SONGS OF HOPE XIV: LET'S SING ALONG

The 14th annual Songs of Hope confab benefiting City of Hope gathered a throng of biz luminaries and raised a record-setting sum for City of Hope. Sponsored by Spotify and hosted at the KIDinaKORNER Kampus in Sherman Oaks, the event featured awards, speeches, schmoozing, little shrimp skewers and... well, let's go to the step-and-repeat banner and tell the story in pictures.

The legendary Marty Bandier poses proudly with the recipient of his Vanguard Award, Sony/ATV writer Sarah Aarons, who's worked on hits like Zedd's smash collabs with Alessia Cara and Maren Morris and David Guetta's "Don't Leave Me Alone." The Australian tunesmith is 23, by which age we had almost figured out how to make a pipe out of a Dr. Pepper can.

UMPG Chairman Jody Gerson cozies up with songwriter, first-ever She Is the Music Award recipient and RCA/TDE recording artist SZA, who spoke movingly about her extraordinary experiences over the past couple of years, Gerson's faith in her and some loved ones' encounters with cancer. She appears to have forgiven us for putting her picture on the cover of our magazine.

Industry icon Clive Davis presents his Legend in Songwriting Awards to hitmakers Benny Blanco and Mike Will Made-It. Look for a feature-length documentary about this photo very soon.

Warner/Chappell COO Carianne Marshall and SVP Theatrical & Catalog Development Kurt Deutsch flank W/C Icon of Hope Award winner and revered Broadway and film songwriter Stephen Schwartz. The three encouraged us to discontinue our drunken medley from Pippin.

The four event godfathers, Spirit Music Group CEO David Renzer, The Davis Firm owner Doug Davis, UMPG President, North America Evan Lamberg and Electronic Arts Worldwide Executive, Music Steve Schnur, gather to praise the City of Hope's incredible work just before Evan asked security to have us removed.

Schnur congratulates film-score giant James Newton Howard, who earned EA's Composer of the Year trophy. Steve later prevailed in a rap battle against a guy on the street outside.