24 Hour Song Challenge Winner Reveal: Sadie Gust

After a month-long search, we’ve found this year’s winner of the 24 Hour Song Challenge, and we couldn’t be more excited. Meet Sadie Gust, local pop singer-songwriter and 2025’s grand prize winner.

Using our prompt “Belong,” Gust and her songwriting partner — her dad, David — wrote “Split” a haunting and deeply reflective piece that showcases Sadie’s introspective musical voice.

As the Grand Prize Winner, Sadie wins a $1000 honorarium, studio time at MilkBoy Recording Studio, two festival spots playing Philly Music Fest and our own XPoNential Music Fest in September, and more.

“We almost went in an embarrassingly vulnerable direction,” Sadie told our Mike Vasilikos. “Not only ‘you belong to me,’ but…’you belong to me’ in a possessive, obsessive, cathartic sort of way. It all led into a darker sort of realm, and I’m always happy to go there.”

Her participation in the 24 Hour Song Challenge wasn’t the first time Gust appeared on XPN: just last year Sadie and her band performed three songs for the Key Studios Sessions. XPN Local’s John Vettese described Gust (going by Sadie Leigh at the time) as “a musical old soul in the spirit of post-millennial pop stars Joss Stone, Corinne Bailey Rae, and Amy Winehouse.” You can watch the full performance here.

And below, watch Sadie perform her winning song “Split” from this year’s 24 Hour Song Challenge. In the video’s first moments, she doesn’t yet know she’s our winner, and the reveal is pretty sweet.

Thank you to all the songwriters who participated in this year’s challenge. We’ll do it all again next year.