_{Photo: Wilson Grinage, winner}

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Fri. Aug. 16, 2024

Local singer/entertainer, Wilson Grinage was declared the winner of this year’s National Song Competition held at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts on Friday night, August 16.

From a large pool of entries for this year’s National Song Competition, 7 musical artists made the final cut, to perform an original patriotic song in celebration of Belize’s independence.

“The National Song Competition is one of our nurturing development tools designed to foster and create creativity and innovation,” said Kim Vasquez, Director of the Institute of Creative Arts, during her opening remarks.

The songs submitted by the 7 finalists spanned an array of musical genres and were as follows: Echo Middleton — “Rememba Dem Days”; Lenox Awardo – “Gimme Old Belize”; Sh@dow — “In Yo Blood”; Jackie Cas — “Song for Belize”; Allan Castillo — “We Need Love”; Hubee — “Explore Belize”; and Wilson Grinage — “Until Forever”.

After the performances, Middleton, Hubee, and Wilson Grinage were selected as the three finalists. Later it was announced that Echo Middleton’s entry was 3rd place—earning Middleton a $2,000 prize. Then Hubee was declared the 2nd place finalist, to receive a $3,000 prize. Wilson Grinage was then declared the winner of the top prize—$20,000.

“I was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. I love competition, but I don’t love that part when you announce the winners; but when they said [my name] I felt light, like an out-of-body experience,” Grinage said to Amandala. “I’m still on a cloud. I haven’t come down yet, but I’ll probably land tomorrow. I’ll stay there for the night and enjoy it a bit,” he added.

Grinage further explained to Amandala that his song, “Until Forever” is a song of triumph and victory, as he had gone through a dark time.

“I’ve been through a lot, and I wanted to have something that when you listen to it, you feel like you can conquer anything. I had writer’s block when it came to the chorus, and my daughter said, ‘Dad, why don’t you write the song about me, and how you love me forever.’ I’m proud of her for helping with that,” he said.

Grinage is a well-known figure in the musical space in Belize. He began singing at an early age. His big break was with his song, “What You Once Said”, which “blew up” on the airwaves on Krem Radio. He entered several National Song Competitions and placed 2nd in 2016.

Each of the other four of the seven finalists also walked home with a prize of $1,200.