OCEAN CITY – Judging is currently taking place on the more than 50 entries for the resort’s Song of the Summer contest.
As of midnight on Monday, the entry phase for the Ocean City Song of the Summer contest closed with 55 entries received.
“I just think that is an incredible response because it is not your average contest, there has to be some thought and effort put into it,” Tourism Director Donna Abbott said on Tuesday. “So we are just thrilled with the response.”
For the next week, a team at Ocean City’s advertising agency, MGH, will be reviewing the entries and narrowing down the selection to three finalists.
Next Monday, July 9, the three finalists will be posted on Ocean City’s Facebook page through July 22 where the public can vote to make the final selection, and the winner will be announced on July 23.
As of Tuesday, Abbott has not had a chance to listen to all of the entries but out of the few she heard she said it is going to be a tough decision to pick three finalists.
“I’m leaving it up to the experts on this one,” she said.
Abbott is looking forward to the public’s response on the contest finalists.
“That is going to be exciting to see the buzz continue,” she said.
In February, Councilman Joe Hall proposed the concept to the Mayor and City Council and in May members approved the official process and rules for the Ocean City Song of the Summer Contest.
The entry phase began on June 11. Those who wished to enter the contest had to write an original song, record it and send it in to Ocean City via the official Ocean City Facebook page.
Contest entries must have completely original composition (both music and lyrics), be no longer than three minutes in length, submitted by an individual, not a group, and could not mention any specific business in Ocean City.
The contest winner will win the opportunity to have the song produced and recorded in Ocean City as well as perform the song at Sunfest 2012. The song will also be featured as an Ocean City-sponsored free download on the iTunes store.