According to newly appointed festival song coordinator, David Reid, "This year will see the return of the programme in a fresh and exciting way. We are looking for songs with a catchy sound that also inspires a feeling of celebration and the competition is open to all new, aspiring and established artistes."

Reid also highlighted that as a new feature of the competition, the top-10 finalists will be aligned with some of Jamaica's top music and video producers for the final production of their entries. This strategy, he said, is intended to broaden the scope of the competition by involving some of the industry's major players in the programme.

SELECTION

Selecting the winning song will begin with the submission of a recorded version of the entry followed by rigorous live eliminations before the top-10 finalists are selected. According to Reid, workshops and other training will also be an integral part of the selection process.

The 2010 finalists will be involved in the production of a compilation album and an islandwide tour before the finals set for July. In addition, finalists will also benefit from increased marketing and public-relations support to be provided by the JCDC this year.

Over the years, the Festival Song Competition has been responsible for developing the careers of many artistes, including reggae icon Bob Marley, Ernie Smith, Toots Hibbert and more recently, Bescenta, Khago and Ieye.