Top 10 Finalists for Guitar Center’s Singer-Songwriter Contest Announced Grand Prize includes studio time with Grammy winning producer John Shanks $10,000 and more during Live Finale Feb.18 at Hotel Café in Los Angeles

Guitar Center –the world’s largest retailer of musical instruments and equipment– announces the top ten finalists of Guitar Center Singer-Songwriter, the artist discovery program which aims to find the nation’s best unsigned singer-songwriter. Out of the more than 17,000 hopefuls, 10 finalists, hand-selected by Grammy award-winning producer John Shanks, will compete on Feb. 18 at Hotel Café in Los Angeles, where one winner will be selected to win an array of career-altering prizes including a 3-song EP produced by Shanks – whose resume boasts 60 million records sold, 43 #1 singles and 67 #1 albums with artists including Sheryl Crow, Kelly Clarkson, Keith Urban, Bon Jovi and Alanis Morissette, as well as $10,000 cash and gear from Fender, Taylor, Shure, an Ernie Ball. The 10 finalists will travel to Los Angeles to compete for the grand prize, performing live in front of judges John Shanks and Scott Igoe, music booker for Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Guitar Center Singer-Songwriter finals will be hosted by renowned music tastemaker, and music journalist Nic Harcourt. Harcourt also hosts Connections with Nic Harcourt on eclectic rock station KCSN, who will also be re-broadcasting the finale on air.

Guitar Center’s Singer-Songwriter Finalists Include:
Ashlee Willis (Los Angeles, CA)
Josh Doyle (Antioch, TN)
Paulina Faith (Durango, CO)
Maria Zouroudis (Pembroke Pines, FL)
Madilyn Bailey (Boyceville, WI)
Jacob Caraballo (Saint Cloud, FL)
Sarah Bella (Rochester Hills, MI)
Caleb McGinn (Sedgwick, KS)
Rocky Gunderson (Troutdale, OR)
Jocelyn Scofield (Los Angeles, CA)

Grand Prize List:
3-song EP with Grammy Award-winning producer John Shanks
$10,000 cash
Studio time at Converse Rubber Tracks studio in NYC
New gear from Fender, Taylor, Shure and Ernie Ball
Worldwide distribution from TuneCore including Free Album, Music Video and Global Songwriting Service

“The caliber of original songs submitted during this years’ Guitar Center Singer-Songwriter competition has been unbelievable,” said John Shanks, Grammy winning producer set to judge the final round of the competition. “I knew right away that I had to do it right, I had to listen to the entire list of submissions. With such abundant talent, just choosing the 10 finalists was tough, and now it’s time we hand-pick the ultimate winner to go on and make a record.”

“The overwhelming response that we have experienced through this years’ submission process goes to show that there is a huge pool of musicians out there that are looking for a way to have their talent discovered,” says Dustin Hinz, director of music and entertainment marketing + artist relations for Guitar Center. “We developed Singer-Songwriter as part of our continued effort to provide emerging artists with the tools and opportunity needed in an ever-changing music business. We couldn’t be happier with the results.”

Partners for Guitar Center’s Singer-Songwriter include: Shure, Fender, Taylor, Ernie Ball, TuneCore, Converse, ASCAP, Filter Magazine and Whooznxt.

for more information they can visit http://songwriter.whooznxt.com/