Jamaicans Upset After National Festival Song Scrapped Due To Substandard, “Ackee And Saltfish” Submissions

Dancehall producer Donovan Germain’s comments that the decision by the Ministry of Culture and Entertainment to scrap the National Festival Song Competition this year, was fueled by the fact that too many of the entries contained references to Jamaica’s national dish, has not gone down well with some Jamaicans.

Last Wednesday Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange had broke the news that she had decided to forego the competition and produce a Jamaica 60 commemorative album for 2022, instead of hosting the annual Festival Song Competition, as the quality of submissions was substandard.

Germain, who was a member of the judging panel which checks entries each year and selects the 10 finalists, is reported as saying that the panellists simply could not find songs that were worthy of consideration for the top 10.

“The quality of the Festival Song entries has been progressively diminishing.   In fact, this year’s crop was so bad that the panel decided that it was best that we did not put out any of those songs for Jamaica 60. If we listen to 50 songs, 40 of them talking about ackee and salt fish and beach. So it would come down to who can sing best about ackee and salt fish and beach,” he told The Gleaner.

According to the team which also consisted of Alaine Laughton, Freddie McGregor, Gussie Clarke, and Cleveland “Clevie” Browne of Steelie and Clevie, 120 of the 123 submissions were inferior.

However, today, in response to Germain and his fellow panellists,  Jamaican responses were caustic, as most contended that there should be no problem with Jamaicans singing about their national dish.

One commenter, derealdeal2017 expressed deep disappointment at the decision on Instagram, noting that this year being Jamaica’s  60th year of independence, was of great significance and the song competition is an integral part of the celebrations.

“If the direction is to move away from the tradition of singing about all things Jamaican then that should have been made known prior to the competition starting. What’s wrong with singing about our national dish?” she said.

“Plus, the plight of songwriting in Jamaica is one that has been in decline for a long time. A lot of songs are simply not up to standard and if you accept that then surely you would had some camps to assist in the songwriting for the competition. Seeking to do it after isn’t good enough,” she scolded.

“But that’s what the festival song’s is all about singing about our culture suh how comes it too much all of a sudden…..sumn nuh right😕😕😕,” orvil_one said in expressing chagrin.

Some commenters mockingly asked whether the panellists wanted to hear lyrics about lotto scamming and rifle walk, since they had an issue with lyrics highlighting Jamaican heritage and culture.

“Chop chop dem waah hear affi rifle walk fi di 60th. Leggo di Ackee and saltfish ting,” fixer_mon jeered.

“Every song today is about chopping and rifles, gimme beaches, ackee and salt fish any day!” travl_lifestyl.

Another upset commenter despo_rado ripped into Germain and his colleagues, whom he said had abused their authority and made their personal tastes guide their decision instead of approaching the selection process dispassionately.

“Worst thing he could have said. The minister said they cut down the list to 30. So if they had thirty of the same themes, then let the country choose out of 10.   To scrap the competition because of personal taste just shows how backwards we are. All of you in positions of power are woefully lacking, do you all step down ? No. You all are a disgrace to the nation with this one. Let the damn people decide and choose what they like. Bunch of damn morons.🤡,” he stated.

On Wednesday, in the House of Parliament, Grange, in outlining plans to have a Jamaica 60 commemorative album, had said that despite the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) extending the deadline for entry on two occasions, this year, the number of entries had declined.

Grange had told Parliament that the Jamaica 60 commemorative album, will include two songs that were selected from the festival song entries and songs from Jamaica’s leading reggae ambassadors and emerging artists.

According to The Gleaner, Germain, in addressing the issue of poor quality of the songs, had asked: “Have you listened to some of the songs that are being put out now? Yuh hear the productions? Yuh listen to radio?”

“This year, we did the exercise over two days and could not find 10 songs… I have been asking people ‘Can you remember the last five songs that have won this once-a-year Festival Song Competition?’ And the answer is always ‘No’. That shows us that something is wrong. One year we tried something different by inviting professionals to enter, and there was so much backlash. We can’t have our cake and eat it,” he said, referencing the outcry after Stacious won last year.

Germain also said that the “the demise of the music industry started when everybody set up a studio at home. From then, the standards started to drop because there were no professionals overseeing the process and the projects.”

According to the report, Freddie McGregor, Marcia Griffiths and Shaggy are among the top-tier artists who have pledged their support for the Jamaica 60 commemorative album.

Freddie McGregor, who was a member of the five-member panel chosen to arrive at the top 10 finalists, has come to Grange’s defence in the aftermath of the popular outcry, according to the Jamaica Observer.

McGregor told the publication that after listening to the entries and “being sorely disappointed with the submissions”, the panel had relayed their dismay to Grange and recommended that the competition be aborted.

“Is Jamaica 60 wi talking about! Those songs that we listened to could not go out there and represent the music industry after 60 years of Independence…they just could not, it would be a shame and disgrace,” he said.