On the 21st of August, we celebrated Singapore’s 56th birthday back at the Marina Bay floating platform, the audience made up of government bodies and the unsung heroes - the frontline workers. We've rounded up some of the performances of the night, from the quartet behind 'The Road Ahead' to tastemakers in our circuit. Relive musical performances from Linying, Shye, Shabir, Sezairi, inch, Benjamin Kheng, Aisyah Aziz, Nick Zavior, The Freshman, and Alemay Fernandez as curated by Hear65.
The Freshman - Call Me (Not Maybe)
We kick off our performance round-up with The Freshman, performing their latest single ‘Call Me (Not Maybe)’. Odes to local delicacies like Nasi Lemak, Orh Lua, and Prata - watch as they serenade the crowd with their soothing vocals and relatable rhymes.
Benjamin Kheng, Shabir, Nick Zavior
A mixture of old and new tunes - Benjamin Kheng, Shabir, and Nick Zavior perform the legendary ‘Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen and recent hit ‘High Hopes’ by Panic! At The Disco accompanied by satellite performances from the Institute of Technical Education, Republic Polytechnic, and the National University of Singapore.
Aisyah Aziz, inch, and Shye
"Aisyah Aziz, Inch Chua, and Shye strut into the year of celebrating Singapore women!", quips the commentator as the three prominent figures of the music scene in Singapore perform a medley of ‘Que Sera Sera’ by Doris Day and Frank De Vol, ‘Wings’ by Little Mix and ‘Confident’ by Demi Lovato.
Inch Chua & Nick Zavior - Reach Out for the Skies + We Are Young
Reprising 2007’s NDP theme song ‘Reach Out for the Skies’ and an earworm from 2010 with Mika’s ‘We Are Young’, this segment was performed by Inch and Nick Zavior along with a light show display of Singapore’s 5 stars representing democracy, peace, progress, justice, and equality.
Alemay Fernandez - We Will Get There Singapore
Watch Alemay Fernandez’s invigorating performance of ‘We Will Get There Singapore’, the theme song from NDP 2002 accompanied by dancers dressed in traditional clothes of the diverse communities in Singapore.
Sezairi + drummers from MINDS - Semoga Bahagia
'Semoga Bahagia’, composed by the late Encik Zubair Said, the same person who composed ‘Majulah Singapura’, is the Children’s Day anthem we all know and love. Watch Sezairi perform this with the inclusion of drummers from the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore.
Shabir - Singai Naadu
Composed by Shabir himself, watch the unfeigned performance of ‘Singai Naadu’ - a song about unity. In a Facebook post from 2018, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong expressed: “Among our National Day songs, Singai Naadu is one of the most soulful and heartfelt.”
The Road Ahead - Linying, Sezairi, Shye & Shabir
The highlight performance everyone was waiting for - Linying, Sezairi, Shye and Shabir performing the theme song of this year's NDP!
NDP Songs Medley and Fireworks display
The swansong of the night. A medley of NDP songs through the years with the backdrop of fireworks flying through our Marina Bay Skyline.
Watch the entire parade and performance here:
