Following closely on the successful international release of the Jamaica Festival 2020 Song Competition album, the Jamaica Gospel Song 2020 album is now available on international streaming platforms. Starting Friday, the 10-track album was made available on Apple Music, iTunes, Deezer, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
“The moment I heard the songs, I knew that they had the potential to go way beyond the competition, and I committed to facilitating the realisation of that vision. I made that commitment to the artistes, and today, I am proud to say ‘mission accomplished’,” Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange said.
This is the first time that a Jamaica Gospel Song album, produced by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) as part of the annual Independence celebrations, is being made available digitally, both locally and internationally. In July, the Jamaica Festival 2020 Song Competition album peaked at No. 11 on the iTunes Reggae Album Chart. It, too, was making its international debut.
Minister Grange added, “The pandemic presented lots of challenges which affected our usual ways of operation, but we were never daunted. The team at the JCDC and at my ministry decided that the limes thrown our way could be used to make sweet-tasting lemonade. We saw the success of the Jamaica Festival Song album on the international scene and firmly believe that gospel can reap the same level of success. This approach is giving longer life to the top 10 songs and greater exposure to the artistes who have participated.”
The album has been available digitally via pre-order since September 18 and is being distributed by VPAL Music. Persons wishing to purchase the album may visit the various platforms to stream and download the set.
The winner of the competition, Treisha Williams, with One Dose of the Holy Ghost, was announced on July 26 during a live nationwide telecast of the event on CVM TV. The songs on the album span many Jamaican music genres with variations and fusions obvious in many of the tracks.