The 36th annual 2019 ASCAP Pop Music Awards is shaping up to be a can’t-miss event on the music industry calendar. The slate of hitmaking talents that will be lauded at the invitation-only celebration in Beverly Hills on May 16 includes iconic songwriter and ELO mastermind Jeff Lynne, who will receive the ASCAP Founders Award, and punk/pop pioneers Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke of Blondie, who will accept the ASCAP Golden Note Award. Additionally, pop/alternative phenomenon Billie Eilish and her collaborator/producer (and brother) FINNEAS will take home the ASCAP Vanguard Award.
Jeff Lynne is a Grammy award winner, prolific songwriter, record producer and co-founder of ELO. Whether as part of ELO, co-founder of the Traveling Wilburys, or writing and producing for such artists as Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Brian Wilson or Tom Petty, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member has written some of the 20th century’s most beloved pop hits. Songs like “Mr. Blue Sky,” “Don’t Bring Me Down” and “Learning to Fly” — the list goes on — have won Lynne a cherished place in the hearts of pop fans around the world. Between 1972 and 1986, Lynne wrote and produced twenty Top 40 hits and fifteen Top 20 smashes in the U.S. ELO has sold over 50 million records worldwide.
Front-woman Harry and guitarist/conceptual mastermind Stein have been with 1980s game-changers Blondie since the beginning, as has drummer Burke, whose powerhouse playing always distinguished Blondie’s sound. Harry’s persona, and the band’s boundary-pushing pop, shaped the look and sound of many chart-topping female artists who followed in the last three decades, from Madonna to Lady Gaga to Katy Perry. The iconic group has sold 40 million records including timeless hits “Heart of Glass,” “Rapture,” “Dreaming” and “Call Me,” and the band’s influence continues to inform the worlds of music, fashion and art.
The sister/brother team Billie Eilish and FINNEAS have been collaborating and releasing music together since 2015. Eilish has gone on to become a global superstar, shattering many records since the March 29 release of her debut album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? (Darkroom/Interscope). The album reached #1 in North America, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Norway and Finland and is now the biggest debut of the decade (male, female or group) in the US, the second-biggest of 2019 for any album, shifting 313,000 units in the first week. The debut full-length also hit #1 on Apple Music in 70 countries and iTunes in over 60 countries across the world, surpassing Apple Music’s previous record and is currently the most ever pre-added album since the music platform launched. FINNEAS is Billie’s sole collaborator and producer, and solo artist in his own right. With a string of single releases under his belt and sold out shows across the U.S, the 21-year-old Los Angeles native is setting his sights on writing and producing for other well-known artists, as well as releasing more solo material later this year.