After much outrage over the initial cancellation of the 2022 Jamaica Festival Song Competition, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange has announced that the selection of 10 finalists for the competition.
“We will remember that initially, the panel selected three songs, which was not a sufficient number for a competition,” said Grange in a release on Friday.
“After that we decided to re-open entries and we received 209 new entries during the course of a week. After reviewing all the entries, the panel has selected 10 finalists,” she informed.
Grange said she was “pleased” with the response to the re-opening of entries.
“We have never received so many entries in one week,” she announced.
The finalists are: I’m A Proud Jamaican by Magic; Nuh Weh Nice Like Yard by Sacaj; Diamond Jubilee by Orkid; Jamaica Sweet Again by Dez I Boyd; Jamaica Nice Again by Inspiyah; Defend Jamaica by Nitty Kutchie; Out Of Many by Nazzleman; Sixty (Anniversary Time) by One1; Rock To Da Beat by Intrestt; and Bring Back The Love by Stamp.
The minister said the songs are being mastered and the recordings will be released soon. She has called on broadcasters “to play the songs so that the public will get to know them and be able to choose their favourite for Jamaica 60”.
The ministry through the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JDDC) is making arrangements to put the finalists on social media and on 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.
There’s a prize of three million dollars for the winning song to be shared among the producer, the writer and the singer, the release said.
