The Songwriters of North America honored creators and businesspeople they consider leaders in the industry at the annual SONA Warrior Awards on Sunday night, celebrating Raye, Thomas Scherer, Ross Golan, Willie “Prophet” Stiggers and the late Andrea Martin at LA’s Cultural Center Skirball.

Songwriters Shane Stevens (Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande) and Bonnie McKee (Katy Perry, Britney Spears) hosted the evening, and presenters included Benny Blanco, Sylvia Rhone, David A. Stewart of Eurythmics, songwriter Michael Sabath and ASCAP- President Paul Williams. Golan, Siedah Garrett and Melanie Fiona were among the performers.

SONA CEO Michelle Lewis said: “I was so excited to celebrate the 2024 Warrior Awards accolades in front of a packed and enthusiastic house of songwriters and the people who love us. We’re often in the background, but the songwriters and composers are a brilliant, funny and entertaining bunch with a lot to say. And we clean up well. By shining the spotlight and pointing microphones at us, it was an inspiring and meaningful evening.” (Lewis is pictured above with Stewart and Scherer.)

Raye accepts her award via video after being introduced by Sabath. The rising British star had a good reason for not making it in real life: She was booked for a live performance on prime-time TV that same night, singing a James Brown classic during the 50th anniversary special of the American Music Awards . Raye made history last March by winning six of the seven Brit Awards she was nominated for, becoming the first woman ever to win the songwriter of the year trophy there. She is a strong contender to get a Best New Artist nomination for the upcoming Grammys.

Paul Williams introduced Sylvia Rhone, Epic’s chairman-CEO, who presented a Warrior Award to Martin’s family. Fiona, who had a hit with the Martin-penned ‘It Kills Me’, paid tribute to the late songwriter, whose songs also included R&B hits for stars such as Toni Braxton (‘I Love Me Some Him’), En Vogue ( ‘ Don’t Let Go”) and Monica (“Before You Walk Out of My Life”).

Dave Stewart presented a Warrior Award to Scherer, who spent nearly three decades at BMG and parent company Bertelsmann as an artist, songwriter, music publisher, producer, label owner and manager. Having already served as president of music publishing in North America, Scherer was named president of worldwide catalog recordings by the company earlier this year.

In an entertaining speech, the Eurythmics co-founder said: “He is someone who listens and not someone who waits impatiently to say his piece. And when he says something, it’s truthful, unifying, kind and helpful – kind of like Oogway from ‘Kung Fu Panda.’”

He continued: “Everything Thomas and I discussed during my tenure was done, (including) building an app that allowed writers to see their earnings in a fairly transparent way. The artists we loved and talked about had their songs slowly become part of BMG’s vast catalogue. Thomas became a juggernaut, an unstoppable force that brought writers together to collaborate in meaningful ways.”

Songwriter, producer and record executive Blanco (Maroon 5, Justin Bieber) presented a Warrior Award to Golan, a fellow songwriter-producer and host of the songwriter-focused podcast “And the Writer Is…” Golan is known as a strong advocate for writers, who played a role in passing the Music Modernization Act, as well as adding songwriters to the Album of the Year category at the Grammys and abolishing the 33% rule. After accepting his award, Golan performed a song he co-wrote for Ariana Grande, “Dangerous Woman.”

The final honor of the evening was Stiggers, aka “Prophet,” the co-founder and CEO-president of the Black Music Action Coalition, a powerful force in the industry committed to racial equality and justice for Black creatives and executives.

Garrett ended the evening at the Skirball with a performance of what is perhaps her signature song: “Man in the Mirror,” the Michael Jackson hit she co-wrote.