SESAC honours Dixson, Dahi, Burna Boy at Malibu song dinner

SESAC honoured the songwriters behind five of the past year's biggest songs at an invitation-only dinner in Malibu on 22 September.

The performing rights organisation, which collects royalties when music is played in public, celebrated writers and publishers at the event, according to Billboard. SESAC Performing Rights is a division of SESAC Music Group.

The guest list centred on five songs. Producer and writer Dahi was honoured for "Love Me Not", recorded by Ravyn Lenae. Dixson was honoured for "Folded", recorded by Kehlani. Burna Boy was honoured for "WGFT", recorded by Gunna featuring Burna Boy.

Ariana Grande was honoured for her hit "Twilight Zone". Writer Gregory Curtis was honoured for "Typa", recorded by GloRilla.

Chart positions explain why those songs made the room. The Billboard Hot 100, the US singles chart, put "Love Me Not" at No. 5 and "Folded" at No. 6. "WGFT" and "Twilight Zone" both reached the Top 20, while "Typa" reached No. 42, according to Billboard.

Dixson arrived with a recent Grammy win. He won best R&B song on 1 February as a co-writer of "Folded". That award is voted by members of the Recording Academy and presented separately from SESAC's honours.

Sam Kling is chief creative officer of SESAC. SESAC is a performing rights organisation recognised by the U.S. Copyright Office.

The Malibu dinner is one of several SESAC events this year. The organisation honoured film and television composers at its 2026 Awards in June. In May, it held the 2026 SESAC Latina Music Awards, where its Latina division recognised the year's biggest hit songs for its affiliated songwriters and publishers.

For fans, this means the focus stays on the writing credit. The performer may carry a song home, but SESAC's night is for the names listed beside it.