Berkeley, where they spoke to me recently via speakerphone about their music and their upcoming appearance at Cafe Culture, one stop on a Northern California tour in support of their 2008 album. Wassoulou.

Mamadou (who moved to the United States 13 years ago) and Vanessa said they wrote "Ay Masilan" as a tribute to Mali's national football team.

"It says, 'Don't be afraid ofthe other team, don't be afraid of what's coming in your life,'" explained Vanessa, who is originally from New York, where she met Mamadou five years ago. '"If you have a clear, open heart, you don't need to be afraid.' It's written for [the team], but it's really for all people."

Mamadou pitched in, pointing out that the breezy, cheery song "Coucou Foli" (coucou is the name of a traditional Malian dance, and foli means rhythm), is a "very traditional" song from the Wassoulou area.

"Originally, 'Coucou Foli' is only djembe," said Mamadou in his thick Malian accent, referring to the sole, historical use of the West African hand drum called a djembe for the coucou dance. "So, everybody dance. Later, we add kamel n 'goni and all the other instruments."

Mamadou knows his history. In a country where written Bambara became codified enough to be taught in schools only 50 years ago, musicians, or griots, such as Mamadou have kept alive the history of Mali through their musical oral tradition.

"A lot of songs have people's names in them," offered Vanessa, "especially dead people. That's the way they get remembered."

"Fula," from the couple's 2005 album Nacama. is a playful historysong about the four most common Malian surnames: Diallo, Diakite, Sidibe and Sangare.

But, as traditional as Mamadou is, he is also a rule-breaker.

Vanessa pointed out that Mamadou, at the time he transformed the traditional hunter's harp into the kamel n 'goni, "was part of a really controversial movement to play [the instrument] in a popular music setting. Before that, it was only used in hunting."

The Sidibes' style of musical composition is a refreshing mixture of the traditional and the new. They generally take a traditional rhythm, as they did with the coucou, and add original lyrics, instrumentation and arrangements. The somewhat Asian sound they achieve is the result of the kamel n 'goni being tuned to the pentatonic scale, common to melodies from Korea. China, Japan and Vietnam.

It's a truly world-music sound, spiinning time and geography.

At one point, the irresistible Mamadou started singing an infectious percussive rhythm over the speakerphone. Vanessa joined in with a complementary rhythm on her karinye.

"It is very important to start with traditional Wassoulou rhythm as the foundation," said Mamadou.

"I think this music is coming from the heart - this is my theory," he added. "If I try to compose thc music, I am thinking 'no borders.' "

Sharing the world-class double bill at Cafe Culture will be Madou Sidiki Diabate, a 7ist-generation Malian master of thc kora, a 21string, West African lute-like instrument. Diabate's late father, Sidiki Diabate, was known world-wide as "King of the Kora."

Article provided by Christine G.K. LaPado of Chico News & Review.

For more information about current and previous JLSC winners, be sure to read our blog at the following address: http://www.johnlennonsongcontest.blogspot.com

From big purple dinosaurs and rock groups like They Might Be Giants, children's music is becoming more diverse and fun, it's also not just enjoyed by kids anymore.

On the heels of their latest release “Love Songs For Silly Things”, The Flannery Brothers will be having a record release party this Saturday July 25th at the Bangor Opera House. The brothers were interviewed for the Bangor Daily News, and expressed their tremendous gratitude for their success which was only obtainable by support from their fans. "Honestly, the best part about winning [the contest] was that I felt like the people of Bangor really stepped up to vote for us and support us." After calling Maine their home for a short time, the brothers feel as though they have made their mark in music and in their community. "“The City of Bangor is behind us. It was really touching, especially since I’ve only lived here for a year and a half. It made me feel like I am truly a part of this community. It was a really great feeling.”

To read the entire article, click here.

Quotes provided by Emily Burnham for Bangor Daily News.

For more information about current and previous JLSC winners, be sure to read our blog at the following address: http://www.johnlennonsongcontest.blogspot.com

More than a week after Brian McKnight surprised his touring partner, Matt Cusson, with the Maxell Song of the Year Prize, publications across the country are still buzzing about the jazz artist's win. Check out this article from Dealerscope, which has a great picture of Matt being presented with his prize!

For more information about current and previous JLSC winners, be sure to read our blog at the following address: http://www.johnlennonsongcontest.blogspot.com

Ever wondered what former JLSC winners have been up to? Want to receive the latest inside scoop and most recent events provided by the JLSC? Want to catch a live performance of a past winner? By visiting johnlennonsongcontest.blogspot.com, you can get all of that, and much more.