Belize National Song Competition 2013
Saturday, August 10, 2013 at the Memorial Park @ 7pm!!!

Make sure to come out and have a great time with your family as these performers will have you swaying and dancing to their newly released patriotic songs for 2013.

Song Competition

The September Celebrations schedule has been all but finalized - except for that major scheduling conflict we told you about on September 14th - when the Chamber Expo and the Carnival Road March are competing events.

But, before we get all the way there, the celebration season starts out on Saturday night with the national song competition.

That's become known as a hype event, with high production values, and Monica Bodden found out what's planned for this year:

Monica Bodden reporting
September Celebrations are right around the corner and what better way to kick off the festivities than with the annual National Song Competition.

Joseph Stamp Romero - Creative Arts Development Officer, ICA
"We are about two days from one of the biggest events, part of our Celebrations Calendar - the National Song Competition - that takes place on August 10th at the memorial park. You will see 18 contestants really throw it down, Belizean style, and they will walk away with titles. One in junior category for Belize song, one senior category for Belize song, the other one will be the Carnival song which of course will be one of those songs you hear playing a lot through the carnival road march and probably on that."

Monica Bodden "Tell us, is there anything different this year?"

Joseph Stamp Romero "Definitely, what we did with the juniors this year - we had our vocal trainer come in and she was a part of some of our arts program but she also worked with our contestants. They were allowed to have access to this vocal trainer and they were able to get tips on stage performance as well, so it was the juniors and the seniors - they were able to spend some time with Kelly and really find out how to really improve their performance in this competition."

She is known as the Soca Queen of Belize and today Ernestine is back in the country to defend her title.

Ernestine Carballo - Artist
"Hello Belize - I am back and I'm so happy to be home even though it's so hot, oh my goodness, I'm trying to readjust. In Los Angeles I was the headliner for the Belize Caye Fest that was on the July 7th that was at the Hollywood Park Casino with 501 band, Lady D, Sharifa - it was a wonderful experience. It is my second time back in LA so I had a lot of promotions, Carib Press, I ended up in the Hollywood Carnival meeting Marshall Montana - a lot of excitement and wonderful promotions. I did a performance in Long Beach and the list goes on, it was so many festivities and Belize Mix Radio and the interviews and all the autographs. When the people heard my name they rushed the stage and it was awesome, so I can't complain."

Monica Bodden
"Now, what brought you back home?"

Ernestine Carballo
"Well, of course Carnival because last year I was on the European tour and I had to tell Chicago and the committee at the Belize/Chicago day that I have to come back to Belize because I'm already obligated to this year's National Soca Competition - once again. You know everybody says 'Ernestine without you in Belize for Carnival, it's not the same'. I just want to big-up Chicago because I got nothing but love from Chicago."

Ernestine's song is listed in the Carnival category. The name of her song is, 'Every Day For Me Is Carnival'

Ernestine Carballo
"Well you all already know the queen, you all gave me that name. Expect nothing but pure fire, pure excitement, straight up Belizean, hard/wicked/rough dancing, new steps - everything new, turn up."

Monica Bodden
"So how can people vote for your song?"

Ernestine Carballo
"Alright well you can go to www.mynationalsong.bz and click on Listen and vote and as you open the page you will see Ernestine Carballo at the top and my new song is 'Everyday for me is Carnival' - I changed the pace a little because you don't have to be jumping up fast every time for Carnival - slow it down a little bit. As you hear Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados and Europe and all those countries - I have to reach out to the Caribbean and to the world and let them know that Belize is also Soca and we are a people of rhythm and we love everything that they love."

And then there are those first time competitors who can surely carry a note and are no strangers to Belize's music industry.

Deborah Pitts - Artist
"It's our first time and you know there's a first for everything. I see it as something very prestigious to do something that represents Belize so I think it will be a good try for us and see how it goes."

Monica Bodden
"What category are you in?"

Deborah Pitts
"We're in the senior Belize song competition"

Lisa Alvarez - Artist
"The patriotic"

Monica Bodden
"How about you? How did you decided to take part?"

Lisa Alvarez
"For the record, the song was written by Miss Deborah Pitts and I believe it's an excellent song that depicts Belize's culture, historically and even geographically. She asked me if I could be a part and I agreed and I'm very excited to ally with her on this."

The 18 artists are asking for your support in an online voting feature that will give them just a tiny boost in the competition.

Joseph Stamp Romero
"You can go to www.mynationalsong.bz and you can see your favorite artist on there and vote for your favorite song. We're looking for the most popular song on the site and we want to see which song played the most, which song had the most attention. We always try to encourage to tell them to go and vote for my song - the day of the competition, that's when everything goes down."

Monica Bodden
"What are some of the criteria's that some of the judges will be looking for on Saturday night?"

Joseph Stamp Romero
"Definitely audience appeal - how the audience reacts to the song, what your bring to the stage as a performer, also the content- it's a Belize song - you have to be able to have a song that inspires the audience to feel that nationalism. The Belize song has a really difficult task because we will be looking keenly for those lyrics. The carnival competition is pretty much, bring the hype but of course the musicality of it, audience appeal is a big thing but it's really how you show case that song to the judges to the best of your ability."

And prizes include thousands of dollars and an opportunity to musically represent Belize abroad.

Joseph Stamp Romero
"This year we upped the anti, $6,000 is the first place but in the Belize song and the carnival (senior categories) $3,000 second place, and in the senior and carnival - they also get a video of their song and they are going to get a ticket to a festival that NICH identifies. So we're really trying to get our artist more exposed to this particular competition. The juniors walk away with $1,500 for first place and $1000 for second place and they get a chance to work on some tracks, courtesy of NICH."

The National Song Competition will be held at the Memorial Park on Saturday- and admission is free. The show starts at 7:00.

Channel 7

National Song Competition will be live on 5

The national song competition takes place this Saturday night at the Memorial Park and you can catch it live on this station. The lineup includes a return of defending champions as well as top performers in the music industry all hoping to walk away with titles in the different categories. Duane Moody caught up with the singers who all intend to give their best vocal performance accompanied by a live band.

Duane Moody, Reporting

Many persons are expected to attend and view the National Song Competition 2013 as it kicks off at seven p.m. on Saturday at the Memorial Park in Belize City. Some nineteen performances will take the stage in the patriotic, carnival and junior segments. Defending Champ for patriotic song is well known artist, Nello Player. This year, he has a surprise up his sleeve with his track, "Da Belize eh Deh."

Nello Player, Defending Champion, Patriotic Segment, National Song Competition

"I know I had to come different this year. I mean this is my fourth time in the competition and so I figured I can’t repeat what I did in any of the past three times of the competition. So "Dah Belize Eh Deh." I did this song a few days actually before the deadline-the instrumentation and the song itself. Every time I sit to work on it, I am around people, friends; my manager, close friends, family and I tend to� Before I actually came up with the song I say weh di song wah name? So we name the song before we actually made the song. I got a consensus. Somebody say proud Belizean; somebody say dah Belize eh deh. So this is the first time I actually have a song that has two names. If you notice it has "Dah Belize Eh Deh and in brackets afterwards "Proud Belizean."

Eight others would like to take that title including names such as Deborah Pitts, Reecie Pollard and Glenford Gentle from Belmopan. But it is Wilson Grinage, who says he will own the stage and win the competition.

Wilson Grinage, Finalist, Patriotic Segment, National Song Competition

"I'm just going out there and be myself and not try to imitate anyone. I won’t try to be the next Machel or the male Destra. I'm just gonna bring Wilson Grinage to the table. And what people out there are used to is me doing the slow ballads and those R&B songs, but I've surprised myself with this project and like I said, I'm just going out there and give it my all. In the song, I talk about different wonders that Belize has to offer and the people and how they react to tourists that are coming in and how we treat each other on a daily basis. So basically that I try to summarize within a three minute song."

All performers, while they submitted their tracks will have to perform their original songs with a live band come Saturday night.� Pumped to bring the carnival vibe in full swing is Bad Gyal Sharon Martinez. She is defending the title with "Carnival Eena Yoh."

Sharon Martinez, Defending Champion, Carnival Segment, National Song Competition

"This year I decided to bring something more hotter, more flavor, more road march. So I decide to bring "Canival Eena Yo." I just sit down and think of something weh the carnival groups and people woudla really like and dah soh I come up with it.� Last year it was just pure raw talent. I went on the stage without backup singers, without even dancers right. And this year I try to put in all of that. This year I tried to put in all of that�I have mi dancers, I have mi backup singers so it wah nicer this year."

TR Shine has competed for three years taking third and second place before�this time, he wants to dethrone Bad Gyal Sharon and become carnival king.

Ivan "TR Shine" Burgess, Finalist, Carnival Segment, National Song Competition

"You can expect something just off the grid. The name of my song goes by "Kick off the Carnival." And the inspiration simply came from the surrounding things that's happening with the football team going out there; Belizean people uniting as one; nevertheless it is all that. And the feeling just deh deh from deep inside. It is not about the prize or anything. Dah just Belize we deh."

Apart from cash prizes and trophies, this year, the winner gets a chance to represent Belize at an international festival in the U.S.� Duane Moody for News Five.

�

As we said, the event is schedule to kick off at seven p.m. so stay with us here at Channel Five for the live performances which carries a hefty weight of eighty percent of the total scores.

Channel 5

Song Fest Draws Cheers And Jeers

The National Song Competition was held on Saturday night at Memorial Park. It is seen as the unofficial kickoff of the September Celebrations - and you could have seen it live at the park or her on Channel 7. Daniel Ortiz was front row for all the fun - and he has this report:�

Daniel Ortiz reporting
The 2013 National Song Competition featured18 artists who provided over 4 hours of entertainment to a Memorial Park crowded with fans who have come to expect a high quality of entertainment from the event.

And they got that consistent quality from a variety of performers, some veterans, some newcomers, but in the end, there could only be 3 winners: and those emerged as Ivan 'TR' Burgess, Kernelle 'Nello Player' Parks, and Jael August.

Nello Player is now the back to back winner in the Patriotic Song Competition. He's entry 'Da Belize Eh Deh' captivated the audience with its colorful lyrics about Belize and its culture. After the competition, he told us that he was excited about the win. He said that he didn't expect to win:

Nello Player - 2013 Patriotic Winner
"Overwhelming feeling first of all, this is just me, I think I did an 'ok' performance but the artists are usually hard on themselves. I didn't think I did a first place performance but the crowd spoke and the judges saw something else that I didn't so I uguess I have to accept it. It was good, the experience was great, it was fun out here - a lot of people here. I feel good about the win, a win is a win - the people spoke, the judges spoke - this is a win, I'm accepting it and I feel good - time to enjoy myself now."

His competitor, Wilson Grinage, who is no stranger to the arts, but who has made his first appearance in the competition, came in second with his song, 'Patriotic Pride'.

Wilson Grinage - 2nd Place, Patriotic Category
"I'm happy over all, I really am."

In the carnival category, the competition was heated. It featured the brand names Ernestine Carballo, the 2011 champ; Sharon Martinez, the defending champion; and Ivan 'TR' Burgess.

TR edged both of them out this year, and his rise to the top could have been foretold. In 2011, he was third in a duet with Leslie 'Bastic' Jenkins, and last year he came in second with his song 'Wave the Flag', which also won him the prize money for most popular carnival tune.

This year, his winning piece, 'Kick Off The Carnival', relied on his high energy performance, and the lyrics which focused on Belize's Jaguars and their historic Gold Cup run.

Ivan 'TR' Burgess - 2013 Carnival Song Winner
"It's a lot of hard work, you know you have to put in sacrifices and take what comes your way. I actually thank God that for accomplishing the goal."

Daniel Ortiz
"Tell us, 2011, 2012 and 2013 - what was the transition and how did you clone your skills as an overall artist to be able to produce the song which won tonigh?"

Ivan 'TR' Burgess
"Basically it was sitting down with the current information and things that are going on in the country. Every year I try to come with something a bit different. Like in 2011 I said it was our anniversary with Bastic and I and I wrote the entire song, the second year - I always use the motto. Like I said it's a lot of hard work."

Daniel Ortiz
"There were so many variable that you can't account for, the music died down - you had a technical difficulty. Tell us how you sang through that."

Ivan 'TR' Burgess
"I understand that the song competition is to a be a song that is sang straight through without stop and I continued regardless if I couldn't hear myself on the mike and the monitors - I just continued straight through at the top of my voice. When that was happening I know it was happening so I just continued hard and that's when my stomach started hurting me too."

Daniel Ortiz
"How does it feel knowing that the judges realize that it wasn't your fault and they still allowed you to win because the song was excellent and the performance was excellent before that technical difficulty?"

Ivan 'TR' Burgess
"I didn't really expect any faults and I know that we came out here for sound check earlier on and there were a couple difficulties from sound check so I wasn't really tripping about it at all."

Ernestine Carballo was second, and was very grateful for that because she had just returned from Chicago a few days ago for the competition. Carballo congratulated the new champ

Ernestine Carballo - 2nd Place, 2013 Carnival Song
"I am very blessed to know that I just came in 4 days and I got second place so imagine Belize. I'm applauding all the contestants that got first place because they really put off a show and a big congratulations to TR because I set the throne and he followed through with it and he came out good and did an awesome job. For everyone that worked with me, I'm just grateful and we did our thing and we did our best. After that whole tour from Chicago, it was rough so definitely next year, if God spares my life, I will come back and with the driving force and I'm going to come back and get it again."

Jael August is one of those young Belizean stars with a wealth of talent that belies her age. The 12 year old is a great performer in the making, who will certainly leave her mark. She is also the winner of the Junior Patriotic Song Category.

Jael August - Winner, Junior Patriotic Song Category
"It was very exciting. Before I went on stage, I have a lot of supporters - I was so excited, I was overwhelmed."

Daniel Ortiz
"Was there any part of the performance where you were nervous or already ready and in the game?"

Jael August
"Well I was nervous at first as I hit the stage but I just waited and it went very well, I enjoyed myself on the stage."

Nello Player
"Every year this song competition gets bigger and we really have to give thanks to NICH for really putting a lot to this every year and putting more into the prize package and more incentives for artist that you're just hearing about coming out of the works, they have good songs and making the competition more stiff."

Because they won their categories, TR and Nello Player were awarded with a $6000 cash prize, a Trophy, a music video production, and the opportunity to represent Belize at a Regional competition. Ernestine Carballo and Wilson Grinage, the second place winners, were awarded with $3000 and a Trophy.

In the junior patriotic song category, Jael won $1500 and a trophy. Second place went to Marlyn Vansen, who won $1,000 cash. All the participants will be given a $200 in recording studio time.

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Blowback From Song Competition

As you saw in our interview with Nello Player, he told us that he didn't think that his performance was the winning piece for the night in Patriotic Song competition.

And he's not the only one who has that opinion; when the winners were announced, there was a large portion of the audience who disagreed, believing that the two best performances came from Wilson Grinage and Reecie Pollard.

Pollard spoke to us today and pointed to several issues which she says suggest a clear slant against to the unknown faces in the competition.

Wilson Grinage - 2nd Place, Patriotic Song Category
"It wasn't fair, honestly. I'm being real here and I'm sorry for whoever might hate me for this but if I had come in second to Reecie Pollard I would have been so happy. But second to someone whose stage performance wasn't up to par as comparisson to Reecie and myself, I'm not hating people - I'm really upset because it's really unfair."

Reecie Pollard
"I was really disappointed because it hurt me so much to know that you go out there and you put your all for a performance, you do everything that was required for the performance and how could somebody with that performance win you when you've given your all? I'm not the best singer in the world, but I know myself - I know I can sing better than anybody because anybody can be selfish. People out there can agree with me, view for yourself - go over and look at the performances and tell me which performance deserved to be first. Also I feel the same way that Wilson feels, I thought the competition would have been between him and I and when Nello Player got it, it was just wrong so I just think it was unfair."

Daniel Ortiz
"Tell us about all of these requirements that you fulfilled that you thought you did excellently on?"

Reecie Pollard - Contestant, Patriotic Song Category
"Costume, my stage performance - I made sure the judges heard clearly, the clarity of my voice - I did what I was supposed to do. We should not judge a competition by how well you hold your audience because Nello Player is a well known artist around Belize City and I am just Reecie Pollard - some people might know me from Karaoke, some don't. But if it goes for the audience screaming out, of course he will win because he's more popular than I am. All in all I just want answers from them - what made his performance so much better than mine. The other thing is they made you pick numbers for the competition, I had two picks. I picked the number which was for carnival and he told me to put it back and I picked the other number and I got number 10 and there were only 9 of us in the competition so that would make me the last person. So several contestants didn't show up, if you weren't there - you automatically lost your turn. When it was my turn, I was rehearsing with my dancers then they came to me and told me to go up and I told them I was the last performer. Why I had to on before? Because Nello Player's backup singers didn't get there yet. Most of us use the same back up three singers and if anybody viewed his performance - he didn't have extra backup singers with him on stage - so what made him so special that I had to take his turn and he took mine?"

The judges were Kellie Cadogan, Colville Young Jr., Orson Picart, James Sanker, and Cindy Crawford.

Channel 7

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Belize National Song Competition 2013 Highlights

The Belize National Song Competition is an event held every year kicking off the mood for the September Celebrations. It is an event planned by NICH (National Institute of Culture and History), September Celebrations Commission and sponsored by Atlantic International Bank. The event gives Belizean artists an opportunity to showcase new lyrics and original material built around the September Celebrations.

The Belize National Song Competition is broken into 3 different categories, Junior Patriotic Song, Senior Patriotic Song and Carnival Song.

This years winners for the 2013 National Song Competition are:
Jael August - Patriotic Song Competition Junior Category
Nello Player - Patriotic Song Competition Senior Category
TR Shine - Carnival Song Competition

Sweet Belize by David Smith

Musical Interlude. David Smith wrote Sweet Belize for the Patriotic Song Competition. Good job, David! Check out Roots and Honor Records for more.

https://www.facebook.com/RootsAndHonorRecords

"David Smith submted Sweet Belize into the 2013 Patriotic Song competition. He states that the song encourages Belizeans to come bring Belize back to the way God originally intended it to be... A SWEET NATION.

"