Own Americavision Song Contest 12

Own Americavision Song Contest 12, often referred to as OAmSC #12, is the 12th edition of Own Americavision Song Contest. The contest took place in Kingston, Jamaica, following the country's victory in the 11th edition with the song "Something I Can Feel" by Reece Lemonius. It was be the first time that Jamaica had hosted the contest. Organised by the Own American Broadcasting Association and host broadcaster Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation, the contest was held at the Independence Park, and consisted of one quarter-final, two semi-finals and the final. The four live shows were hosted by Jamelia and Skip Marley.

A record of fifty-two countries participated in the contest. Saint Barthélemy and Turks and Caicos Islands made their debut this edition. Anguilla, Argentina, British Virgin Islands, Chile, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago returned to the competition, while Cayman Islands and Uruguay withdrew for various reasons. Following the high number of countries that wished to compete in the contest, the OABA introduced the quarter-final in which the bottom five entries from each of the two semifinals from the previous edition competed, in order to qualify for the semifinals.

The winner was Belize with the song "Not Ready for Love" performed by TCTS feat. Maya B, which received a record-breaking 270 points. Puerto Rico and Chile completed the podium, while Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which equaled their best result, Guam and Dominica, both achieving their best result rounded up the top 6 of the edition. Peru, Panama and Northern Mariana Islands, which placed 10th, 12th and 13th respectively also achieved their best results. The host country placed just outside the top 10. This edition marked the first time when Guyana failed to qualify to the final.

Location
Further information on the host country: Jamaica

Host City
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island. In the Americas, Kingston is the largest predominantly English-speaking city south of the United States.

The local government bodies of the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew were amalgamated by the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation Act of 1923, to form the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC). Greater Kingston, or the "Corporate Area" refers to those areas under the KSAC; however, it does not solely refer to Kingston Parish, which only consists of the old downtown and Port Royal. Kingston Parish had a population of 89,057, and St. Andrew Parish had a population of 573,369 in 2011 Kingston is only bordered by Saint Andrew to the east, west and north. The geographical border for the parish of Kingston encompasses the following communities: Tivoli Gardens, Denham Town, Rae Town, Kingston Gardens, National Heroes Park, Bournemouth Gardens, Norman Gardens, Rennock Lodge, Springfield and Port Royal, along with portions of Rollington Town, Franklyn Town and Allman Town.

The city proper is bounded by Six Miles to the west, Stony Hill to the north, Papine to the northeast and Harbour View to the east, which are communities in urban and suburban Saint Andrew. Communities in rural St. Andrew such as Gordon Town, Mavis Bank, Lawrence Tavern, Mt. Airy and Bull Bay would not be described as being in Kingston city.

Two districts make up the central area of Kingston: the historic Downtown, and New Kingston. Both are served by Norman Manley International Airport and also by the smaller and primarily domestic Tinson Pen Aerodrome.

Venue
Independence Park is a sports and cultural complex in Kingston, Jamaica built for the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. It houses a variety of sports facilities. A statue of Bob Marley marks the entrance to the site. The main sports venue at the complex is the National Stadium.

The National Stadium is primarily used for football (being the home field of the Jamaica Football Federation) but is also considered the apex of Athletic competition in the West Indies being home to Jamaica's national athletic team for the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games.

It was built for the 1962 Central American and Caribbean Games, for which it was the main stadium hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, track and field and cycling events. It was also home to the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. It holds 35,000 people.

Facilities include: A statue of Olympic gold medallist Don Quarrie guards the entrance to the stadium.
 * a 400m IAAF regulation running track (a warm up track east of the main stadium was recently renovated to create a second world class competition track)
 * a 500m concrete velodrome which encircles the running track
 * a FIFA regulation football pitch
 * a media centre
 * 11 private suites and a royal box.

Other statues in the complex include those of Arthur Wint, Herb McKenley and Merlene Ottey.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 31 July 2021.

The first part of the draw determined in which semi-final the Big Six would have to vote. The second part of the draw decided in which half of the respective semi-finals each country would perform, with the exact running order determined by the producers of the show at a later date. Twenty-one countries participated in every semi-final. From each semi-final, ten countries joined the "Big 6" in the final, where a total of twenty-six countries participated.

The forty-two semi-finalists were allocated into six pots, based on their geographical place and cultural similarities. Drawing from different pots helps in reducing the chance of so-called neighbour voting and increasing suspense in the semi-finals. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final and half of the semi-final was determined. The six pots were the following:

Quarter-final
Ten countries participated in the quarter-final. Every country could vote, with the participants accounting for 50% of the results and the Rest of the World for the other 50% of the results.

Semi-final 1
Twenty-one countries participated in the first semi-final. Greenland, Grenada and Suriname also voted in this semi-final.

Semi-final 2
Twenty-one countries participated in the second semi-final. Bolivia, Jamaica and Saint Martin also voted in this semi-final.

Final
Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all 52 participating countries eligible to vote.

Other countries
Eligibility for potential participation in the Own Americavision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active OABA membership that would be able to broadcast the contest. As in every edition, an invitation to all the members has been sent in order to confirm whether they will participate or not.
 * : The Caymanian broadcaster had initially confirmed the country's participation under a new management. Unfortunately, the management team forgot to send their entry by the deadline, thus being fined by OABA and being forced to withdraw. This is the country's first non-participation since their debut in the second edition.
 * : The broadcaster failed to respond to the invitation that was sent by the OABA for the second time in a row, thus, its HoD was fired from their position.
 * : The broadcaster failed to state their intentions regarding the upcoming edition, thus being fined by the OABA. A warning for its HoD was also issued, as this is the second time in a row they ignore the invitation.
 * : The broadcaster failed to respond to the invitation sent by the OABA, thus being fined and assumed as withdrawn.