Edition 8

The **​**​eighth edition of **​The Global Music Festival**​ took place at Independence Park in Kingston, Jamaica, following Jamaica's victory in the Disney-themed seventh edition in Belfast, United Kingdom with the song "Touch the Sky" performed by Julie Fowlis.  This was Jamaica's first time winning the contest and as a result their first time hosting the event as well.  This edition consisted of two semi-finals which were both launched on the 15 May 2017 and a grand final which took place from the 18 May 2017.  All three of the shows in this edition were hosted by beloved Jamaican rapper, singer and producer - Sean Paul.

Fourty-four countries participated in this edition of the contest.  This edition saw the debut of Puerto Rico, Serbia and the individual nations of the United Kingdom - England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (during the last edition the admin team made the decision to allow the individual nations of the United Kingdom to participate - this was to allow the individual countries to showcase their talented artists).  Belgium returned to the contest after being absent for two editions, and Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cyprus and Poland all returned after a one-contest break.  However, we saw the withdrawal of Brazil, Cuba, Japan and Ukraine (also we saw the withdrawal of the United Kingdom as was explained earlier).  Also, the FYR Macedonia were originally meant to participate in this edition; however, the head of delegation failed to submit a song in time and as a result their were withdrawn.

The power six for this edition were Jamaica, Belgium, Scotland, Albania, Trinidad & Tobago and Puerto Rico - these were the delegations that placed in the top six from the previous edition.  Some of the delegations decided to change countries: Ukraine switched to Belgium, the United Kingdom (following the break-up of the country) switched to Scotland, the FYR Macedonia switched to Albania, and Cuba switched to Puerto Rico.  Their placement in the power six means that they received an automatic place to perform in the final of this edition, while also being allowed to vote in one of the semi finals of this edition.

The winner of this edition was Mexico with the song "Todo Cambio" (Everything Changed), performed by Becky G.  This was Mexico's first win in the history of the contest - and it was also their first time in the top five.  Mexico have also won with the first song entirely performed in a language other than English - it is also the first edition where all entries in the top three are in a language other than English with France and Italy following in second and third.  Most significantly, both Mexico and France received their best placements since their respective debuts, whilst Sweden received their worst placement to date and Germany placed last in the final for the second edition in a row.  Also, Bulgaria, Indonesia and South Korea all failed to qualify for the first time since their respective debuts - South Korea actually came last (nineteenth) in the second semi-final with a mere 38 points.

 Slogan
 Venue
 Presenter(s)
 Participants
 Winner

## ​Participants

* Northern Ireland
* Puerto Rico
* Scotland
* Serbia
* Wales
* Bosnia & Herzegovina
* Cyprus
* Poland
* Cuba
* FYR Macedonia
* Japan
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom

## Semi-Final Allocation Draw

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on the 14 May 2017, hosted by one of the admins via Live Stream on the Facebook group.  The thirty-nine semi-finalists (excluding Finland) have been allocated to six pots, based on the previous results of each participating country, calculated by the averages of the past results.  Drawing from each pot helps to create an equal split of successful and not-so successful countries in each semi-final to give countries an equal chance of qualification.

Finland were not included in the pots because the head of delegation for Finland is on the admin team and they are in charge of the second semi final each edition.  Therefore, Finland were automatically placed  in the first semi final.

Also, in the semi-final allocation draw the power six nations (Jamaica, Belgium, Scotland, Albania, Trinidad & Tobago and Puerto Rico) were all drawn to vote in one of the respective semi finals.  Belgium, Trinidad & Tobago and Puerto Rico all voted in the first semi-final and Jamaica, Scotland and Albania all voted in the second semi-final.  The power six all received the places they would perform in the grand final as well.

Also, the
FYR Macedonia did not submit their song in time and therefore had to be removed following the allocation draw.  Therefore, Mexico was randomly drawn to participate in the FYR Macedonia's position in the second semi final to allow an equal number of countries to participate in each semi final.

​

## Odds

The odds for the semi finals were released on Monday 15 May 2017 by the admins in charge of their respective semi finals, below you can see the odds for the top ten in each semi final:

And, below are the odds for the favourites for the final of the eighth edition:

  Northern Ireland
  Scotland
  France
  Kosovo
  Trinidad & Tobago
  Puerto Rico
  Poland
  Australia
  Finland

## ​Returning Artists

Firstly, we had two artists return who have represented their respective countries on multiple occassions, those are Rihanna and Nicki Minaj for Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago respectively.  Helena Paparizou also returned for this edition following her participation in the second and fifth editions of the contest with her songs "Mambo!" and "Fiesta" which placed ninth with 90 points and thirteenth with 71 points respectively.  Albania decided to send the winner of the first edition again for this edition - Bebe Rexha who previously participated with the song "I Got You".  The Script, Margaret and Die Antwoord all returned for a second time representing Ireland, Poland and South Africa again respectively.  Also, the world-famous Belgian singer - Loïc Nottet - returned again to represent his home nation, following the success of his first entry "Million Eyes" from the first edition which placed in fifth with 109 points (Belgium's most successful entry since its debut).  Also, Becky G returned to represent Mexico for a second time following her success in the sixth edition with her song "Sola" - where she achieved a respectable twelve place (Mexico's most successful entry to date).

We also saw the return of some artists, but this time they were representing different nations.  David Guetta returned after being the French representative in the second edition with the song "When Love Takes Over" (featuring Kelly Rowland); however, in the eighth edition he represented The Netherlands alongside Showtek and Vassy.  Calvin Harris, another DJ, also returned to the contest but this time he represented his home nation of Scotland - before, he represented Barbados alongside Rihanna (another returning artist) with the song "This is What You Came For" which managed to reach a very respectable seventh place achieving 96 points.  Also, Dua Lipa and Alexandra Burke both returned for edition eight to represent Kosovo and Jamaica respectively, after previously representing the Caribbean nations of Jamaica and Barbados (respectively) in the fourth and third editions respectively.  Fuse ODG has also returned, to participate for Ghana this time instead of Jamaica - his last participation was in the sixth edition with Major Lazer and Nyla with the song "Light It Up" which reached an impressive eighth place.  Finally, Ed Sheeran also returned for a second time, but following the break-up of the United Kingdom, he returned to represent Northern Ireland in the eighth edition.

## Semi-Final One

 Belgium,  Trinidad & Tobago and  Puerto Rico from the power six voted in the semi final, as well as the nineteen countries participating in this semi final. Also, Finland was automatically placed in this semi final because the head of delegation is on the admin team and is in charge of the second semi-final.  After the results were announced the admin team discussed selecting a wild card entry from this semi final to progress to the final after deliberation  Germany was selected as the wild card entry.

## Semi-Final Two

 Jamaica,  Scotland and  Albania from the power six voted in the semi final, as well as the nineteen countries participating in this semi-final. After the results were announced the admin team discussed selecting a wild card entry from this semi final to progress to the final and after deliberation  Switzerland was selected as the wildcard entry.

## ​Final

Twenty-eight countries participated in the final - the power six, the ten qualifiers from each semi-final and the two wildcards (one from each semi-final).  All fourty-four participating countries were eligible to vote in the final; however, only the twenty-eight countries in the final had to vote.  The running order for the final was announced shortly after the results of the two semi-finals on the 18 May.