Church Choir among Festival Song Top Ten Finalists
“For over 50 years, this competition has enriched our community of local talent with meaningful exposure on a local and even international stage”
THE 2018 edition of the Jamaica Festival Song Competition continues to be one for the history books – from the record number of entries received, to a church choir named among the finalists. The choir, was along with nine finalists, were selected at the semi-final concert at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre recently.
Organised by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), an agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the 30 semi-finalists went head to head for one of the coveted top 10 spots as they tried to outperform each other in front of a global audience that included viewers from Mexico, the United States, Canada, and Australia. The choir makes history as the largest group to enter and make it into the final round of the competition.
MEANINGFUL EXPOSURE
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports Oliva ‘Babsy’ Grange, noted: “For over 50 years, this competition has enriched our community of local talent with meaningful exposure on a local and even international stage. We have made every effort to make this year’s competition bigger and better than before. This year, we have seen a record number of more than 200 entries. That tells me that Festival Song is alive and well.
“And we have pulled out all the stops to ensure that we have a record prize package of 10 million dollars, so I am sure that success in this competition will be a life-changing experience for the winners.”
Leading up to the finals, the top 10 will participate in a series of performances across the country.
This road tour will lead up to the competition’s grand final in July, when the winning song will be selected to form the soundtrack for Jamaica’s 56th anniversary Independence.