Maine Songwriter, Mastering Engineer Win Big at the Grammys

Maine natives earned major recognition at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, with honors going to both a top songwriter and a mastering engineer behind one of the year’s biggest albums.

According to the Kennebec Journal,Windham native Amy Allen won her second consecutive Songwriter of the Year Grammy during the Grammys Premiere Ceremony Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles. The award recognizes a songwriter’s body of work over the past year across multiple recordings.

Allen was also nominated during the prime-time Grammy broadcast on CBS for Song of the Year for her work on “APT.” by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars, as well as “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter. That award went to Billie Eilish for “Wildflower.” Allen additionally received an Album of the Year nomination for her co-writing contributions to Carpenter’s album Man’s Best Friend, The KJ said.

Auburn-area native Colin Leonard also celebrated a major win, earning a Grammy as a mastering engineer on Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos, which took home Album of the Year as the final award of the night. The album was presented the honor by Harry Styles. Record of the Year went to Kendrick Lamar and SZA for “Luther.”

The newspaper said Leonard, who is based in Atlanta, previously won a Grammy in 2025 for mastering Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter and earned a Latin Grammy in November for his work on the Bad Bunny album.

Allen grew up in Windham and graduated from Waynflete School in Portland in 2010 before moving to Los Angeles to pursue songwriting. She has co-written hits including Selena Gomez’s “Back to You” and Halsey’s chart-topping “Without Me.” Despite her success writing for pop stars, Allen continues to release her own music, including her 2024 self-titled album.