BMI Pop Awards Name Maren Morris’ ‘The Bones’ Song of the Year; Halsey Feted as Top Songwriter

Maren Morris’ “The Bones” was named song of the year at the BMI Pop Awards, held online for the second year in a row. Halsey was named songwriter of the year in the virtual ceremony.

Sony Music Publishing was named publisher of the year by BMI for the ninth time. The publisher represented just shy of half of the songs that were being celebrated by BMI — 24 out of 50 — including “3 Nights,” “Boyfriend,” “My Oh My,” “Roses” and “The Man.”

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Morris shared her award with co-writer Laura Veltz, with whom she recorded a 10-minute video conversation about the creation of “The Bones” for BMI’s website. It represents the first BMI Pop Award for the two Nashvillians. Their song was a crossover smash and won both best single and best song at last November’s CMA Awards.

Halsey was named songwriter of the year for having four of her songs included in BMI’s list of its 50 most-performed pop hits for the year — “Nightmare,” “Graveyard,” “Be Kind” and “You Should Be Sad.” The pop star filmed a acceptance speech from her home, trophy in hand. This marked her tenth BMI Pop Award; at last year’s virtual ceremony, Halsey picked up song of the year honors.

Other songs represented among the top 50 by the performing rights organization included Dan + Shay’s “10,000 Hours,” AJR’s “Bang!,” Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now” and Taylor Swift’s “Lover.”

The full list of winners and further video clips can be found at BMI’s awards site here.

“It is an honor and a privilege to represent some of the best pop music creators in the world,” Barbara Cane, BMI’s VP of worldwide creative, said in a statement. “Their songs are groundbreaking, dynamic and inspiring, and we celebrate their dedication to craft, discipline and success. Music is today’s greatest communicator uniting us, uplifting us, and shaping our most intimate and defining memories. Today as always, BMI applauds the creativity and artistry of these remarkable songwriters.”

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