The winner was announced during the results show at Emancipation Park in St. Andrew on Saturday (July 26).
‘Sweet JA’ was selected through a combination of votes from a panel of judges and the public.
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, presented the Jamaica Festival Song Trophy to Ms. Dunstan, whose winning entry also earned the $3 million cash prize.
The award will be shared equally among Ms. Dunstan, the songwriter, and the producer, in recognition of their collaborative achievement.
Second place was copped by Brother C and Jegz for their entry ‘Come Mek Wi Rally’, while third place went to Raldene ‘Loaded Eagle’ Dyer for ‘JamDung’. Brother C and Jegz also won the Best Performer category.
Chief Judge, Owen Brown, noted that the competition attracted over 160 entries from talented Jamaicans islandwide.
“After a meticulous selection process, our panel of experienced musical professionals selected the top 10 finalists… [who] were evaluated on originality, lyrical strength, cultural relevance, production quality and overall performance,” he said.
The remaining finalists in this year’s competition included: Askia Livingstone – ‘Nation Vow’; Romane Ingram – ‘Deh Pon Mi Mind’; Oliver Ashley – ‘Jamaica You Have It All’; Jonah Jack – ‘Vision Jamaica’; Jules Clarke – ‘A Jam Dung Dis’; Christopher Laing –‘Jamaica is Big Big Everywhere; and Randeen ‘N-Rich’ Thomas – ‘Naah Leave’.
During the live show, attendees were entertained by Reggae icon, Richie Spice; 2024 Festival Song winner, Kimiela ‘Candy’ Isaacs, who performed her winning entry – ‘#One Jamaica’, and the 2025 finalists, each performing their competition entry alongside their favourite past Festival Song. The evening also featured a dazzling drone show.
Since 1966, the Jamaica Festival Song Competition has been cemented in the landscape of Jamaican music culture and, today, is the longest running original song contest in the island.
The competition has become a showground for aspiring artistes, songwriters and producers to showcase their talents, and aims to identify a new and original song each year that reflects the spirit of the Jamaican people.
The event is organised by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport through the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC).
– JIS (Chris Patterson)
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