A singer and songwriter from Nottingham has won an international song contest with her latest single. Sharon Watkins, from West Bridgford, was shocked to learn she had won the competition after making it through eight gruelling rounds of the contest.
Sharon wasn't sure she would make it past the first round but went on to win not only the pop category but the overall contest. The Song of the Summer competition, which is run by California-based company 'Artist Republik', had more than 10,000 entries mainly from the US with a prize of over $1,000 cash.
"Artist Republik who run the competition support a lot of artists as they are a promotion company in the US. The level of songs that went into this competition was incredible. I feel really lucky to have won it and have the amazing support from people who voted to carry us through the rounds. It feels unreal," Sharon said.
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Sharon has a background in music - other family members are also in the industry. Her brother, Sammy J Stopford, is a professional touring musician who took time off his own career to help out with the track.
"I grew up in a house that was full of musicians including my dad and siblings. When I was in my teens, I would write songs with my brother who went on to become a professional drummer. We went through a hard time together and made a pact that we would finally record our songs and make an album," she said.
"We laid down a 10-track album at Superfly Studios in Nottingham and it was only meant to be a fun project that lifted us out of what had been a really bad time for both of us. Then we released our first single at the beginning of this year and it did better than we ever expected. We thought maybe 100 listeners on Spotify but we have over 20,000 streams now. We have nearly a quarter of a million views on YouTube too."
Sharon saw the contest advertised and decided to submit the song, 'Stranded', for consideration. She said there was so much support from fans, friends and also those involved in the project that it helped the song gain momentum. Songs could be entered so long as they fit one of five genres of music including rap, hip-hop, EDM, Latin, rock, metal or pop.
"We did a bit of social media but didn't expect to get anywhere with it at all but we got through more and more of the rounds. It was a bit brutal as they got rid of all the people in the bottom every week so you got through if you managed to stay in the Top 25."
When it came to recording the song, Sharon and her brother Sammy collaborated with producer Sam Miller who has worked with The Hoosiers and One Direction and saxophonist “Bebee” Aldridge who has worked with Gary Barlow and Macklemore. The duo wrote the track during the pandemic and it was inspired by boats stuck in the mud waiting for a tide to carry them out.
The aim was to capture the sense of global excitement around re-emerging into society after lockdown. Sharon describes their influences as varied.
"It ranges from everything from Paul McCartney, The Beatles to The Stones Roses through to the more pop stuff. It's a real range and I think our album and the songs we have released so far really express that electric influence."
The music is available on Spotify but also on Sharon's social media including Instagram and her music videos are up on YouTube. "We have eight more songs that we haven't released yet but we are aiming to release at least half of those singles. Our next one will be released at the end of October and it will have a contemporary dance music video to go with it. We've always enjoyed the official music video side so we wanted to continue that," she said.
"The first two singles have a huge amount of Nottingham talent involved in those along with the venues and locations we feature in them. We want to do the same with the other songs and singles."
A statement on the website of the promoters describes the competition. It reads: "Show off your skills and compete against thousands of artists in front of hundreds of thousands of fans to prove your song is the Song of the Summer."
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