About the Event
Formerly known as New Jersey Shout Down Drugs since 2005, Your Song! Your Voice! Shout Down Drugs New Jersey has been rebranded with a new name that fully encompasses what the competition is all about – challenging teens to create peer-to-peer original music, songs and lyrics in their own original style, whether it be hip-hop, rock, folk or any other genre. Each year the contestants’ songs are featured on ShoutDownDrugs.com. The online voting periods allow the public to listen to and vote for their favorite songs. To date, more than one million votes have been cast since the online voting feature began in 2010. The contest finalists participate in the annual virtual prevention concert, during which the first, second and third place winners are chosen by a panel of judges to receive contracts worth $5,000, 3,000 and $2,000 respectively to perform their award-winning songs at events throughout the year.
For contest entry information, please click here.
Commonly Asked Questions:
How can I cast my vote for my favorite song?
Go to Contestants/Current Contestants and browse to a finalist's profile page, then click the "Vote" button. (Voting is held during specific times of the year, but the songs can be listened to year-round.)
Can I vote for more than one song?
You can vote for as many songs as you like as many times as you wish.
How do I order Prevention Concert tickets and how much do they cost?
The annual Prevention Concert is a free virtual event. For more details, contact diane@drugfreenj.org.
How will online voting be used?
All on-line votes will be tallied and factored into the final scores the night of the Prevention Concert.
How can I enter the next contest?
Contest information, including Entry Forms and Contest Rules, can be downloaded through this website on the Join Contest page.
I entered the contest last year. Can I participate again - even if I was a finalist?
Yes, you can participate again. Only 1st, 2nd or 3rd place winners from previous contests are ineligible. However, past participants must submit new, original music and lyrics. Songs cannot be entered more than once.
Is a student disqualified if they already have signed a professional contract?
Answer: No. However, if the student's contract does not allow her/him to adhere to the Contest Rules or to sign and give PDFNJ exclusive rights to their song in accordance with the "Copyright License, Copyright Assignment and Talent Release" agreement, that entry will be disqualified.
For up-to-date contest information and more FAQs, please visit the Join Today page.
