Maine native Amy Allen on Sunday night won the Grammy Award for Songwriter of the Year, becoming the first woman to win in that category and the first Mainer to win in a major Grammy category.
The 33-year-old Allen, who grew up in South Portland and Windham, was nominated for her work on Sabrina Carpenter’s smash hit album “Short n’ Sweet,” for which she co-wrote all the songs, as well as for work with artists including Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Timberlake and Leon Bridges.
Allen was nominated for four Grammy Awards this year in total, including Album of the Year for “Short n’ Sweet,” Song of the Year for Carpenter’s “Please Please Please,” and Best Song for Visual Media for the song “Better Place” from the movie “Trolls Band Together.” The songwriter Grammy was her only win this year.
During her acceptance speech at Sunday’s ceremony, she mentioned that she began writing songs while growing up in Maine.
“The child in me that was starting writing songs when I was little in Maine on my bed is screaming and crying and laughing at the absurdity of this moment,” she said.
Allen attended the Waynflete School in Portland, where she graduated in 2010, and later attended Boston College and Berklee College of Music. A talented musician from a young age, as a child she performed around southern Maine with the longtime Maine bluegrass band the Jerks of Grass, and later formed her own band, Amy and the Engine, which performed around New England.
In 2017, Allen relocated to Los Angeles, and quickly began writing songs and producing music for other artists, beginning with Selena Gomez’s album “Back To You,” and Halsey’s 2018 No. 1 hit “Without Me.” In 2019, she co-wrote Harry Styles’ chart-topping single “Adore You,” the second single off his album “Fine Line.” She is signed with Warner Music.
Allen was previously nominated for Songwriter of the Year in 2023, and has already won one Grammy Award, for Styles’ album “Harry’s House,” which won Album of the Year in 2023.
