David Pierce, the Walton College sophomore who performed as a finalist in the first annual Alchemy Songwriting Competition, took home a secondary prize but said he got what he really wanted: doors opening into the songwriting industry.

Pierce, who performed “The Midwest” with his former band, Mock Ivey, received a “Genre” award in the “Other” category and received an iTunes gift card, a guitar tuner and a signed plaque.

"I had some great talks with the judges, their feedback was constructive and so incredibly valuable, it's a life changing experience to hear Grammy winners and an American Idol say they love your work,"said Pierce. “ It was so interesting to meet such good aspiring writers just 90 miles from where I’m from, and others from thousands of miles away on different continents. There is such a unique bond that is shared between writers.”

Judges for the Alchemy Songwriting Competition included American Idol winner Kris Allen and David Hodges, a Grammy Award winning songwriter formerly with Evanescence.

The competition was organized by the Blackbird Academy of the Arts, a nonprofit arts education program based in Conway. Pierce was one of more than 300 aspiring songwriters from around the world who entered, and one of 10 finalists. The finals were held Saturday, Dec. 3 at Hendrix College's Worsham Performance Hall.

Adam Hambrick, from Conway, won the competition with his song, "I Would Never." Pierce says he discovered that he and Hambrick have mutual friends, and the two are planning to try to work on some songs together sometime in the future.