Maine songwriter Amy Allen poses for a portrait in 2024. (Jae C. Hong/Associated Press)
Maine native Amy Allen won her second consecutive songwriter of the year Grammy on Sunday afternoon.
Allen could still win two more awards later Sunday during the prime time Grammy show on CBS. She is nominated in the song of the year category for her work on “APT.” by ROSE´ and Bruno Mars and “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter. She’s nominated for album of the year for co-writing songs on “Man’s Best Friend” by Carpenter.
“This award belongs to every single songwriter out there,” Allen said, after accepting the songwriter Grammy Sunday. “To all the songwriters out there continuing to fight the good fight, thank you for teaching me and inspiring me.”
Allen also thanked the artists she’s worked with, her parents, her sisters, her manager and her boyfriend.
Allen’s nomination for the songwriter Grammy was based on her body of work over the past year, including as co-writer of Carpenter’s album, and for songs recorded by Jessie Murph, Tate McRae, Jon Bellion, Shaboozy and Sierra Ferrell, among others.
The songwriter of the year award was presented in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, during the Grammys Premiere Ceremony, which was streamed on live.Grammy.com and included a majority of the Grammy awards. The rest will be given out live on CBS Sunday night, beginning at 8 p.m.
Allen has become one of pop music’s most in-demand songwriters in the past half-dozen years, working with Sabrina Carpenter, Selena Gomez, Harry Styles and many others. She won the prestigious songwriter of the year Grammy in 2025 and has been nominated for the award three of the four years it has been in existence.
Also during the prime-time Grammy show on CBS, Auburn-area native Colin Leonard will find out if he wins a Grammy award for his work as a mastering engineer on “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” by Bad Bunny, which is nominated for album of the year and record of the year. As a mastering engineer, Leonard would get a Grammy if the recording wins in either of those categories.
Leonard, based in Atlanta, won a Grammy in 2025 for mastering “Cowboy Carter” by Beyoncé, which won album of the year. In November Leonard won a Latin Grammy for his work on the Bad Bunny album.
The other songwriters who were competing with Allen Sunday for the Grammy award were Edgar Barrera, Jessie Jo Dillon, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Laura Veltz.
Allen grew up in Windham and graduated from Waynflete School in Portland in 2010. She performed with her band, Amy and The Engine, before moving to Los Angeles around 2017 and beginning her career as a songwriter. By 2019, she had co-written the Selena Gomez hit “Back to You” and the Halsey hit “Without Me.” The latter song reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 pop chart.
Amy Allen performing with the band Amy & The Engine in 2016 at Urban Farm Fermentory in Portland. (Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer)
While writing for pop stars, she continues to write and record her own music. In September of 2024 she released a solo album, “Amy Allen,” featuring 12 songs written and performed by her over the last several years.
