Deadlines for song contests move back

Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer

The entry deadline for the 2012 Festival Song Competition has been set for December 30 this year, as the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) is hoping to give Jamaicans two additional months to hear and connect with the entries for the annual competition.

The finals have been set for June 30.

There has also been a change of deadlines for entries in the Children's Gospel and Jamaica Gospel competitions. November 25 is the deadline for the Children's Gospel and December 30 for the Jamaica Gospel Competition.

As it has been up to this year, the deadline was in February with deadline extensions running into March, but according to David Reid, the festival song coordinator at the JCDC, the deadline will be set a whole two months earlier as they try to make the Festival song the driving force for Jamaica's 50th Independence celebrations. "We have restructured the competition so that we can have the song earlier so people can get to know it before the season starts," Reid explained. "People have told us that by the time they get to hear the songs the competition is all over."

So far, there doesn't seem to be any negative effects from setting an earlier deadline, Smith said, as already people have collected entry forms and have indicated that they have begun the process of producing songs for Jamaica 50 celebrations. Once those entries have been submitted the JCDC will begin sifting through them to select what will hopefully be the best 50 songs for the semi-finals, which will be set for February next year.

Smith revealed that they are scheduling the semi-finals during which 10 finalists will be selected to coincide with World Reggae Month in February. Most of March and April will be used to shoot the respective videos and produce an album of the 10 finalists, with the album launch set for May 2012.

Appearances

The June 30 finals will give organisers a full five weeks between the time that the winning song is chosen and the start of the Independence celebrations. With that in mind, between May and June leading up to the finals, there will be a series of roadshows and video presentations to promote the songs, and the respective singers will make appearances at nightclubs and other selected venues across the island. "We will be trying to build up energy towards the finals to get Jamaicans voting for their favourite song," Reid remarked.

Leighton Jones, who coordinates the gospel song competitions, revealed that, as is the case with the Festival Song Competition, the change of deadlines is to accommodate the Jamaica 50 celebrations. "We want to create more opportunities for the winners to participate in the celebratory events that we have planned throughout the year," Jones said.

The winner of the Children's Gospel contest will be decided in April, while the winner of the Jamaica Gospel Song Competition, usually decided on July 30 will be known on July 1, 2012.