TEN years after it was first introduced into the proceedings of the then Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Gospel Song Competition, the Spirit of Praise Award continues to inspire.

Conceptualiser of the award is well-known broadcaster and the principal of Perpetual Sounds of Praise/Allowed to Shine Ministries, Nadine Blair.

“I wanted to give back in the competition and I knew others were offering sectional prizes. I thought about who has the spirit of praise in all of this. The Lord gave me the name and the idea for the contestants to vote for the winner was the best way to go about it,” Blair shared in an interview with the Jamaica Observer on Friday.

With the renaming of the competition to the JCDC Gospel Star Competition, Blair has continued the award.

“I’ve never emceed an event on that level such as the JCDC Gospel Song competition. But I got involved as far back as in the early 1990s. I was either an emcee or a judge for the competition through the years, and this year with the renaming of the competition, I was the main judge,” said Blair.

She continued, “With the Spirit of Praise Award, we invited all 10 finalists in the competition to among themselves, who among them shows the best spirit of praise. It’s a way of encouraging people in the midst of even a competition, to encourage others. A selfless act. What I have found is that the person who wins the award is going through a very hard struggle in their personal life. And yet, even with the struggle in their personal life and they are in a competition that they themselves are trying to win, others among them are looking at them as a means of encouragement.”

Winners of the Spirit of Praise Award receive a cash prize of $25,000 and a plaque.

This year, the presentation to two recipients of the award was done at the offices of the JCDC in Kingston in July shortly after the conclusion of the Gospel Star Competition.

The recipients are Danielle Mayne (first-place winner of the competition) and second-place winner Chantal Smalling. The others who comprised the top 10 are third-place winner Regina Campbell, Amoya Thompson-Smith, Sasha Gay Sutherland, Michaela Jack, Johanna Morgan, Kimone Martin, Chantol Simon, and Daron Mitchell.

Miriam Hibbert was the first recipient of the Spirit of Praise Award in 2012. Other winners through the years include Howard Brown (2013) and Kaydene Smith (2021).