Thea Hopkins

Winning the Great American Song Contest introduced Thea Hopkins to many welcome opportunities. “It’s been such a great experience,” she says. “It’s super-charged my ambition and opened doors. I’m honored and grateful.” A member of Native Arts & Cultures Foundation and Folk Alliance International, Thea is busy assembling an impressive lineup of musicians for new performance and recording projects. “The pandemic has been hard on us all,” she says. “Now I feel energized and eager to start playing and recording again.”Connect to Thea via FaceBook

James Kelso
James Kelso was unsure about pursuing the life of a recording artist, but winning the Christian category in the Great American Song Contest helped him with the decision. “Opportunities followed quicky,” he says, “and as doors started opening I felt very encouraged to try.” James has since committed to a summer concert series. He’s working with supportive collaborators to record new songs. He has his own Pandora channel – and his excellent music video “One Eighty” supports the organization One Eighty, “to bring hope, love and opportunity to people and communities impacted by crises, poverty or addition.” Connect to James via FaceBook

Sarah Spencer
Sarah Spencer appreciates the collaborative process of songwriting – and it’s worked beautifully for her. The accomplished Nashville songwriter is First-Place winner in the Country category of the 2020 Great American Song Contest for her song “Hurricane After You,” written with veteran tunesmith John Cirillo. In 2019 Sarah and John joined with Troy Castellano to write their Grand-Prize winning song “Lost Amen.” Sarah has since founded Songfancy.com to encourage and empower other female songwriters. “I feel so lucky to work with such amazing and brilliant people. It’s an honor to share what I’ve learned to inspire others on their songwriting journeys.”

Angela Sclafani
Songwriter and performance artist Angela Sclafani is eager to move ahead with new projects and songs. Following her win in the Great American Song Contest, Angela says she’s gained rejuvenated confidence to move forward promoting Passion Project: Love Songs From Women To Their Work. Angela is also developing “The Other Side of Paradise,” her Broadway musical based on the life of Zelda Fitzgerald and directed by Hunter Bird.

Ian Flanigan

Ian Flanigan is riding high with a 2021 performance with Blake Shelton on NBC’s The Voice – and his great new single “Grow Up.” From a finalist in the Great American Song Contest Ian’s musical trajectory has been stellar. “It’s an amazing journey,” he says. “I’m so grateful to so many people for their encouragement and support. It’s like a dream come true.” Connect to Ian via FaceBook

Check out Ian’s performance with Blake Shelton on NBC’s The Voice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooMs8hwFlS0

Marla Lewis
Great American Song Contest winner Marla Lewis went on to sign with a Nashville publishing firm. She co-wrote “Leap of Faith” with Nancy Schimme for the Grammy-Winning “All About Bullies…Big and Small” album, honored as Best Children's Recording at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. Marla specializes in Children's music and supports the Songs of Love Foundation. Her excellent CDs are available at:: MarlaLewis.com

Olivia Foa'i
Olivia Foa'I was just 16 as a finalist in the Great American Song Contest. Now she’s a YouTube star creating innovative dance and music videos for her million fans. The daughter of Te Vaka leader Opetaia Foa'i ' – who wrote songs for the hit Disney film “Moana” with “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda – Olivia also sings the opening song in the film.

Kevin Beadles

It was a memorable year for Kevin Beadles when he won the Great American Song Contest. His song “This Might Get Loud” was featured on YouTube, his fan base surged and thousands were introduced to his music.  “I’m so grateful for the opportunities from Great American Song Contest”, he says. “The experience was a giant boost to my confidence and songwriting.” Kevin has since recorded with famous band members from Peter Gabriel and Jackson Browne (Robert M. Powell,) Celine Dion and Hall & Oats (Jimmy Hobson) and Van Morrison (Jef Labes.) Released in 2021, his new single "Part of Her Act" is now available through his website and streaming on Pandora, Spotify and Apple Music. Connect to Kevin via FaceBook

Heather LaRose

Selected as finalist in the Great American Song Contest, Heather LaRose seized on new confidence to expand her career forward. “I’m so excited to be honored in this wonderful event,” Heather says. “A big thank you to the judges who listened and encouraged me.”

Heather’s music has since been featured in Forbes magazine and Rolling Stone. Her new single “Kerosene” has over 40,000 views on YouTube and her excellent EP Beachside continues to receive enthusiastic reviews. Connect to Heather via FaceBook

GASC Win Leads To Publishing Contract For Duo
Russ and Lynn Case have signed a publishing deal with Weaver of Words Music Group (BMI). The publishing company contacted the songwriting duo as a result of their First-Place showing in the Country category of the Great American Song Contest. "We really appreciate this opportunity," Lynn told local media. "We highly recommend the Great American Song Contest to songwriters who are serious about taking their songwriting to the next level." Their website address is: showCASEsongs.com

Giulio Carmassi
Following his win in the Great American Song Contest, composer Giulio Carmassi signed with A&M Records, released a music video with Emmy Rossum for Geffen Records and produced songs with Decca Records recording artist Tommy Wallach. Giulio performed on America's Got Talent and scored movies by directors John Turturro and Alan Cumming. Most recently he was invited by Grammy Award winning recording artist Pat Metheny to join the Pat Metheny Unity Band. "Winning the Great American Song Contest was great for my confidence," he says. "It made me feel encouraged to pursue my ambitions in the music business."

GASC Winner Gets Top Producer

When songwriter Shawn Vougeot was selected as a winner in the Great American Song Contest, she knew good things were going to happen. She was right! Shawn recorded her winning song "Walls Of Glass" and soon connected with producer Matt "The Doctor" Fink, who has three Grammy Awards and numerous RIAA Awards for his work on Prince and the Revolution. Shawn's co-writer, Dave Pickell, has found success working with Bryan Adams, Lara Fabian and Anne Murray.

"Winning the Great American Song Contest has given me numerous press interviews, inroads to film music supervisors' desks and really boosted my confidence as a songwriter." - Shawn Vougeot

Guitarist-Composer Tops JazzWeek Charts
After Jim Robitaille won the Great American Song Contest Instrumental category, he was named the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Composers Competition winner. His excellent "To Music" album hit the top of JazzWeek's Chartbound listings.

Cyndi Lauper Welcomes GASC Winner
Since music-industry judges selected her as a winner in the Great American Song Contest, Jennifer Marks has made huge strides in her career. She's been featured on television entertainment programs, including ABC News and Live On Fox 5 (NYC). She's been invited to tour with Cyndi Lauper and continues to create excellent music. Her latest is featured on CD Baby.

GASC Winner Plays Kerrville Festival
Grand Prize winner of the Great American Song Contest, Jim Bizer has received rave reviews ("... winner of the Great American Song Contest, and understandably so..." says Terry Lawson of Detroit Free Press) and recorded outstanding albums of original songs. Bizer has also been invited to perform at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival.

Patti Witten Featured On SIBL Project
Patti Witten won Grand Prize in the Great American Song Contest and went on to record excellent albums of original songs. "Goin' Back to Moline" was added to the Songs Inspired By Literature Chapter Two project, with songs by David Bowie, Tom Waits, Rosanne Cash and Steve Earle. The Artists For Literacy CD is used for teaching literature.

GASC Winner Places Song In MTV Series
Judges in the Great American Song Contest were right when they said Rock category winner Jason Atkinson "has the kind of highly skilled songwriting talent that music-industry reps notice." Jason soon found opportunities in film and television, placing his song "She's All That" in an episode of MTV's Undressed. He's also composed the score for a short film by director Jeffery Cools, entitled A Thousand Words.

Pop Winner Proves A Popular Performer
Since winning the Pop category in the Great American Song Contest, Jen Foster has gone on to produce two great albums. The Texas-born songwriter performs about 80 shows a year and has opened for Sophie B. Hawkins, Crash Test Dummies and Lisa Loeb.

Winning Songwriter Wows GASC Judges
Judges in the Great American Song Contest praised the songs of Lisa Housman as "dazzling" and "remarkably original". "It was incredibly helpful to get that kind of validation early in my career," says Lisa. "Shortly after the contest, one of the judges wrote me a nice note and gave me the name of her music publisher." Lisa now performs with songwriter Dave Falk and together they've shared festival stages with such noted performers as Kris Delmhorst, Carrie Newcomer, Christine Lavin, and Dave Carter & Tracy Grammar.