Pitbull wins pop songwriter prize

Los Angeles: Cuban-American rapper Pitbull was named as one of three pop songwriters of the year at the BMI Pop Music Awards, handed out each year by US performing rights organization Broadcast Music Inc. Pitbull shared the honour with American songwriter and producer Benny Blanco and American singer-songwriter Ester Dean, while "Firework" (co-written by Dean and Sandy Vee) was designated the pop song of the year, a press release said Wednesday. The 60th edition of the BMI Pop Awards took place Tuesday night at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Pitbull was recognized for five songs on the most-performed list: "DJ Got Us Fallin` In Love", "Give Me Everything", "Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)", "I Like It" and "On the Floor". On March 30, Pitbull was awarded the coveted BMI President`s Award for his influence in the world of entertainment. In that same awards ceremony, he was named co-winner of the BMI Latin Songwriter of the Year prize along with Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel. IANS