Archives For The John Lennon Songwriting Contest

EXCLUSIVE: Indie Duo Scores John Lennon Song Of The Year Honors

Ralphie Aversa  —  07/31/2018 — Leave a comment

For the fifth consecutive year, I had the honor of revealing the John Lennon Songwriting Contest $20,000 OWC Song Of The Year grand prize winner. The song is chosen by an executive panel of judges that include Fergie, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kevin Bacon, Switchfoot, Prince Royce and many others. Matthew Reich, Vice President of Tours and Promotions for the JLSC and John Lennon Educational Tour Bus joined me for the call. Fees from the songwriting contest, which is currently open to both amateurs and professionals, benefit the Lennon Bus – a state-of-the-art studio on wheels.

You can enter your song now at jlsc.com.

This year’s winner was the song “Breaking Things” which emerged from the contest’s pop genre. The co-writers, Jasmine Crowe and Josh Anderson receive the $20,000 in addition to other prizes they’ve accumulated throughout the contest thanks to supporters such as OWC, Yamaha, Neutrik, Audio-Technica, Genelec, Disc Makers, Focusrite, K&M and more.

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EXCLUSIVE: The John Lennon Songwriting Contest $20,000 Song Of The Year Winner

Ralphie Aversa  —  08/06/2017 — Leave a comment

For the fourth consecutive year I teamed up with The John Lennon Songwriting Contest, a year-long international event open to both amateurs and professionals, to announce the winner of the $20,000 Song Of The Year. Winners receive cash in addition to prizes from Yamaha, Audio Technica and others.

This year, the grand prize winning song came from the country category: “Alcoholiday,” a track penned by Andrew Peebles, Brett Sheroky and New Jersey native Joe Fox.

Check out the announcement, the $20,000 Song Of The Year and the full press release below.

Via JLSC.com: Joe Fox, Andrew Peebles and Brett Sheroky were announced as the winners of the coveted John Lennon Songwriting Contest ‘Song of the Year’ for their original song “Alcoholiday.” The announcement was made on 95.5 PLJ in New York with radio host Ralphie Aversa.

As ‘Song of the Year’ winners, songwriters Andrew Peebles, Brett Sheroky & Joe Fox won $20,000 in cash in addition to prizes from Audio-Technica, Yamaha, Other World Computing (OWC), Genelec, Disc Makers, Digital Media Academy, Neutrik and more. They have also received other prizing throughout 2016 after winning both the Lennon Awards and the Grand Prize packages in the Country category. The song was selected to win the top prize by the John Lennon Songwriting Contest’s Executive Committee of Judges, consisting of legendary and contemporary superstars such as Fergie, Prince Royce, George Clinton, Matthew Koma, American Authors, Switchfoot, Bootsy Collins & more.

A total of over $300,000 in cash awards and prizes will be distributed this year by the year-round John Lennon Songwriting Contest, which is open to both amateur and professional songwriters. Visit JLSC.COM for more information about the contest and to enter for your chance to become the next ‘Song of the Year’ winner. Entry fees from the contest help support the non-profit John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.

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PHOTOS: A NJ Wedding, Nashville And Back In 36 Hours

Ralphie Aversa  —  10/17/2015 — Leave a comment

I have had a lot of great weekends as of late, as I’ve broken out the “#RalphieOTRA” hashtag and traveled to a number of different cities; many of which I visited for the first time in my life. This past weekend included one of those trips, along with a few experiences in the tri-state area that I won’t soon forget.

To get a proper feel for the three day stretch I had, we should probably rewind to Friday. The details are covered in this Facebook post, but here are some of the highlights courtesy of my Instagram and Twitter.

First – a quick recap via Twitter.


Let’s expand on a few things… THE DEVILS, A PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY TEAM, GAVE ME A JERSEY!


I hosted the Devils Opening Night Red Carpet at the team’s Fan Fest outside of Prudential Center. Big thanks to the Devils along with Kerry and the PruCenter PR Team for the invite and hospitality.

I also was invited by my friends at the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and Lennon Bus to the “Imagine Party,” celebrating John’s 75th birthday. Here’s me, VP of U.S. Tours and Promotions Matthew Reich and his band, the Command Sisters.


Saturday – off to Garfield, N.J. for Mike Allan’s wedding!


Obviously the photo does not do these two justice.


We had the whole crew there. I’m not sure why Jesse, from our sister station NASH FM, was standing here.


How I made it to LaGuardia to take this selfie and catch my 8:20 am flight after that night is beyond me.


Albeit delayed, I made it to the game. Big thanks to Cumulus Nashville for a great first experience at Nissan Stadium. Bills won!

A photo posted by Ralphie Aversa (@ralphieaversa) on


Things I tried in Nashville: A Bushwacker. It’s like a Wendy’s Frosty but with alcohol. So, it’s Heaven.


I also visited a ton of bars up and down Broadway. Lots of live music and libations, zero cover charges.


After about three hours of sleep, I hopped on a plane headed back to the greatest city in the world, but left with some fond memories of Nashville. Last #RalphieOTRA trip for a while is next weekend – Syracuse!

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AUDIO: The 2014 John Lennon Songwriting Contest ‘Song Of The Year’ Winner Announced

Ralphie Aversa  —  07/30/2015 — Leave a comment

For the second straight year, The John Lennon Songwriting Contest called upon “Ralphie Tonight” to announce the winner of its year-long, international songwriting competition. This year’s “Song Of The Year” winner was “Dysphoric,” a track by Barrington, R.I.-based quartet The Rare Occasions.
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Each year, the contest is divided in to a pair of sessions. Over $300,000 in cash and prizes is awarded, culminating with the “Song Of The Year,” which includes a $20,000 prize.

Brian Rothschild, Execuitve Director of The JLSC and Matthew Reich, Vice President of U.S. Tours and Promotions, along with American Authors’ front man Zac Barnett joined “Ralphie Tonight” for the announcement. Barnett’s band won the contest in 2012. Read more from The JLSC’s press release here, and check out the interview and winning song below.

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