John Kelly Wilson’s “The Look” Wins June “Best Song Of The Month”

John Kelly Wilson, a country & pop songwriter based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has won the SongwriterUniverse “Best Song Of The Month” Contest for June, with his song “The Look.” Notably, he has written & recorded about 80 songs in the past year, and he’s been travcling to Nashville to co-write, record demos, and build relationships with music publishers and Nashville songwriting groups.

“The Look” is a melodic, folk-country song that draws the listener in with its intimate, appealing first verse, and then its full arrangement in the chorus. The demo an expressive lead vocal performance by Alyssa Newton, who’s a Nashville-based singer/songwriter that was featured on the NBC-TV show, Songland. “The Look” was initially recorded & produced at Wilson’s home studio in Milwaukee, and then he went to Nashville to work with Alyssa and finished the production with her.

Wilson grew up in Milwaukee, and when he was young he enjoyed listening to AM pop radio and to the hits by artists on Motown Records. However, he didn’t start writing songs or performing during his high school years. Instead of focusing on music, he attended college at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he played on the baseball team, and majored in general education.

After graduating from college, Wilson returned to Milwaukee where he began a successful career in the financial services and investment field, working at Northwestern Mutual insurance company.

It was about five years ago that Wilson decided to devote most of his time to songwriting. He started writing many songs, and he has since written & recorded about 150 demos which he has posted on his SoundCloud page. He has also posted videos of his songs on YouTube. In addition, he is working with a songplugger in Nashville who is pitching his songs for placements with artists, and for film & TV. He is still for his first major cut with an artists, but he has gotten some sync placements.

Wilson explains how he wrote his song, “The Look.” “I had written the melody, but I didn’t have the lyrics yet. Then I remembered how when you’re young and single, you could go into a bar and try to meet people. And you might see someone who catches your eye—you give them a look, and hopefully she gives you a look back. And maybe it can go deeper and you can connect and start something. We’ve all done that, and that’s where the song comes from.”

Wilson is looking forward to writing and recording many more songs. “I’m hoping to work full or part-time with a music publishing company. I like going down to Nashville and I want to co-write more. I also like networking, being a member of the Nashville Songwriters Association (NSAI) and SongTown. I’ve learned a lot from them.”