Kingston, 21 July 2023 (JIS) - The 2023 Jamaica Festival Song album, featuring this year’s 11 finalists, is now live on the major streaming services, including Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, and many others.

This was disclosed by Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, during a statement to the House of Representatives on July 19.

“This year, we have again targeted 30 streaming platforms. It is the fourth consecutive year that finalists in the Jamaica Festival Song Competition have been released on global streaming platforms. This continues to be a major accomplishment, as we seek to revitalise the competition and provide the biggest platform possible, not only for the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) but for the finalists and our music,” Minister Grange said.

She is encouraging Jamaicans at home and in the Diaspora, as well as lovers of Jamaican music everywhere, to support the artistes and songwriters by streaming and downloading the songs.

The Minister is further urging people to vote for their favourites via text messaging or the Reggae Jamaica App. The public vote will help to select the Festival Song winner for 2023.

“Again, we thank the national broadcasters for helping us to highlight the finalists by playing the songs. The finalists are also being featured on the social media pages of the Ministry as well as on the JCDC’s social media pages and my pages as well,” Minister Grange said.

The Jamaica Festival finalists were introduced to the nation during a live two and half hour show on TVJ, PBCJ and social media on July 6.

They also participated in a promotional show in Montego Bay last Wednesday (July 12), and scheduled to perform at the Bank of Jamaica Lunch Hour Concert, on July 28, before the winner is announced in a live event on national TV and social media on Saturday, July 29.

The announcement show will take place at the Festival Village at the National Arena.

As it relates to the Jamaica Gospel Star, Minister Grange said that there has been strong interest
in the competition.

“We’ve created a made-for-TV show, which airs every Sunday on CVM and PBCJ until the winner is decided on Sunday, July 23,” she indicated.

END