LeTonick won the third Jamaica International Independence Foreign Song Competition (JIIFSC) on Saturday with Jamaican in Mi. He topped six rivals for the US$8,000 prize.

LeTonick, whose given name is Leon Denton, is based in Ohio. Accompanied by his five year-old son Lionel, he finished ahead of Georgia-based Marlon Christy (Island Jamaica) and Ernel Earlington (A Jamaica mi Bawn And Grow), who also lives in Georgia.

Christy was awarded $4,000 while Earlington received $1,000.

The finals took place at Shiloh High School Theatre in Snellville, Georgia.

“The event was a tremendous success. We have been receiving rave reviews. The seven artistes came with great performances of their quality songs, as they vied for the coveted prize. They had the audience rocking all night,” said Garfield McCook, founder of the JIIFSC.

Wayne Hall, Twiggi, Kathryn Gordon, Roger McFarquhar and Shauna Chin were judges for the show which is based on the popular Festival Song Contest in Jamaica.

More Jesus For Jamaica by Yvonne Johnson (Georgia), Jamaica 61 by Tania Lou (Canada), Island Life by Nikki Spice (Florida) and Play Ina We Yaad by Dex Daley from Florida completed the 2023 JIIFSC field.

Howard Campbell