LOS ANGELES, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. pop singer and songwriter Mariah Carey was honored with BMI Icon, the publishing association 's top accolade, at the annual Urban Awards held at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills overnight, BMI announced on Saturday.
The Princess of Pop received the trophy in recognition of "her prolifically successful and influential songwriting career," said BMI. The top honor is usually given to a songwriter who has had a "unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers," and past recipients include The Jacksons, Snoop Dogg, James Brown, The Bee Gees and Dolly Parton, according to the organization.
Canadian rapper Drake and his U.S. counterpart Lil Wayne shared the Songwriter of the Year, another prestigious honor handed out at the annual ceremony that marks the creative teams behind the past year's most-performed R&B, rap, pop and hip-hop songs in BMI' s deep repertoire.
The two popular songwriters each have seven songs that rank among the year's most-performed. This is Drake's second consecutive win in the category.
The Song of the Year went to Nicki Minaj, Ester Dean and Kane Beatz, who wrote "Super Bass."
Songwriter and producer Pop Wansel earned the Producer of the Year crystal. Top Producers went to Warren "Oak" Felder, Jim Jonsin, R. Kelly, Lexus "Lex Luger" Lewis, Polow Da Don, Troy Taylor, Kanye West, and Tyler "T-Minus" Williams.
EMI Music Publishing grabbed the Publisher of the Year crown as it has 17 songs that rank among the most-performed.