Honors for Songwriter of the Year were shared by global superstars Khalid and Post Malone, who each penned four of BMI’s top-performing songs of 2019. Khalid’s “Beautiful People,” “Better,” “Eastside” and “Talk” dominated the airways and the charts, alongside Post Malone’s “Goodbyes,” “Jackie Chan,” “Sunflower” and “Wow.”
“Talk” earned over 186 million streams on Spotify, making Khalid the most listened to artist on the platform, and was GRAMMY nominated for Record of the Year.
Post Malone teamed up with songwriter Swae Lee for “Sunflower,” which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted in the top ten for 33 weeks. The single received two GRAMMY nominations for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Post Malone was also named BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter of the Year in 2019.
Haley’s “Without Me,” co-written by pop powerhouse Halsey and singer/songwriter Delacey, was awarded Song of the Year, nabbing Halsey her sixth BMI Pop Award and the first for Delacey. A reflection on lost love and one-sided relationships, the single marked the first time Halsey ditched her moniker and wrote under her given name, Ashley Frangipane. The intimate lyrics and departure from her character resonated with fans, driving the mega-hit to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Halsey’s first number-one single as a lead artist.
Other songs and artists honored were Taylor Swift’s “ME!” (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco) co-written by GRAMMY Award-winner Joel Little, the Billboard Hot 100 mega-smash “7 Rings” co-written by Tayla Parx, Michael Foster and Kaydence, top-charting single “Sucker” co-written by Mustafa Ahmed, Adam “Frank Dukes” Feeney, Homer Steinweiss and co-written and performed by the Jonas Brothers, “Done For Me” co-written by John Ryan and co-written and performed by hitmaker Charlie Puth, and Marshmello’s “Happier,” which spent a record 69 weeks at number one on the US Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Additional award-winners include P!nk, Camila Cabello, Billy Ray Cyrus, Teddy Geiger, Lady Gaga, Lizzo, Bazzi, Ricky Reed, Young Thug, Mark Ronson and more.
