Leon Newton is considered a new songwriter while actually he has been writing songs for over ten years. It was only a couple of years ago that he decided his talent for writing could lead to commercial success.

It all started when he began entering songwriting contest and the recognition and encouragement he received motivated him to seriously consider songwriting as more than a hobby.

Although Leon has written in various genres of music; such as folk, blues, rock, rap and Christian, his main forte is country music. Leon says “I write country music because you can tell stories about life and the struggles that we all go through. In fact, if you take time to listen, you can learn a lot from country songs.”

Someone must be listening as Leon was named a top finalist in the 2007 SongOfTheYear.com competition in the country music category with his song, “Love Story.” In 2006, he received recognition for two songs he entered in the competition, “Cintia” and “Global Warming.”

Leon says of his song “Global Warming,” I wrote the song because this is a serious matter not to be taken lightly. I feel that I, as a songwriter, and including other music artists, have a responsibility to help raise public awareness on such issues. Music is an art form that can touch us and actually cause people to act.”

To Leon songwriting is more than just writing words and composing and arranging music to go with the lyrics, it is the ability to infuse life into the words and paint a picture with the music. He believes it is what we visualize and hear that makes people want to dance, act for a social cause or sit back and listen to the lyrics and enjoy the beat.

To emphasize his writing talent, Leon recently scored 8 out of 10 possible for his song, “Country On My Mind.” The honor was for evoking an emotional response from listeners and it was bestowed by CMT’s (Country Music Television) 8th Annual Nashville Songwriters Association International Song Contest.

On another note, Leon wrote a song titled “Race Car Junky” out of respect for the drivers of NASCAR and motor sports around the world, and the fans that love the sport.

Leon’s goal is to be a respectable songwriter who can create music that will inspire people, music that will move the listener. Music, that when people hear it, will recognize it as a Leon Newton song. Samples of Leon’s songs can be heard at www.cdbaby.com/cd/leonnewton and www.phonesherpa.com/leonnewt