D Burns wins 2026 Jamaica Festival Song Competition with 'I Love Jamaica'

Singer D Burns has won the 2026 Jamaica Festival Song Competition with his entry "I Love Jamaica", collecting the $3-million top prize at the results show held on Saturday, July 25 at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in Kingston. The competition is marking 60 years.

D Burns, who hails from Clarendon, also took the best performer prize of $200,000. Accepting the win, he gave a shout-out to Dorina O'Connor, his choir director when he attended Glenmuir High School in the parish.

Second place and $600,000 went to Oando Ley, a teacher by profession, while Aba Jones placed third for $300,000. The third-place announcement had to be redone after the wrong name was read on air; the hosts apologised and invited the presenter back to the stage to hand Jones the cheque.

Nine finalists performed their original entries a final time before the results were read. Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia "Babsy" Grange said 10 songs had been in the running, but one was removed after organisers found it had been released previously, breaching the rule that entries must be original and unreleased. She explained that the $3 million is divided among the songwriter, the producer and the singer, with the winner taking the full sum when one person fills all three roles. Chief judge Roy Rayon, a four-time festival song winner, said the judges' scores accounted for 75 per cent of the result and the public vote 25 per cent.

Grange traced the competition to the late Edward Seaga, then minister of development and welfare and later prime minister, who wanted a song "that could be on the lips of every man, woman and child" during the national celebrations. She noted that both Bob Marley and Rita Marley, who celebrated her birthday on the day of the show, once entered, and that "Stepping Razor", written by Joe Higgs, was an entry that was not selected before it was passed to Peter Tosh to record.

The other finalists were Brother Z, Bria, Elton Errington, Tristar, Lady Jazz and Songbird Latana. Abby D, the 2025 winner, returned to perform "Sweet Ja", and Duane Stephenson appeared as guest artiste. Grange said next year's staging will coincide with Jamaica's 65th anniversary of Independence and the final Grand Gala before a new national stadium is built. Independence Village runs at the National Stadium complex from August 1 to 6.