Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange has announced the ten finalists for this year’s Festival Song Competition.
The annual competition, which forms part of Jamaica’s Emancipation and Independence Day celebrations, was initially canceled last month due to substandard entries.
“We will remember that initially, the panel selected three songs, which was not a sufficient number for a competition. After that, we decided to re-open entries and we received 209 new entries during the course of a week,” said Grange in a statement.
The minister said the songs are being mastered and the recordings will be released soon.
She called for broadcasters “to play the songs so that the public will get to know them and be able to choose their favorite for Jamaica 60”.
The ministry, through the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, is arranging to put the finalists on social media and global music streaming platforms.
The winning song will be selected following two televised shows on July 14 and 28. The song will be selected by a combination of judges’ scores and telephone voting by members of the public.
Jamaica’s Festival Song Competition has a grand prize of J$3-million for the winning song to be shared by the producer, the writer, and the singer.
These are the finalists:
Title: I’m A Proud Jamaican
Stage Name: Magic Flute
Writer: Joshia Beckford and David Luckain
Producer: David Luckain and Owen Renalls
Title: Nuh Weh Nice Like Yard
Stage Name: Sacaj
Writer: Danece Jacas
Producer: Newell Morgan
Title: Diamond Jubilee
Stage Name: Orkid
Writer: Carol Panton
Producer: Gladstone Wright
Title: Jamaica Sweet Again
Stage Name: Dez I Boyd
Writer: Desmond Boyd
Producer: Carl Morris
Title: Jamaica Nice Again
Stage Name: Inspiyah
Writer: Lionel Bernard
Producer: Dale Virgo
Title: Defend Jamaica
Stage Name: Nitty Kutchie
Writer: Richard Stephenson
Producer: Richie Stephenson
Title: Out of Many
Stage Name: Nazzleman
Writer: Oneil Scott
Producer: Christopher Tyrell
Title: Sixty (Anniversary Time)
Stage Name: One1
Writer: Milton Wray
Producer: Milton Wray
Title: Rock To Da Beat
Stage Name: Intrestt
Writer: Davion Bent
Producer: Lloyd James King Jammy
Title: Bring Back the Love
Stage Name: Stamp
Writer: Rory Robert
Producer: Sidney Thorpe
The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission will be ramping up the Jamaica Festival Competition workshops over the next 12 months to ensure there are improved entries for next year. Dancehall Artist Stacious won the 2021 competition.
