A song for Singapore and the weight of scrutiny

NDP theme songs are always judged, debated and compared with their predecessors. The latest is no different.

- Eddino Abdul Hadi

In the local music industry, one of the most difficult gigs must be coming up with the National Day Parade (NDP) theme song.

Some listeners may be indifferent but, generally, the public feedback can get intense.

Some will like it, some will hate it, and that is exactly what this year's NDP theme song Here We Are, which also marks SG60, is going through.

It has its fans but there are also rumblings that it could have been more upbeat—like 2016's Tomorrow's Here Today.

And that is the challenge NDP theme songs usually face.

They should lift spirits through the melodies, rhythm, harmonies and dynamics, but at the same, connect with the listener through lyrics that are heartfelt and in tune with what is happening on the ground.

They are about the music and the messaging.

It is easy to judge or criticise them on one count or the other, depending on your assumption of what they should be about.

There is also another battle that every new NDP theme song finds hard to win: comparisons with old favourites.

SINGAPORE THROUGH ITS SONGS

We all have our favourite NDP songs and, more often than not, these tend to be the ones that came out when we were in school and singing them with gusto with friends and fellow students.

The first NDP song, Stand Up For Singapore, made its debut in 1984 and was commissioned as part of a larger campaign to celebrate the country's 25 years of self-government.

Since then, new NDP theme songs have been introduced almost every year and there are now more than 30.

The early songs, including Count On Me Singapore (1986), We Are Singapore (1987) and One People, One Nation, One Singapore (1990) felt like patriotic calls to action—they were rousing orchestral songs and focused on rallying people.