The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), an agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport is pleased to announce the results from the Grand Final of the Jamaica Gospel Song Competition, held on Sunday, August 4 at the National Arena:

·         Winner: Joanna Walker, “Taste and See”

·         2nd place: Darien Callum & Ricardo Williams, “Never Leave My Side”

·         3rd Place: Daron Mitchell, “Already Loved”

Sectional Awards:

·         Best Performance: Joanna Walker, “Taste and See”

·         Best Musicianship:  Daron Mitchell, “Already Loved”

·         Best Lyrics: Darien Callum & Ricardo Williams, “Never Leave My Side”

·         Best Arrangement: Le-Schae Grant, “No One Like You Lord”

·         Most Popular on Social Media: Curtis Rhoden, “You’re All I Need”

·         Writer of the Winning Song:  Joanna Walker, “Taste and See”

·         Spirit of Praise Award: Lorenza Rowe, “God We a Praise”

Winning Prizes - 2019 Winner, Joanna Walker receives:

·         Cash Award of $1 000 000 and trophy, courtesy of the JCDC

·         Cash Award of $100 000 courtesy of the Airports Authority of Jamaica for Writer of the Winning Song

ABOUT THE WINNER:

Joanna Walker

Born in Kingston to parents who can also be described as song birds, Joanna Walker is a singer and songwriter who started singing at the age of two. During her teenage years, while attending the Christiana High School in Manchester, Joanna was introduced to the JCDC Festival of the Performing Arts, winning gold, silver and bronze medals in Drama, Music and Speech. Her affinity for leading in devotions and contributing to school plays, skyrocketed her popularity in school. In 2010 Joanna entered and won the Sandals and Beaches Resorts Encore Competition for the Caribbean. She also opened for internationally-acclaimed, Jamaican recording artiste Tessanne Chin at Japex 2012, and later landed a top 5 spot In the Open Mic International UK Competition in 2015.