Okay, yeah, I know he’s kind of a dork and it’s rather cliche to have a crush on Justin Timberlake. Five years ago, it was still kinda creepy - I guess I feel like I’m being retro by crushing on him now. But honestly, how cute was he?!

Seriously though, tonight was one of those fabulous nights that I probably can’t accurately describe now that it’s over. I took a bunch of notes, though, so here are some of the highlights.

The ASCAP Pop Awards are kind of like the Grammy Awards, but for songwriters instead of performers - unless, of course, you’re both, like these two:

Sara Bareilles opened the show with “Love Song” and “Bottle It Up.” She sounded great, but let me just tell y’all now that I am NOT the only one who forgets my lyrics or gets distracted by mic problems from time to time. After the first song, during which she had to stop singing and fix the mic at one point, she lightheartedly busted out the f-bomb. Lucky this wasn’t televised… She was then presented with the Vanguard Award, and I turned a little bit green with envy. No, but seriously, she looked so happy and the crowd loved her - it was a great kick-off.

Marilyn Bergman (who, along with her husband Alan Bergman, has written a ludicrous amount of pop standards), ASCAP President, then got up to talk about the industry and such, and then the awards began. In rapid-fire fashion. Seriously, I started taking some notes on who won what, and completely lost track after the first two. Suffice to say, there were a LOT of great songwriters honored, they came onstage for pictures, then exited without taking time for long boring speeches or anything. It was the way awards shows should be…

For you star chasers out there, Fergie accepted a bunch of awards for songs like “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” Justin Timberlake was onstage a bunch of times for a total of something like 7 awards (I lost track after a while), Nicole Richie was in the crowd to support her dad, and Natasha Bedingfield…well, she needs a new stylist if she’s going to consider fashion extremes like that hat.

A lot of the songs that won awards were Hip-Hop and R&B, which is totally understandable (from what I can tell, most awards are given for songs that receive the most licensing and airplay - so imagine all those Hip-Hop stations and their tendency to play the same songs over and over). The funny part of this is that the people announcing the awards were well-spoken members of the ASCAP Board of Directors. Picture a woman who looks like Hilary Clinton announcing that “Get It Shawty” and “That’s Why I’m Hot” have won. It was hilarious.

The writers of Carrie Underwood’s hit single “Before He Cheats” performed the song on their own early in the show, and I’ve gotta tell you, as much as I like that song I’d rather hear their rendition on the radio than hers! Chris Tompkins (whose other songwriting partner, Felicity, was sitting next to me in the crowd) and Joshua Kear did the song as a lounge/jazz ballad, keeping all the lyrics the same. Imagine two guys belting out “I might’ve saved a little trouble for the next girl / because the next time that he cheats / oh you know it won’t be on me.” It was fabulous.

Elliott Yamin, who I’d actually never heard of before but who was an American Idol rockstar, came out with an acoustic version of his hit song “Wait For You” (along with a rather off-color remark about how he was an Oreo onstage, pointing to the big black guy on his right and the Asian guitarist on his left). I didn’t expect much, but good god, it was a really fabulous performance. Acoustic guitar only, and his voice just killed, plus he was really sweet and innocent - I’m pretty sure that joke was unintentionally non-PC. My notes for that song just say “DAMN that was good.”

And this is his girlfriend. He’s doing well for himself.

I’m pretty sure, by the way, that such shows as this are how big stars pair off with up-and-comers. Don’t be at all surprised if an Elliott Yamin / Justin Timberlake project comes out later this year.

Timbaland won Songwriter of the Year with NINE award-winning songs this year. I kinda like him too. Is it okay to have a crush on both JT and Timbaland?

There were two awards given for lifetime achievement - Golden Note awards, they call them. Lionel Richie and Steve Miller were both honored with video montages of their entire music careers (separately, of course), and I have to admit - not only did I not realize just how many frickin’ songs those guys had written, but whoever puts those montages together needs to give me their card. And a discount. I nearly cried. REALLY good.

Plus, Lionel Richie is FUNNY! I had no idea. I won’t try to repeat his jokes, just know that he was a total laugh. Steve Miller closed the show with not one, not two, but SIX songs (maybe even seven, I don’t know, we lost count). He ran the gamut from “The Joker” through to “Fly Like An Eagle” and the whole crowd was dancing along.

So, here’s the thing about the show. Yes, it was fun to attend a star-studded event, and I kinda dug having to dodge the paparazzi on my way out. But the best part was that this particular event, being surrounded by successful songwriters of all genres and levels, reminded me of what I love about songwriting:

Music is a part of every major aspect of our lives.

This may seem obvious, but think about it - lullabies and ABC songs when we’re little, pop music when we’re kids, the first song you share with your first boyfriend or girlfriend, weddings and funerals; the music your dad played on the radio when you were little, the music you and your friends listened to when you were avoiding your parents; soundtracks to movies and TV shows and commercials; every major and minor aspect of our lives is colored by music.

And when you’re a songwriter, you (me!) get to create that music. You get to take a moment that you’ve lived, be it love or loss or joy or just walking down the street, and immortalize it in such a way that random strangers all over the country and even the world will identify with your moment. And there is no limit on how many songs can ever be written, because while the subject matter for songwriting is naturally limited (there’s a reason love songs are so damn prevalent, while songs about aliens raiding your kitchen for Pringles are few and far between), the different ways of experiencing and expressing those subjects are infinite.

As Lionel Richie said, a love song 200 years from now will be just as relevant as a love song today. We’ll always want them.

Sleepy time.