Tuesday, August 05, 2008

NDP 2008 Song

It is the month of August, and this is usually the month filled with countdowns (apart from the year end). From Malaysia to Indonesia & Singapore, all nations celebrates their birthday in this month.

Singapore celebrates her independence on 9th August. And in every year, there is the much anticipated NDP - National Day Parade.

When I first arrived to Singapore last time, I was quite surprised that quite a lot of Singaporeans are very eager to watch the NDP.

Some will ask like "Eh, you got tickets for the NDP or not?"... "Did you watch the NDP last night?". Then they will elaborate what they will be seeing or what they saw.

The tickets are given out via balloting where lucky winners will get a chance to watch the parade in the official venue - usually held in the stadium, except last year & this year which is to be held at the city waterfront stand.

I guess with such limited capactiy, and with a rather grand performance each year, no wonder it is quite a hit amongst the locals.

Of course, not everyone share the same "I want to see the NDP" sentiments, but then, the numbers wanting to watch the NDP is rather high - quite a surprise to back home I guess?

There are even reports of a 'black market' last time to get the NDP tickets! Wow, to pay to watch for the national day parade - now, that is quite something.

Anyway, more interestingly, there is the theme to the NDP each year, and this year is Sharing The Singapore Spirit.

And each year too, there is a release of a NDP song & video clips. The official version is usually in English, but many times there is also the accompanying Mandarin version (sometimes even in Malay language). The song is usually a mix of patriotism, dreams & hopes and unity.

I usually look forward to listening to the National Day song as despite being a national song, it usually has a dose (sometimes a big dose) of pop & is usually inspiring. In other words, it can pass off as a pop song, though at times, one may need to listen to it a few times to appreciate it.

And the singers are no exception - they are usually one of Singapore's more celebrated artistes who will hold the glamour to sing this song, appearing in video clips shown throughout the nation... and also usually perform on the night of the NDP. Past artistes include Stefanie Sun, Tanya Chua & Taufik Batisah.

And this year, newly championed Asian Idol, Hardi Mirza sings the English song - Shine For Singapore, while award winner Joi Chua sings the Mandarin version.


The English version




The Mandarin version


Related: One of my favourite NDP songs.

6 comments:

  1. surprised to know that too.. i mean the ppl of singapore, they hv the country spirit, buying tickets to watch too.. wow, something different from here then, ours is the same, year in, year out...and I, for one, rather relax at home than basking in the morning sun..excuse me..sorry..not much of a patriotic, am i?

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  2. wow! such a nice song!
    we should have something like that too don't you think?

    s'porian are so patriotic! :D
    i didnt know that 0.o

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  3. Do people talk and walk around in Malaysia when the national anthem is being played and sung?

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  4. Sorry, I don't like the song. It is a nice song if it had been a romantic love song, but it is not appropriate for a country's national day song. They had better ones in the past like "We are Singapore" or "Stand up for Singapore" which sounded very patriotic and would stir feelings of pride and love for the nation. I only watched the video clip halfway through; it also seemed like a love story...or at best, a dedication to teachers!

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  5. Sorry, I don't like the song. It is a nice song if it had been a romantic love song, but it is not appropriate for a country's national day song. They had better ones in the past like "We are Singapore" or "Stand up for Singapore" which sounded very patriotic and would stir feelings of pride and love for the nation. I only watched the video clip halfway through; it also seemed like a love story...or at best, a dedication to teachers!

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  6. hi claire
    guess the parade is not necessary a show of patriotism is it? i guess many ppl take the day off too lol :)

    adila
    ya, the songs have quite a bit of pop - i think its good to get a wider outreach. i think we should have 2 types of songs too - maybe one a lil more pop? :)

    mockingbird
    dont really get yr question.. do you mean take a day off & travel around?

    suituapui
    agree that there were more patriotic singapore songs.. even nicer too.

    actually this video clip has some meaning to it, but i guess they are not so direct & needs some interpretation, like the 'heart shape' that they young child did.

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Oh hey, thank you for commenting! :)