Whether he’s selling a house or singing a song, a Springfield based real estate agent has claimed the ability to do both after winning the 2023 HOOKED! Songwriting Contest.
On Saturday, Sept. 23, Adam Carpenter was awarded the top prize for the song “Pardon the Mess,” which was written by Carpenter and co-writer Doug Jackson. Carpenter performed at Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater alongside nine other competitors in the 2023 contest, presented by Prince Ivan and The Nest Concert Venue.
Carpenter, who has been writing songs for the last 10 to 12 years, shared he was inspired to write “Pardon the Mess” about three months ago while showing a house.
“I went back in this back bedroom and they had this guest bedroom set up like a kids/learning area. They had a chalkboard on the wall that said ‘Pardon The Mess,’ so as soon as I saw that I was like ‘That’s a great idea for a song,’” Carpenter said. “I’ve got four little girls. The range from 2 to 12 years old, so just that title resonated with me in the phase of life that I’m in.
“I ended up bringing the idea to Doug Jackson who co-wrote it with me. He has babies as well, they’re just grown. This one, we were really quick to kind of decide the direction of the title and what the song was going to be about; which is raising babies and just slowing down and really enjoying the time that you have with your kids whenever they’re little and not worrying so much about the little things like having a messy living room for example.”
Alongside Sundi Jo Graham, Carpenter is one of the founders of the southern Missouri chapter of the Nashville Songwriter Association International. Carpenter said he first learned of the HOOKED! Songwriting Contest during one of their meetings.
“We meet once a month. So one month we meet in Springfield and the next month we meet in Branson. We were probably in our fourth or fifth meeting and that meeting happened to be the deadline to submit to HOOKED!,” Carpenter said. “Sundi brought that up at the meeting and at that meeting. I had just written ‘Pardon the Mess’ with Doug maybe a week or two before. So I was going to play that just to get some feedback. I played ‘Pardon The Mess’ at the meeting. It went really well and it felt good. I got some really positive feedback.”
When Carpenter arrived home after the meeting, he pulled into his driveway and decided to record a submission right then and there.
“It was probably 9 or 9:30, so my kids are asleep. I just got my guitar out in my car and just guitar vocals on my laptop. For that reason, I really didn’t expect to hear anything back, because I know that that was not a demo that’s going to stand out in any way,” Carpenter said. “Whenever I heard that I made the top 10 I was surprised and very anxious, because I’ve never played in front of a group of people ever. I write songs in my living room and play for close friends and family, but I’m not pursuing an artist’s career or anything like that. I just like to write songs. It’s been quite the adventure.”
The other members of this year’s Top 10 included Annie Williams, Caleb Williams, Erich Eastman, Riley Braker, Jaleesa Smith, Stephen McKay, Tucker Tillis, Travis Howard and Luke Swofford. Outside of having the chance to perform on stage at Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater, Carpenter said it was exciting to have the chance to meet the nine other songwriters who are also putting out additional content.
“It was a lot of fun to meet them and get to hear original music that I wouldn’t have had an opportunity to hear if it wasn’t for the competition and I feel like everybody’s material was really strong,” Carpenter said. “After hearing the competition and being lucky enough to come away with first, it means a lot. Overall it was just a great experience.”
The songwriting contestants performed their songs in front of a live audience and celebrity judges, including Grammy-Nominated Singer/Songwriter Billy Yates, Singer/Songwriter Mina Thomas Brett, and Musician/Producer/Musical Director David Orlando Cassivitis.
As the first place winner, Carpenter received the grand prize of $1,000, most of which will be invested into the songwriting duo’s music.
“I’ll split that with my co-writer. We wrote ‘Pardon The Mess’ a couple months ago and we have been pitching a guitar vocal to a couple different publishers. So after the competition, I messaged Doug and was like, ‘Hey man! We won!’ Because he couldn’t be there,” Carpenter said. “He responded and said that we have a publisher that’s interested in it and had requested us to make a couple of tweaks and get a demo out. We’ll use some of those funds for the demo and the rest will be split evenly amongst my four kids and wife, so there that goes. But it’s an investment into our music. It’s great.”
The proceeds from the artist’s submission fees, as well as tickets sold at the event, were all raised to benefit Elevate Branson. As of press time the official total had not yet been announced.
Reflecting upon this year’s contest, Emcee Brydon Brett of Prince Ivan shared his thoughts on the impact of the annual performances.
“HOOKED! 2023 was incredible. The best top 10 we’ve ever had and it just continues to grow. The judges were amazing, bigger prizes, great audience; we’re just so excited about this event,” Brett said. “Our goal is to grow this songwriting competition into the premiere songwriting competition in the United States and even in the world; and really help put Branson on the map as it relates to the recording industry and music industry. We’re really excited and a huge thank you to all our sponsors and everybody who helped make it happen.”
Erich Eastman received 2nd place in the 2023 contest with his song “It’ll Be Alright,” and received a $500 cash prize; and Tucker Tillis earned 3rd place for his song “Goldilocks.”
