A SOUTHAMPTON singer songwriter has scooped two international songwriting awards.

Joe Brooks, who has recently returned to his home in Shirley after nearly a decade living in Los Angeles, has won both The John Lennon Songwriting Award and The International Songwriting Contest for tracks from his latest album I Am Bones.

The contests attract up to 16,000 entries and boast acclaimed panels of industry judges including Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Keane, Bastille and Fergie.

The winning songs, All of Your Colours and the title track I Am Bones are both heartbreak-laden songs from the album, a reflection on love and loss.

During the last ten years, Joe has toured the world several times over, selling out shows on four continents, performing in the saw dust covered bars of middle America and to 15,000 Koreans in Seoul’s Olympic Park.

He has over 30 million video views on Youtube and 15 million streams on Spotify and Joe’s latest album, which was released last summer following a three year hiatus, was played by Steve Lemaq on BBC Radio 2.

Born and bred in Southampton, 30-year-old Joe got his first taste of fame as a St Mark’s Junior School pupil playing the scarecrow in the school production of The Wizard of Oz!

Starting as a Myspace musician, Joe released two independent EPs and was hyped as the Number 1 Unsigned UK Artist.