Union resident DaVido and Edward B. Kessel are among the recipients of the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts’ Communicator Awards of Distinction in the Audio Production/Original Music category. The winning entry is a song written by DaVido and Kessel, entitled “Just Say Merry Christmas”.
The 22nd Annual Communicator Awards drew over 6,000 entries from across the US and around the world. It is the largest and most competitive awards program honoring creative excellence for communications professionals.
DaVido, of Union, NJ, is a composer, vocalist and entertainer. He had reached out to another New Jersey native, award• winning Composer/Producer Kessel, to help finish writing the song. Kessel arranged and produced it in his Springfield, NJ studio, where DaVido performed the lead vocal. Kessel, president of renowned production company Sound Imagination, has written, arranged and produced Top 40 songs, orchestrated music for such Broadway shows as “A Tale of Two Cities”, and composed music for film scores, TV soundtracks, jingles and commercial scores. He won five Communicator Awards and two Telly’s this year alone.
“When DaVido played me a rough version of the song with his guitar, I knew it was special and the song had a fresh message that was perfect for the times,” said Kessel.
DaVido said, “I usually don’t try and get political with my music; I leave that up to greats like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, but this just struck a chord inside my soul. ‘Just Say Merry Christmas’ shows exactly what I want to say about the politically correct, incorrect world we are living in today.”
The Communicator Awards are judged and overseen by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA), a 600+ member organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media.
Link to song: https://vimeo.com/149909215
(above l – r) Edward B. Kessel and DaVido
