Stacious confident about festival song contest

Reggae-dancehall artiste Stacious is excited to be a finalist in the Jamaica Festival Song Competition, and said the inspiration for her song Jamaican Spirit came from the most unlikely place - a TikTok meme.

The competition is celebrating its 55th anniversary this year, and the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) selection panel, led by chief judge Donovan Germain, selected 12 finalists instead of the customary 10. Other finalists include I-Octane with Land We Love, Tamo J with Real Talk (Jamrock), Candy with Birthday Bash JA and Fab 5 with Unwind.

"I am absolutely excited. It is my first time in a competition that has to do with music, and I am just raring and ready to go," she told THE STAR.

"It (the inspiration) is basically like the TikTok meme that says 'Say you girlfriend is clingy, without saying she's clingy'. So, it's like basically that. Say you're Jamaican without saying you're Jamaican, and I made it a point of duty not to make it too repetitive. I noticed over the years all the festival songs kinda sounded similar, just repeating 'Jamaica, Jamaica', but I wanted to do more, to represent the people who are really what makes Jamaica what it is," she said.

Stacious, whose given name is Stacey Scarlett Bryan, is also listed as the writer of the track. It was a process she said was very easy, noting that she was able to come up with the lyrics in a matter of hours. The recording artiste said she was involved in a number of JCDC competitions.

"It was always the drama and speech (in high school), and then I even ended up in the festival queen competition one year, my first year out of high school, [and I was] actually second runner-up for [the Portmore Festival Queen Competition]," she said.

While unwilling to state who she thinks is her biggest competition, second runner-up just won't cut it for the dancehall diva. "I can tell you this, I am coming to win it," she said.

The public will select the winning song through telephone voting, which will begin on July 5. The winning song offers a prize of $3 million to be shared among the producer, the writer and the singer. Other prizes will be announced.

Stacious hasn't yet tied down the details of what she'll do if she does win the competition.

"I haven't thought that far ahead, but the KPH (Kingston Public Hospital) physiotherapy department has always been my go-to when it comes on to anything, from charity to volunteer work, so maybe I'll try put them in the mix. I haven't really thought that far ahead, but I am sure it will come to me," she said.