Anthony B sings praises of Festival Song Competition

Reggae and dancehall artiste Anthony B threw his hat in the ring for this year's Festival Song Competition, and was immensely pleased when his song, ' Hi Jamaica', was chosen by the committee as one of the final entries.

However, he had to subsequently withdraw, owing to clashing commitments; but he is already looking forward to 2024.

"When I sent in my entry, I wasn't fully aware of the exact dates for the competition and exactly when I would be needed to be in Jamaica, so that's the main reason why there is a clash with my current tour. But now that I have a better understanding of the time frame for the events, I will know how to schedule my bookings," Anthony B, whose given name is Keith Blair, told THE STAR.

He shared that initially his desire was to release Hi Jamaica anyway.

"But it is such a good song for Festival that I am going to hold it for next year. Festival is something I used to enjoy while growing up and it is something good for us as artistes to support. It is an important part of our culture. As children we grow up listening to Festival songs on the radio and knew every word of all the songs ... it wasn't the negatives that inspired us, it was the positives lyrics. I want our kids to have that experience," he said.

The singer, who has the reputation of being one of the most toured artistes out of Jamaica, pointed out the enduring impact of Festival songs and noted that he looked forward to the day when the competition starts producing entries that will again captivate the world stage.

"Look at winning Festival songs like Bam Bam with Toots & the Maytals [1966]; Cherry Oh Baby [Eric Donaldson, 1971]; Big Heal Boot [Freddy McKay, 1976] ... anywhere in the world yuh draw these songs dem mash up the stage. We don't want to lose these things in our culture," the Tease Her singer said.

Anthony B, who is now promoting his newest album, Bread and Butter, is currently on tour in Europe, and has Germany, France, Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia and Poland on his itinerary.

"After that I have Boston in the United States and then a show in Central Park on August 12. I have shows right up until September 29," he shared.

The 11 finalists in this year's Festival Song Competition are are: Slashe, Best in The World; Mento Tones, Jamaica Mi Born & Grow; Av&ante, Jamaica a Mi Yaad; Lady Denna & the Whole Note Mento Band, Little Paradise; Hot Rod, More Love; Shuga, Dancing Same Way; N-Rich, Sovereignty; Princess Black, Big up Mama Ja; Prince Fabulous, No Weh Like Yard; Eric Donaldson, Reggae Jamaica and Exco Levi, Feel like Home.

The winning song will be selected following two televised shows on July 6 and 29 on TVJ and PBCJ. There's a prize of $3 million for the winning entry to be shared among the producer, the writer and the singer.