Credit: Eric Ryan AndersonMusic-rights organization BMI will salute Sting for achieving a historic songwriting milestone: His classic hit with his old group The Police, “Every Breath You Take,” has become the Most Performed Song in BMI’s entire catalog, which includes more than 14 million musical works.
He’ll be honored for the achievement at the 67th annual BMI Pop Awards, scheduled for May 14th at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
Amassing nearly 15 million radio plays, “Every Breath You Take” is grabbing the Most Performed BMI Song title away from the 1964 Righteous Brothers smash “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill. That song has held the distinction for the past 22 years.
BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill says in a statement, “For the first time in 22 years, BMI has a new top song in our repertoire with Sting’s timeless hit ‘Every Breath You Take,’ a remarkable achievement that solidifies its place in songwriting history.”
Sting previously was honored with the BMI Icon lifetime achievement award in 2016, the BMI Humanitarian Award in 1997 and dozens of other awards from the organization. On May 24, he’ll release a new studio album called My Songs that features updated versions of many of his memorable compositions.
In addition to honoring Sting, The BMI Pop Awards also will acknowledge the 50 most-performed songs of the past year, and will feature the presentation of the BMI President’s Award to alt-rockers Imagine Dragons, in recognition of their creative accomplishments and charitable efforts.
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