This article is part of Latin Post's On the Road series. Follow our adventures at #LPOTR.

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one." - John Lennon

Songwriting is an extension of one's soul — and there was no one that understood that better than the legendary John Lennon, one the greatest songwriters of all time.

So when Guatemalan-born Gaby Moreno, known for her smooth blends of blues, jazz, soul and R&B and her classic sound, won the Grand Prize at the John Lennon Songwriting Contest with her song "Escondidos," the first winner from the Latin category, you can 'imagine' her reaction.

"That was incredible. I won the Song of the Year in 2006. It was the first time that a Spanish song won the whole competition. There are all different genres ... so my category won and it was the first time in the history of the contest," she told Latin Post at the Pachanga Latino Music Festival in Austin, Texas, where she performed earlier this month.

Established in 1997, the John Lennon Songwriting Contest is an international competition open to amateur and professional songwriters who submit entries in any one of 12 categories. The JLSC is open year-round and features two sessions — with 72 finalists, 24 grand prize winners, 12 Lennon Award winners and 1 "Song of the Year."

In addition to her win, Moreno received an invitation from Yoko Ono to unveil the John Lennon Educational Bus, a nonprofit state-of-the-art mobile audio and HD video recording and production facility that offers studio tours and free songwriting and multimedia production workshops to young, aspiring artists and producers.

"It's been an amazing experience to get to know them and have met Yoko Ono," she added. "Recently, they made me a judge. So now I am judging the contest, which is really wild. It really came full circle."

Moreno will join the John Lennon Songwriting Contest judging panel with Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, the iconic Shelia E., British sensation Natasha Bedingfield and Puerto Rican superstar Prince Royce.

Ono, also a singer-songwriter who is known for her avant-guarde music, accepted an honorary degree from the Pratt Institute during its 125th commencement ceremony at Radio City Music Hall May 16.

This past year has been monumental for Moreno, who won Best New Artist at the 2013 Latin Grammys, which made her hugely popular on the international music scene. She has also been nominated for an Emmy for writing the theme song for the NBC TV show Parks and Recreation.

Moreno has toured with Tracy Chapman, Ani DiFranco and Van Dyke, performing at sold out dates in Canada, the U.S. and Europe — and more recently with Hugh Laurie of "House." She has also rocked other festivals including Electric Burma in Dulbin, where she shared the stage with Bono and Grammy Award winners Angelique Kidjo and Lupe Fiasco.

"When I perform I try to do it in the most organic way, meaning I don't use any loops or synthesizers. I try to really make it about just the music and real instruments. I don't use samples. I think that really defines me and my music," she explained.

Fresh off of her tour in Australia with Laurie, who played a painkiller-addicted, unconventional medical genius on the Fox hit TV series "House," Moreno was thrilled to return to the Pachanga Fest to perform for a second time, but this time on the Pavilion stage.

"People know him as 'Dr. House,' but they actually don't know that he's an unbelievable jazz piano player and singer. I am a part of his band right now. That has been so inspiring just to see how he puts on a show. He's quite the entertainer," she said.

Is Hugh Laurie as eccentric as his character Dr. Gregory House?

"No, he's so down-to-earth; he's so sweet and he's a generous man," she said. "I am so privileged to know him and perform with him." Moreno does admit, however, that Laurie has a sarcastic and funny British sense of humor that is very charming.

Moreno has also been a hit on YouTube due to her collaboration with superstar Ricardo Arjona, with whom she recorded the song "Fuiste Tu" from the CD "Independiente." The video of the track reached over 100 million views on YouTube.

While social media, music festivals and music tours alongside some big acts have proven to be fruitful for Moreno, she would love for more people to hear her music.

"I would love to see my music reaching all kinds of people, meaning different nationalities," she said. "Right now, I have a big Latin American following and I have been doing concerts in Europe a lot, too, but I would like to reach more of the European audience and more of the American audience. I sing both in English and in Spanish, so there's a little bit of everything for everybody there."

Watch Hugh Laurie, Gaby Moreno and company perform Ray Charles' "Hit the Road Jack" from The Copper Bottom Blues documentary.

And also check out Gaby Moreno’s performance at the 2013 Latin Grammy Awards.