What a Young Songwriter’s Win Can Teach Us About Building Brands People Care About 🌟
By Neil Terry, founder of Scenic Mind and Scenic Eye
A young songwriter from Portsmouth stepped onto a London stage, performed a song she had written herself and went home with a winner’s trophy.
That alone is a story worth sharing.
But spending the evening at Song Academy Young Songwriter 2026 showcase revealed something bigger: what can happen when talent, encouragement, industry experience and the right platform come together.
For Jazzy Paige, it was an important milestone. For the brands supporting the competition, it was a chance to be part of something with meaning far beyond a logo on a backdrop.
For me, photographing the evening through Scenic Eye, it brought together much of what I care about: creativity, collaboration, product thinking and helping good work become visible.
Portsmouth Talent & A Moment to Remember 🎶
Jasmine Paige, known professionally as Jazzy Paige, opened the entire showcase at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill on Saturday 3 October 2026.
Going first takes confidence. There is no opportunity to watch another finalist settle the room before your turn. Jazzy stepped into that responsibility and delivered her original song, Pretty But Not, with the assurance of someone ready to be heard.
Her introduction highlighted the honesty and vulnerability of her lyrics. Later, she was named the UK and Ireland winner in the 8 to 12 category.
More than 20 family members and supporters had traveled up to cheer her on. Their support was part of the story too. Behind a young artist taking a brave step are often people helping them believe that step is possible.
Jazzy faced a strong field: The Electronic Eagles with British Weather, Shouvik Ramgir with Crunching Yummy Veggie Love, Horatio Wilmott with Too Cool and Matteo Questa with S.O.S. (Same Old Situation).
These were original songs with individual voices. Jazzy’s success recognized her ability to write something personal and bring it confidently to the stage.
Keep an eye on her. There is something special developing here.
Song Academy & The Value of Being Heard
Song Academy gives young people a reason to create, a deadline to work towards and a place where their ideas receive attention.
The showcase, hosted by singer and presenter Tallia Storm , brought finalists together to perform with the Song Academy band. Founder Rowena Atkins and judging panel chair Emily Phillips helped reinforce the importance of original voices and the care involved in recognising them.
The wider programme includes songwriting clubs, workshops, camps, feedback and mentoring. That continuing support matters because a single performance can open a door, while regular encouragement helps an artist keep moving through it.
Watching the evening, I saw the value of giving young people space to express themselves. They were sharing ideas, taking creative risks and discovering that people wanted to listen.
For parents, schools and organisations looking to support young talent, Song Academy deserves attention.
RuthAnne’s Advice & Why Collaboration Matters 🤝
One of the most powerful moments came from Irish singer and songwriter RuthAnne Cunningham.
Her credits include JoJo’s Too Little, Too Late, Britney Spears’ Work Bitch and Niall Horan’s Slow Hands. Yet her message to the young performers was grounded in a beginning much like theirs.
She described winning a songwriting competition in Ireland at 17 and how that opportunity helped lead her to Los Angeles and a writing session with Billy Steinberg.
Looking around the room, she told the artists:
“My biggest piece of advice to you is to work together, start collaborating with each other.”
She encouraged them to notice each other’s strengths. Someone else’s guitar playing, lyrics or musical ideas might be exactly what their next song needed.
Her encouragement also recognized the creative work already happening:
“Well done for entering this competition. Well done for writing songs.”
Those words matter. Before there is an audience, an award or a successful release, someone has to make something and find the courage to share it.
For me, the wider lesson was about making time for work you love, staying curious and being open to what others can bring. Creativity grows when people have room to explore and people around them who encourage that exploration.
The Writers Behind the Hits & The Next Generation
Toby Gad brought another remarkable perspective to the evening. His songwriting credits include John Legend’s All of Me, Beyoncé’s If I Were a Boy and Fergie’s Big Girls Don’t Cry.
Hearing All of Me with Toby at the piano and the audience joining in connected the young writers with a song known around the world.
Both he and RuthAnne spoke about the importance of working with others. Their presence made that advice tangible: the people behind familiar hits were there, listening to the next generation and encouraging them to continue.
That is a valuable kind of access.
The Sponsors & A Stage Worth Supporting 🙌
The official sponsors of Young Songwriter 2026 were YouTube Music, PRS for Music , Focusrite , Soundtrap and ICMP The Institute of Contemporary Music and Performance (ICMP).
Each deserves recognition for supporting a platform where young people can develop and share original music.
Together, these names connect with important parts of an artist’s journey: reaching listeners, understanding music creators’ rights, recording ideas, making music and developing skills.
The prizes announced on the night included a recording session with producer Charlie Thomas and home studio equipment from Focusrite and Novation. Those opportunities can help the winners continue creating after the applause has ended.
From a product and brand perspective, this is meaningful context. People can see how an organisation’s support relates to the activity and community it serves.
My view is that sponsorship becomes more compelling when audiences can understand the opportunity it helps create. Here, that opportunity was visible on stage and within photography from the event.
One Evening & A Story That Can Keep Travelling 📸
My background in business analysis, product management and technology delivery has taught me to start with people: understand their experience, find what matters and build towards a useful outcome.
Those principles also shape my photography and content.
At Scenic Mind, curiosity, practical problem solving and collaboration sit at the heart of my work. Through Scenic Eye, I bring that thinking into capturing performances and telling the stories around them.
A photograph records an expression or a moment. A thoughtful article gives it context, a video lets someone who could not attend experience part of the performance.
Together, these can help an artist’s work reach new audiences, give an organisation’s activity a clearer story and recognize the partners who supported it.
That is the idea behind my visibility work: connect real experiences with useful content that people can find, understand and share.
That visibility also extends to search engines and tools such as ChatGPT. Through Scenic Mind’s work in Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), I help organisations explain their work clearly across these channels. For an event like this, it starts with original photography, accurate stories and proper recognition of the artists, organisers and sponsors.
The opportunity extends beyond one post. Event coverage can become artist profiles, sponsor acknowledgements, press material and stories for websites and social channels. Each should serve its audience and give proper credit to the people involved.
For this showcase, the purpose is straightforward: help more people discover Jazzy Paige, understand Song Academy’s work and recognize the organisations investing in young creativity.
Give Talent a Stage & Help the Story Travel
Jazzy’s trophy was a wonderful moment for Portsmouth. The evening around it showed why these platforms matter.
Young artists need opportunities to create and perform. They benefit from experienced people who listen, encourage and share what they have learned. Their supporters deserve to see those achievements celebrated.
Follow Jazzy Paige and listen to Pretty But Not on Spotify
Explore Song Academy’s programmes. If your organisation supports creative talent, tell the story of the people and opportunities behind that support.
And if you need photography, content and a practical plan to help those stories reach more people, I would welcome a conversation.
Connecting creatively through photography, design and content.
Explore Song Academy See my photography at Scenic Eye Explore Scenic Mind’s visibility work Read about Scenic Mind
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