Supporters can now cast votes for their favorite contestants. They can submit one vote per person per day through April 25 at 11:59 p.m. PST by logging in to the Hit Like A Girl website.

Read more: Miley Cyrus becomes the third woman to achieve decade-spanning Spotify record

This year’s contest features a strong group of musicians from across the globe. The contest is open to all women, girls and gender expansive individuals. There are no age limits because the international contest is broken down into four age groups: under 13, 13-17, 18-39 and over 40. The Beatmaking category includes under 18 and over 18.

The contestants include U.S.-based drummer Isabelle De Leon, who is competing in the 18-39 age bracket. Raised in a musical family and trained in jazz at the University of Maryland, De Leon has played in a number of successful bands including Ivy Rose and IZA FLO. De Leon was also invited to participate in Oprah Winfrey’s 2020 Vision: Your Life In Focus tour with the band Daybreaker. For her submission, De Leon added a frenetic drum part over the mellow “Avengers” from drumless track site shedtracks.com.

Russian drummer Elizaveta Yurina, aka Liza is also competing in the 18-39 category. Yurina began playing drums 10 years ago and now currently teaches students in addition to performing. While she mainly focuses on metal music, Liza submitted a funky high-intensity cover of Cardi B’s “Up.”

Read more: 41 women empowerment anthems that should be played as loud as possible

The pair will face off against Montserrat Iñiguez Macias. Also known as Montse IM, the drummer was born Guadalajara, Mexico and studies music production at Berklee School of Music. Additionally, Montse regularly posts videos to her TikTok. For her entry, Montse IM submitted a cover of Miley Cyrus’ “Prisoner” featuring Dua Lipa, replacing the track’s electronic beats with a low-key drum groove.

Additionally, the 18-39 category features Julia Stixx, a Las Vegas-based studio musician and touring drummer. Stixx is a veteran of the punk and metal scene, having played with a number of groups in the D.C. and Las Vegas area including Flirting With Disaster and her current band Metal Lixx. Stixx cites a number of drummers as key influences, including Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain and Avenged Sevenfold’s late drummer James “The Rev” Sullivan, who passed away in 2009. For that reason, it’s no surprise she submitted a performance of Avenged Sevenfold’s “Almost Easy,” making the song’s powerful drum part even more prominent in the track.

The 13-17 group includes Amy Harrison, a 17-year-old drummer from Bolton, England. Harrison is a talented young multi-instrumentalist who began on piano and is currently teaching herself guitar and ukulele. She cites a number of influences, including twenty one pilots drummer Josh Dun, Mini Fairhurst and Sarah Thawer. Harrison chose to perform an animated rendition of Arctic Monkeys’ “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor,” citing the band’s drummer Matt Helders as one of her biggest inspirations.

Read more: 10 legendary drum intros that will always be instantly recognizable

Supporters can actively participate in the voting process. To contribute, log in to the Hit Like A Girl contest website to vote for your favorites from some of the world’s top female drummers and beatmakers. You can show your support by voting once per day between now and April 25 at 11:59 PM PST.

More on Hit Like A Girl

Hit Like A Girl is an amateur contest. Drummers or percussionists who have an endorsement contract or make more than $50,000 per year playing music are ineligible. To enter the contest, participants submitted a video of a performance, with a recommended length of 3 minutes. They also provided brief bios telling their story, as well as a recent photo behind the drum kit.

HLAG features a number of mini-contests sponsored by top percussion brands including Paiste and Latin Percussion. The additional Beatmaking category is open to women and girls who focus on digital production. Co-sponsored by Beats By Girlz, contestants can upload originals, covers or remixes to SoundCloud.

Read more: Phoebe Bridgers is auctioning off her smashed ‘SNL’ guitar to benefit GLAAD

Hit Like A Girl has enlisted many celebrity judges. This year’s line-up features a long list of significant artists, including Jess Bowen (the Summer Set, 3OH!3, Tessa Violet), Emily Moon (Starbenders), David Garibaldi (Tower Of Power), Sarah Tomek (Steven Tyler), Nikki Glaspie (Beyoncé), Ainjel Emme (David Bowie, KISS) and many other musicians. Judges determine the champions and runner-ups using a standardized score sheet.

Hit Like A Girl contestants are competing for over $75,000 in prizes. Potential awards include drums, cymbals, sticks, heads, accessories, electronic gear, educational material, lessons and scholarships. Many educational prizes come from event sponsors, including School of Rock, Ableton and Hudson Music. Some winners can even receive performance opportunities at prestigious events or music camps around the world.

Read more: 20 books written by or about women musicians to add to your reading list

Last year’s contest had entries from more than 50 countries, and nearly 100 women were picked as winners. The 2020 winners include Michaela Naydenova, Drummer Subin, Michelle Pietrafitta and Aira Deathstorm. The overall contest champion was Lisa Chepkovskaya.

Hit Like A Girl will announce winners and award recipients on their website and social media pages May 14 at 3 p.m. ET. More information on the Hit Like A Girl contest is available here.

Through the collaboration, Meet Me @ The Altar asked fans to send posts, comments and direct messages about what being a woman means to them. Then, the trio used those uplifting stories on Facebook and Instagram as inspiration for the powerful lyrics featured in “Hit Like A Girl.”

Read more: Some of MCR mentioned this producer, and fans think they know why

Collectively, Meet Me @ The Altar knew they wanted to create a song that stands as a reminder that women can do anything they set their minds to. As vocalist Edith Johnson shares on Facebook’s Women x Women post, they also wanted to convey the message that female empowerment only gets stronger when everyone supports each other.

“If you’re a woman, you can do anything you set your mind to no matter what anyone says,” Johnson says on Facebook. “So we really wanted to put that in this song and let our female fans know that they rock! The lyrics speak about support and being there for each other. Women need to really stick together because it’s us against the world!”

For drummer Ada Juarez, “Hit Like A Girl” is another way Meet Me @ The Altar are continuing to empower and represent women and people of color in rock music.

“I feel like the best way we empower women is just being that band for them and being that representation that we have been looking for for so many years,” Juarez says on Facebook’s Women x Women post.

Read more: Ringo Starr praises Billie Eilish after historic 2021 Grammys win

As part of Facebook’s Women x Women series, Meet Me @ The Altar released a video that shows just a few of the social media messages that inspired “Hit Like A Girl.” As well, the powerful visual features the all-female trio rocking out to the new song while talking about the stereotypes women often face in society.

“There’s this stereotype that women tear each other down, but it’s the opposite,” guitarist Téa Campbell says in the Facebook video. “We build each other up. We needed an anthem for female empowerment.”

Meet Me @ The Altar’s Women x Women Facebook video and “Hit Like A Girl” are available to watch below. The single can also be streamed here.

More on Meet Me @ The Altar

It’s definitely been a whirlwind past year for Meet Me @ The Altar. After signing to Fueled By Ramen in October, the pop-punk trio re-released their popular single “Garden” following its original premiere in June. Since its debut, the song has earned over 750,000 streams on Spotify and its video has been viewed over 250,000 times on YouTube.

Back in November, Meet Me @ The Altar exclusively told Alternative Press for their digital cover story why they decided to re-release “Garden” after signing to Fueled By Ramen. For Campbell, the message behind the single is more prevalent than ever amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was out before and was really popular when we released it,” Campbell told Alternative Press. “The Fueled By Ramen team felt very connected to it, as well. We love it, and we feel like it’s an important song for people to hear, especially right now with COVID and other emotional things happening. We want people to know there are people that are going to be there for you and to support you emotionally. We’ve all felt like people need to hear that we’re going to be there for you. There are people in your life who are there for you. And it’s OK to not be OK but know you have support around you.”

Read more: The Maine kick off their new era with colorful video for “Sticky”—watch

Last month, Meet Me @ The Altar revisited “Garden” for a moving acoustic rendition that paid tribute to their fans. For the new version, the trio asked listeners to submit clips of them to be included in a montage video. As a result, the “Garden (Acoustic)” visual is filled with wholesome footage that shows the strong connections Meet Me @ The Altar’s music has made around the world.

The “Garden (Acoustic)” video is available to watch below.

Meet Me @ The Altar also revealed in their November Alternative Press digital cover story that they are writing new music. For Johnson, this new material they are creating is Meet Me @ The Altar’s most mature work yet.

“We are writing new stuff right now,” Johnson told Alternative Press. “It’s still very Meet Me @ The Altar, but it’s also very mature and still very energetic. It’s still very positive-sounding and very happy and maybe more melodic.”

Meanwhile, Campbell added that listeners will enjoy their upcoming album regardless of if they are pop-punk fans.

Read more: Beartooth return with heavy-hitting new single “Devastation”—listen

“I know a lot of people will like it, whether or not they like pop-punk,” Campbell told Alternative Press. “It just sounds like good music. That’s because our earlier songs were written when we were like 16 and 17 years old. Now we are a little older with more experience, and it shows.”

Back in December, Meet Me @ The Altar took to social media to further tease their upcoming music. They posted a brief video of them working on their next release in the studio.

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— Meet Me @ The Altar (@MMATAband) December 2, 2020

Meet Me @ The Altar are among the empowering new generation of artists featured in Alternative Press’ premiere Power Issue: Women Rising. Along with cover star Phoebe Bridgers, Issue #392 features numerous female musicians that are redefining the alternative landscape including Maggie Lindemann, Siiickbrain and Cher Strauberry among others.

What are your reactions to Meet Me @ The Altar’s new single “Hit Like A Girl”? Let us know in the comments below.

Drum industry veteran and Hit Like A Girl Executive Director David Levine came up with the contest in 2011. Driven by the belief that women were underrepresented and underserved, Levine teamed up with Tom Tom Magazine’s Mindy Abovitz Monk and DRUM! magazine’s Andy Doerschuk and Phil Hood. From there, the contest took shape and launched its first year.

Read more: Phoebe Bridgers leads the debut Power Issue: Women Rising cover

Since it began, the contest has gathered more than 5,000 contestants from over 50 countries across the globe. Now, it’s your turn. Get all of the details below!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Hit Like A Girl (@hitlikeagirlcontest)

Hit Like A Girl eligibility

As the contest name suggests, only women, girls and gender expansive individuals may enter. There are no age limits, as the international contest includes four age groups: under 13, 13-17, 18-39 and over 40. The Beatmaking category includes under 18 and over 18.

Hit Like A Girl is an amateur contest. For this reason, drummers or percussionists who make more than $50,000 per year playing music or have an endorsement contract are ineligible.

How to enter Hit Like A Girl

To enter, contestants should submit a video of a drum performance, with a recommended length of 3 minutes. Solos, covers, originals and live performances are all acceptable. Judges will focus on three categories: performance, presentation and story.

The largest category is performance, dedicating 60% of the score to groove, sound, technique, musicality and interpretation. Presentation accounts for 30% and focuses on production quality and effect. The final 10% is for story and includes personality, passion and detail.

In addition to an uploaded video of the performance, contestants must also include a brief bio telling their story. This year’s contest introduces a new “IMPACT” category, highlighting the ways participants are making an impact on their communities. HLAG encourages contestants to discuss their support of human rights, gender equality, the environment or other social issues. They should also include a recent photo behind the drum kit.

Read more: KISS and Iron Maiden to headline Download 2022 after 2021 cancellation

Hit Like A Girl will also include regional contests, including events in China, Japan, India, Mexico, Turkey, and the U.K. Chinese contestants must enter through the 9Beats App. All other competitors will enter into their corresponding regional event automatically.

How to win Hit Like A Girl

Beginning March 15, HLAG will choose a weekly winner from each age group to advance to the finals. These weekly contests are cumulative. This means that all contestants are eligible each week, not just those competitors who entered that week.

There are a number of other ways to win prizes. HLAG includes mini-contests sponsored by top percussion brands such as Paiste and Latin Percussion. The Beatmaking category is open to women and girls who focus on digital production. Co-sponsored by Beats By Girlz, contestants are asked to upload originals, covers or remixes to SoundCloud.

Read more: Chadwick Boseman and Trent Reznor among 2021 Golden Globes winners

Competitors can also advance through public voting. Friends, fans and family can vote once per day for a contestant. The top 10 entries in each division with the most votes will advance to the finals. Additionally, the HLAG directors will add a limited number of entries to the finals as Wild Card entries.

The most certain way to advance to the finals is by impressing Hit Like A Girl’s many celebrity judges. This year’s line-up features a lengthy list of accomplished artists, including Jess Bowen (the Summer Set, 3OH!3, Tessa Violet), Emily Moon (Starbenders), David Garibaldi (Tower Of Power), Sarah Tomek (Steven Tyler), Nikki Glaspie (Beyoncé), Ainjel Emme (David Bowie, KISS) and many others. Judges will determine the champions and runner-ups with a standardized score sheet.

Hit Like A Girl prizes

Hit Like A Girl contestants will compete for over $75,000 in prizes. Potential prizes include drums, cymbals, sticks, heads, accessories, electronic gear, educational material, lessons and scholarships. Many educational awards come from major sponsors, including School of Rock, Ableton and Hudson Music. Some winners will even receive performance opportunities at prestigious events and music camps around the world.

Last year’s contest received entries from more than 50 countries, and nearly 100 women were chosen as winners. The 2020 winners include Michaela Naydenova, Drummer Subin, Michelle Pietrafitta and Aira Deathstorm. The overall contest champion was Lisa Chepkovskaya, and you can see the winning performance below.

Winners and award recipients will be announced on the Hit Like A Girl website and social media pages May 14 at 3 p.m. ET. You can get more information on the Hit Like A Girl contest here.

Following the April 12 deadline, Hit Like A Girl is now revealing the full list of winners for the drumset and beatmaking categories. The marching percussion contest will begin in the fall with more information to be announced at a later date.

Read more: See twenty one pilots’ “Level Of Concern” come to life on ’80s computers

As the contest’s name conveys, only those who identify as female are eligible to enter. There’s no age minimum as the contest is broken down into four age groups: under 13, 13-17, 18-39 and over 40. As an amateur contest, drummers and percussionists who make more than $50,000 per year playing music and have an endorsement contract are ineligible.

In order to narrow down the entries to the Hit Like A Girl finalists, a judging panel consisting of Sabian Education Network members chose weekly winners. Public voting and a Wild Card contestant were also factors for advancing.

Once the finalists were chosen in both drumset and beatmaking, a panel of celebrity judges including top drummers reviewed and selected the winners using score sheets. More than 100 judges were recruited including iDKHOW’s Ryan Seaman,  Emily Dolan-Davies (the Darkness, Cher Lloyd), Hayley Cramer (Pop Evil), Jess Bowen (the Summer Set, 3OH!3, Tessa Violet), Nick D’Virgilio (Genesis, Tears For Fears) and Samantha Maloney (Hole, Mötley Crüe, Eagles Of Death Metal).

Each Hit Like A Girl contestant receives a certificate of participation upon request and access to the PowerPack digital goody bag. However, one champion and two runners-ups are selected in each drumset and beatmaking age divisions.

The prizes consist of $75,000 in items, scholarships and performance opportunities. Berklee College Of Music, Girls March, School Of Rock and the Joe Hibbs Memorial Scholarship have all contributed to the prize package. There are also performance opportunities at Sweetwater Gearfest, the NAMM Show, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), Girls Rock Camp (GRCA) and the Drum Corps International (DCI) and Winterguard (WGI) World Championships.

A champions livestream featuring some of the winners as well as Jess Bowen, Andrew Marshall and more will be hosted by Mindy Abovitz. It goes down on the Hit Like A Girl Instagram page June 2 from 1 to 3 p.m. EST, and you can tune in here.

Hit Like A Girl winners

This year’s contest received hundreds of entries from more than 50 countries. Nearly 100 women were chosen as winners. See who won below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAyGE8WFcZa/

Drumset (under 13)

Champion: Kayla Zahra Fahira Permaa
2nd Place: Tang Yu Chiao
3rd Place: Milana
Popular: Evelyn Moreno

Drumset (13-17)

Champion: Yufengyi Li
2nd Place: Zoe Larios
3rd Place: Jordan Radnoti
Popular: Alyssa Tomassi

Drumset (18-39)

Champion: Lisa Chepkovskaya
2nd Place (tie): Drummer Subin
2nd Place (tie): Erica McElveen
3rd Place: Mihaela Naydenova
Popular: Mihaela Naydenova

Drumset (over 40)

Champion: Sheila Klotz
2nd Place: Michelle Pickering
3rd Place: Karen Newell
Popular: Jennifer Towns

Beatmaking (under 18)

Champion: Kallee Bernish-Good
2nd Place: Naisa S. Santana Rivera
3rd Place: Abbie Schneider
Popular: Kallee Bernish-Good

Beatmaking (over 18)

Champion: Chmba
2nd Place: Adee
3rd Place: Juanita Pelaez
Popular: Juanita Pelaez

Regional

China (under 8): YinXuan Lin
China (8-12): Celina Huang
China (13-17): Yufengyi Li
China (over 18): Rita Li

Japan (under 18): Yuuka AOKI
Japan (under 18): Mika Watanabe

France (under 18): Marie Francois
France (over 18): Clara Oulieu

Mexico (under 18): Zoe Larios
Mexico (over 18): Angie Salinas

SEA (under 18): Kayla Zahra Fahira Permaa
SEA (over 18): Shani Samtani

India (under 18): Rinay
India (over 18): Sonikblasts

Special Awards

Berklee “Aspire”: Stacy Norris
Musician’s Institute: Saralyn Chernishuk
Musician’s Institute: Reilly Thompson
School of Rock: Savannah Tweedt
Joe Hibbs/The Sessions: Romarna Campbell
Special Recognition: Georgia Challinor
Special Recognition: Amelia
Sweetwater Gearfest: TBD
PASIC: TBD

Drum industry veteran and Hit Like A Girl Executive Director David Levine created the contest idea in 2011. Fueled by the belief that female drummers were both underserved and underrepresented, Levine teamed up with Tom Tom Magazine’s Mindy Abovitz Monk and DRUM! magazine’s Andy Doerschuk and Phil Hood. From there, the contest took shape and launched its inaugural year, and now Monk has returned as the 2020 contest director.

Read more: ‘The Umbrella Academy’ star recalls hilarious Gerard Way band mixup

Since its first year, the contest has garnered more than 5,000 contestants across the globe in more than 50 different countries. And now, it’s your turn. Get all of the details below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9Ov1mEHZtn/

Hit Like A Girl eligibility

As the contest’s name conveys, only those who identify as female are eligible to enter. There’s no age minimum as the drumset contest is broken down into four age groups: under 13, 13-17, 18-39 and over 40. The beatmaking and marching percussion categories include under 18 and over 18.

This is an amateur contest, which means drummers and percussionists who make more than $50,000 per year playing music and have an endorsement contract are ineligible.

How to enter Hit Like A Girl

The drumset and beatmaking contest entry dates kicked off March 2 and will conclude April 12. The marching percussion contest will begin in the fall with more information to be announced at a later date.

To enter, you must submit a brief bio explaining your drumming story and a recent photo behind the drum kit. A three-minute video of yourself drumming is also required with the entry. Drum solos, covers and live gigs are all accepted. Drumset videos can be submitted by uploading to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or Vimeo. Beatmaking contest audio tracks must be uploaded to SoundCloud. The video will then be based on three categories: performance, presentation and story.

Read more: Machine Gun Kelly, YUNGBLUD, Travis Barker reunite for another collab

The performance accounts for the biggest chunk of the evaluation at 60% where groove, sound, technique, musicality and interpretation are judged. The presentation accounts for 30% as the panel judges production quality and effect. Story sits at 10% and includes personality, passion and detail.

In addition to the international program, there will be regional contests and promotions in China, Japan, Korea, Mexico, UK, France, India and Southeast Asia. Contestants in these regions will automatically be entered into those contests when they register for the main contest.

How to win Hit Like A Girl

Beginning March 16, HLAG will choose one “weekly winner” from all the entries to advance to the finals. This is one participant in each age division as chosen by the judging panel consisting of Sabian Education Network members. The weekly contest is cumulative, so anyone who has entered throughout the competition is eligible and not just during a certain timeframe.

The second way to make it to the finals is through public voting, which is held April 13-26. This takes place online for all contestants where people can register and then vote once per video per day. The person with the most votes in each age division will advance to the finals.

Read more: Halsey says ‘Manic’ tour may be the last “for a very long time”

The third way to advance is as a Wild Card contestant. This unnamed amount of contestants will be chosen based on skills and presentation.

Finalists for both drumset and beatmaking will be announced April 28 with up to 25 contestants from each age division. Over the next two weeks, a panel of celebrity judges including top male and female drummers will review and select the winners using score sheets.

More than 100 judges have been recruited including iDKHOW’s Ryan Seaman,  Emily Dolan-Davies (the Darkness, Cher Lloyd), Hayley Cramer (Pop Evil), Jess Bowen (the Summer Set, 3OH!3, Tessa Violet), Nick D’Virgilio (Genesis, Tears For Fears), Samantha Maloney (Hole, Mötley Crüe, Eagles Of Death Metal) and more.

HLAG 2012 winner De’Arcus Curry will also join the panel who backed Janelle Monae at the 61st Grammy Awards and Coachella. First runner-up in 2014 Fer Fuentes will also be on the panel, and her resume includes work with Lauren Jauregui and Becky G.

One champion and two runners-ups will be selected in each drumset age division and the same for beatmaking. These will then be announced on the website on May 28 at noon PST.

Hit Like A Girl prizes

Each contestant receives a certificate of participation upon request and access to the PowerPack digital goody bag. The latter includes free educational material, booklets, magazines and discount coupons.

The prizes consist of $75,000 in items, scholarships and performance opportunities. Berklee College Of Music, Girls March, School Of Rock and the Joe Hibbs Memorial Scholarship have all contributed to the prize package. There are also performance opportunities at Sweetwater Gearfest, the NAMM Show, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), Girls Rock Camp (GRCA) and the Drum Corps International (DCI) and Winterguard (WGI) World Championships. More information and a full list of prize opportunities are available here.

See more: 10 most iconic music video looks

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Following the April 12 deadline, Hit Like A Girl is now revealing the full list of winners in each category.

Read more: Millie Bobbie Brown sings Panic! At The Disco, Gwen Stefani on ‘Fallon’

As the contest’s name conveys, only those who identify as female are eligible to enter. There’s no age minimum as the contest is broken down into four age groups: under 13, 13-17, 18-39 and over 40.

There are five drum and percussion categories: drum set, marching percussion, world percussion, concert percussion and technology. The aforementioned age groups apply to the drum set category only. The marching, world, concert and technology categories consist of under 18 and over 18.

The prizes consist of $10,000 in items, scholarships and performance opportunities, which will be awarded to nearly 90 winners across all the categories and divisions. Berklee College Of Music, Drum Corps International, DW drums, DRUM! magazine, Musicians Institute, Sabian, School Of Rock, Sweetwater, Yamaha and many, many more all have contributed to the prize package.

Hit Like A Girl winners

This year’s contest received hundreds of entries from more than 50 countries. Nearly 100 women were chosen as winners. See who won below.

Drumset (under 13)

Champion: Bunga Ardina Purtri (Indonesia)
2nd Place: Milana (USA)
3rd Place: TangYu-Chiao (Taiwan)
Popular: Matilda Taylor (Australia)

Drumset (13-17)

Champion: Kristyna Sibinska (Czech Republic)
2nd Place: Giovanna Takaki Bottai (Brazil)
3rd Place: Stefanie Floriana (Indonesia)
Popular: Monica Kezia Bunga Keinanti (Indonesia)

Drumset (18-39)

Champion: Ivanna Cuesta Gonzalez (Dominican Repuiblic)
2nd Place: Amanda Dal (England)
3rd Place: Minji Kim (Korea)
Popular: Jiaqi Wang (China)

Drumset (over 40)

Champion: Penny Larson (USA)
2nd Place: Karen Newell (USA)
3rd Place: Aya Iwata (Japan)
Popular: Rikki Woods (USA)

Drumset Weekly Winners (Week 1)

<13: Sophie Tracy (Ireland)
13-17: Dagmara Karandys (Poland)
18-39: Misaki Nakamichi (Japan)
40+: Juliana Lopes da Mata Novo (Brazil)

Drumset Weekly Winners (Week 2)

<13: Ashlyn Price (Canada)
13-17: Giovanna Takai Bottai (Brazil)
18-39: Camellia Akhamie Kies (USA)
40+: Jennifer Towns (USA)

Drumset Weekly Winners (Week 3)

<13: Tang Yu-Chiao (Taiwan)
13-17: Krystyna Sibinska (Czech Republic)
18-39: Anna Koniotou (Cypress)
40+: Rikki Woods (USA)

Drumset Weekly Winners Week 4

<13: Milana (USA)
13-17: Stefanie Floriana (Indonesia)
18-39: Roni Kaspi (Israel)
40+: Rasila Queen (USA)

Drumset Weekly Winners Week 5

<13: Ho Yen-Hsuan (Taiwan)
13-17: Yuuka Aoki (Japan)
18-39: Amanda Dal (England)
40+: Karen Newell (USA)

Drumset Weekly Winners Week 6

<13: Mana Fukuda (Japan)
13-17: Luana Brazzan (Peru)
18-39: Ivanna Cuesta Gonzalez (Dominican Republic)
40+: Penny Larson (USA

Drumset Japan

Misaki Nakamichi (under 18), Mana Fukuda (over 18)

Drumset Mexico: 

Zoe Larios (under 18), Susan Badillo (over 18)

Drumset France

Lauréne (over 18)

Drumset China

Angela (under 18),  Emma (under 18), Larissa (13-17), Vicky (18-39)

Marching Percussion (under 18)

Champion: Tahlia Williamson (USA)
2nd Place: Trinity Forish (USA)

Marching Percussion (over 18)

Champion: Jamese Moses (UA)
2nd Place: Paige Durr (USA)
3rd Place: Asia M. Henery (USA)

Concert Percussion (under 18)

Champion: Gina Moy (USA)
2nd Place: Dagmara Karandys (Poland)
3rd Place: Kalonica Nicx (Indonesia)

Concert Percussion (over 18)

Champion: Yun-Chen Chou (Taiwan)
2nd Place: Paige Durr (USA)
3rd Place: Hitomi Hosokawa (Japan)

World Percussion (under 18)

Champion: Hina Nishide (Japan)
2nd Place: Luana Brazzan (Peru)
3rd Place: Kimmy Moore (USA)

World Percussion (over 18)

Champion: Roni Bat-Or Parnass (Israel)
2nd Place: Daliz Marie (Puerto Rico)
3rd Place: Camellia Akhamie Kies (USA)

Technology (under 18)

Champion: Raylinne Garcia (USA)
2nd Place: Ellie Johnson (USA)
3rd Place: Abbie Schneider (USA)

Technology (over 18)

Champion: Aletta Dina (UK)
2nd Place: Sophea Sim (Canada)
3rd Place: Jessica Muñiz Collado (USA)
ROLI: Bash Saaid (Denmark)

Special Awards

Berklee “Aspire”: Isabella Lamberti (USA)
Drumeo “Debut”: Minji Kim (Korea)
GirlsMarch: Trinity Forish (USA)
Musician’s Institute: Elise Luna Burcham (USA), Leilani Torres (USA)
PAS Showcase: To Be Determined
Sam Ash #1 (TDWR): Camellia Akhamie Kies (USA)
Sam Ash #2 (TDWR): Giovanna Takaki Bottai (Brazil)
Sam Ash #3 (TDWR): Siddhi Rahul Shah (India)
School of Rock: Matilda Taylor (Australia)
The Sessions “Joe Hibbs”: Ania Tkaczyk (Poland)
Sweetwater Gearfest: Peiying Li (China)

Check out a video featuring some of the winner’s submissions below. You can also see the full list of winners and their videos on the Hit Like A Girl website.

More on Hit Like A Girl

Drum industry veteran and Hit Like A Girl Executive Director David Levine created the contest idea in 2011. Fueled by the belief that female drummers were both underserved and underrepresented, Levine teamed up with Tom Tom Magazine’s Mindy Abovitz and DRUM! magazine’s Andy Doerschuk and Phil Hood. From there, the contest took shape and launched its inaugural year.

The contest encourages drumming for girls and women regardless of their age or playing level. Since its first year, the contest has garnered more than 5,000 contestants across the globe in more than 50 different countries.

Contestants submitted a three-minute video of themselves drumming. Drum solos, covers and live gigs were all accepted. The video was then judged based on three categories: performance, presentation and story.

The performance accounts for the biggest chunk of the evaluation at 60 percent where groove, sound, technique, musicality and interpretation are judged. Presentation accounts for 30 percent as the panel judges production quality and effect. Story sits at 10 percent and includes personality, passion and detail.

Each week, HLAG chose one “weekly winner” from all the entries to advance. This is one participant in each age division as chosen by the judging panel consisting of Sabian Educators Network members.

The second way to make it to the finals is through public voting, which is held April 12-25. This takes place online for all contestants where people can register and then vote once per video per day. The person with the most votes in each age division advanced.

The third way to advance was as a Wild Card contestant. This unnamed amount of contestants were chosen based on skills and presentation.

The final way to advance was to impress the celebrity judges. This included a panel of nearly 80 people. Among them are Jess Bowen (the Summer Set, 3OH!3, Tessa Violet), Hayley Cramer (Pop Evil), Nick D’Virgilio (Genesis, Tears For Fears), Emily Dolan-Davies (the Darkness, Cher Lloyd), Samantha Maloney (Hole, Mötley Crüe, Eagles Of Death Metal), Sarah Tomek (Steven Tyler) and more.

HLAG 2012 winner De’Arcus Curry was also on the panel. The drummer is currently out with Janelle Monae having most recently performed with her at the 61st Grammy Awards and Coachella. First runner-up in 2014 Fer Fuentes was also be on the panel, and her resume includes work with Lauren Jauregui and Becky G.

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Drum industry veteran and Hit Like A Girl Executive Director David Levine created the contest idea in 2011. Fueled by the belief that female drummers were both underserved and underrepresented, Levine teamed up with Tom Tom Magazine’s Mindy Abovitz and DRUM! magazine’s Andy Doerschuk and Phil Hood. From there, the contest took shape and launched its inaugural year.

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Since its first year, the contest has garnered more than 5,000 contestants across the globe in more than 50 different countries. And now, it’s your turn.

Hit Like A Girl eligibility

As the contest’s name conveys, only those who identify as female are eligible to enter. There’s no age minimum as the contest is broken down into four age groups: under 13, 13-17, 18-39 and over 40.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtOrvjajlER/

There are five drum and percussion categories: drum set, marching percussion, world percussion, concert percussion and technology. The aforementioned age groups apply to the drum set category only. The marching, world, concert and technology categories consist of under 18 and over 18.

This is an amateur contest, which means drummers and percussionists who make more than $50,000 per year playing music and have an endorsement contract are ineligible.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs_O_hun4wd/

How to enter Hit Like A Girl

To enter, you must submit a three-minute video of yourself drumming. Drum solos, covers and live gigs are all accepted. The video will then be based on three categories: performance, presentation and story.

The performance accounts for the biggest chunk of the evaluation at 60 percent where groove, sound, technique, musicality and interpretation are judged. Presentation accounts for 30 percent as the panel judges production quality and effect. Story sits at 10 percent and includes personality, passion and detail.

In addition to the three-minute video, contestants must also include a brief bio explaining their drumming story and a recent photo behind the drum kit.

How to win Hit Like A Girl

Each week, HLAG will choose one “weekly winner” from all the entries to advance. This is one participant in each age division as chosen by the judging panel consisting of Sabian Educators Network members.

The second way to make it to the finals is through public voting, which is held April 12-25. This takes place online for all contestants where people can register and then vote once per video per day. The person with the most votes in each age division will advance.

The third way to advance is as a Wild Card contestant. This unnamed amount of contestants will be chosen based on skills and presentation.

The final way to advance is to impress the celebrity judges. This will include a panel of nearly 80 people. Among them are Jess Bowen (the Summer Set, 3OH!3, Tessa Violet), Hayley Cramer (Pop Evil), Nick D’Virgilio (Genesis, Tears For Fears), Emily Dolan-Davies (the Darkness, Cher Lloyd), Samantha Maloney (Hole, Mötley Crüe, Eagles Of Death Metal), Sarah Tomek (Steven Tyler) and more.

HLAG 2012 winner De’Arcus Curry will also join the panel. The drummer is currently out with Janelle Monae having most recently performed with her at the 61st Grammy Awards and is hitting Coachella next month. First runner-up in 2014 Fer Fuentes will also be on the panel, and her resume includes work with Lauren Jauregui and Becky G.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu4KByVjYyN/

HLAG will announce up to 25 finalists in each of the drum set category’s age division April 26. The panel will review each entry and choose one winner and two runners-up.

Simultaneously, the celebrity panel will also review up to 10 finalists in each age division of the world, concert, marching and technology categories. Judges will choose a winner and two runners-up in each of these four categories.

Hit Like A Girl prizes

The prizes consist of $10,000 in items, scholarships and performance opportunities, which will be awarded to nearly 90 winners across all the categories and divisions. Berklee College Of Music, Drum Corps International, DW drums, DRUM! magazine, Musicians Institute, Sabian, School Of Rock, Sweetwater, Yamaha and many, many more all have contributed to the prize package. More information and a full list of prize opportunities is available here.

The contest is open until April 12. The Hit Like A Girl Awards Show will reveal the winners as well as feature celebrity drummers, judges and hosts. It will air on drumchannel.com May 24 at 6 p.m. PST. You can get information on the Hit Like A Girl contest here.

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OVER 18

Champion: Helen De La Rosa – USA

1st Runner-Up: Theresa Stark – Germany

2nd Runner-Up: Bianca Richardson – USA

UNDER 18

Champion: Becca Webster – USA

1st Runner-Up: Natalia Krzakala – Poland

2nd Runner-Up: Molly Rose – USA

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

PASIC Performance Session: Helen De La Rosa – USA

Musician’s Institute “Summer Shot” Scholarship: Faith Benson – USA

School Of Rock “Rising Star” Scholarship: Carla Williams – South Africa

HLAG Inspiration Award: Ella Pena – USA

48 finalists were chosen by three methods: by judges, by fan votes or by sponsors' wild card votes. They moved on to face a panel of judges, which included The Summer Set's Jess Bowen, Kim Thompson, Emily Dolan-Davies, Emmanuelle Caplette, Karin Gandhi, Yissy Garcia, Terri Lyne Carrington, Senri Kawaguchi, Nia Lovelis, Allison Miller, Didi Negron, Venzella Joy, Alicia Warrington, Gina Schock, Mona Tavakoi, Cherisse Osei, Samantha Maloney, Kimberly Thompson, Val Sepulveda and guest judges Steve Smith, Aaron Spears and Chad Smith, along with co-spokespersons Hannah Welton and Anika Nilles.

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The 48 finalists were chosen by three methods: by judges, by fan votes or by sponsors' wild card votes. They will now move on to face a panel of judges, which includes The Summer Set's Jess Bowen, Kim Thompson, Emily Dolan-Davies, Emmanuelle Caplette, Karin Gandhi, Yissy Garcia, Terri Lyne Carrington, Senri Kawaguchi, Nia Lovelis, Allison Miller, Didi Negron, Venzella Joy, Alicia Warrington, Gina Schock, Mona Tavakoi, Cherisse Osei, Samantha Maloney, Kimberly Thompson, Val Sepulveda and guest judges Steve Smith, Aaron Spears and Chad Smith, along with co-spokespersons Hannah Welton and Anika Nilles. 

Catch the live Hit Like A Girl awards show here at 4:00 p.m. PDT on April 13 and check out the 48 finalists below.

Under 18

There were 23 finalists chosen in the Under 18 category including:

Anna Mariko Seymour (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/anna-mariko-seymour-2016
Becca Webster (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/becca-webster-2016
Ciara Connelly (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/ciara-connolly-2016
Devikah (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/devikah-2016
Faith Benson (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/faithndrums-2016
Gina Eterovich (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/gina-eterovich-2016
Kat (Ukraine)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/kat-2016
Keyleigh Morpeth (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/kayleigh-morpeth-2016
Leah Bluestein (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/leah-bluestein-2016
Mana Fukuda (Japan)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/mana-fukuda-2016
MariEvil (Canada)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/marievil-2016
Issey (Indonesia)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/issey-2016
Milana (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/milana-2016
Molly Flores (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/molly-flores-2016
Molly Rose (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/molly-rose-2016
Najwa Rashika (Indonesia)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/najwa-rashika-2016
Natalia (Poland)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/natalia-2016
Natalie Depergola (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/nat-depergola-2016
Nur Amira Syahira (Malaysia)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/nur-amira-syahira-2016
Pauline Roberts (Argentina)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/pauline-roberts-2016
Payton Taylor (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/payton-taylor-2016
Sophia Hanley (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/sophia-hanley-2016
Sophie Drummer (Ireland)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/under-18/entry/sophie-drummer-2016

Over 18

There were 25 finalists chosen in the Under 18 category including:

Adina Kumar (India)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/adina-kumar-2016
Angel Knotts (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/angel-knotts-2016
Bianca Richardson (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/brichdrumz-2016
Brittany Harrell (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/brittanyharrell-2016
Dee Bradbery (Australia)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/dee-bradbery-2016
Helen (Dominican Republic)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/helen-2016
Jasmine Kayser (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/jaskayser-2016
Jazmyne Evans (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/jazmyne-evans-2016
Jiaqi (China)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/jiaqi-2016
Julianna Mascia (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/julianna-mascia-2016
Kate Siefker (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/kate-siefker-2016
Kaylee Preston (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/kaylee-preston-2016
Kiana Gibson (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/kgibson-2016
Lada Obradovic (Croatia)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/lada-obradovic-2016
Laura Coral (Colombia)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/laura-coral-2016
Megan Luce (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/megan-luce-2016
Misaki Nakamichi (Japan)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/misaki-nakamichi-2016
Paulina Vera (Chile)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/paulina-vera-2016
Rhythmiss (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/rhythmiss-2016
Rikki Woods (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/rikki-woods-2016
Theresa Stark (Germany)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/theresa-stark-2016
Vicky Reader (UK)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/vicky-reader-2016
Victoria Seagriff (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/victoria-seagriff-2016
Whitney Sellers (US)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/whitney-sellers-2016
Ylva B (Norway)
http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/18-plus/entry/ylva-2016