Tipp songwriter wants your vote as he bids for glory
A Tipperary songwriter is dreaming of becoming the country’s next big music sensation after Four Star Pizza revealed the provincial winners in its nationwide Star Nation 2020 competition.
More than 300 entries from all corners of Ireland have been whittled down to just four acts who will now compete online for this year’s new People’s Choice award, before taking part in the Grand Final at The Roisin Dubh in Galway to win the overall title and a top prize of €3,000 of musical equipment from leading music store MusicMaker in Dublin.
The four regional winners, who will each receive a recording session at the famous Windmill Lane Recording Studios in Dublin.
The Munster winner is Cormac Looby from Cahir, who is a singer-songwriter with roots in folk music. He describes his writing as ‘quite introspective’ and ‘as honest as possible’, combining elements of folk with pop and rock music in the hope of creating something a little different to what you might hear on the radio today. His winning song ‘I Don’t Need Your Love' has already received considerable radio play in the UK and Ireland and now Cormac is hoping that it will also be the stepping stone to further success in the Star Nation 2020 competition.
"A neighbour of ours told my mam she read about the competition in the newspaper, so I threw in an application,” said Cormac. “The prizes looked unbelievable but I didn't think I had too much of a chance, so you can imagine how surprised I was when I got the call to say I was the Munster winner!
“I'm massively looking forward to the rest of the competition. I never quite made the grade in rugby but hopefully I can drive on now and bring this title back for Munster!”
All four provincial winners will receive a one-day recording session at the renowned Windmill Lane Recording Studios, following in the footsteps of artists like David Bowie, Lady Gaga, U2, Van Morrison, Kylie Minogue, Depeche Mode, The Rolling Stones, New Order, The Spice Girls, Kodaline and Snow Patrol… to name but a few.
This year’s competition will also see them compete on social media for the new ‘People’s Choice’ award in which the public will vote for one of the four finalists to perform at the prestigious Ruby Sessions in Dublin, which has hosted the likes of Ed Sheeran, Damien Rice, Paul Brady, Hozier and many more.
Voting for the People’s Choice Award will start on Monday (August 3rd) at 5pm on Four Star Pizza’s Facebook and Instagram (@fourstarpizza) pages and will run until midday on August 17th. Voting for your favourite artist will also get you a 5% discount on your next pizza order!
Finally, all four acts will perform live at the Grand Final at The Roisin Dubh in Galway on September 12th – where the overall winner will walk away with the voucher for €3,000 of musical equipment courtesy of renowned Irish music store MusicMaker, once described by Glen Hansard as ‘a vital artery in the Dublin rock scene’ and the place where famous acts like U2, Blondie, Muse, Manic Street Preachers and The National come to browse when they’re in town.
Four Star Pizza Communications Executive Christina Hamilton said: “I’d like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who entered Star Nation 2020 and to say a massive congratulations to our four regional finalists!
“We were completely overwhelmed by the record number of entries we received from local songwriters and musicians across the country. The standard was incredibly high and to select just four winning entries has been an almost impossible task. Our chosen finalists are all amazing and I’m sure they will each represent their province well."
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