By: Zhe Ning (24J12)
I am not the most patriotic person in this country, but I once enjoyed National Day celebrations and their early release timings. Even if the memories of every National Day erode with time, the NDP songs remain. Like memories that can be happy or sad, the NDP songs can be good or bad. Below are my 100% objective ratings of the NDP songs - with 5 tiers from the bangers to the non-bangers.
Certified Bangers (100% karaoke material)
Tomorrow’s Here Today (2016)
This music video shook me when I first watched it
A song brimming with youth and energy, it was a breath of fresh air among the series of patriotic chants before it. To my Primary 3 self who had just learned the word ‘earworm’, this was the definition of it. Commuting back home, doing my homework, showering, this song stuck to me like glue - to the point that I had to take a break from it for 3 months.
If I could describe the song in colours, it would be a burst of rainbows. Its music video is one of the most creative in the history of NDP songs. One of the few rare innovative ones.
The Road Ahead (2021)
Very cute art styles, one of which reminds me of the covers of Sherlock Sam (Does anyone still remember that series?)
Perhaps it was the series of dull unoriginal remakes preceding this song but this was (yet) another breath of fresh air. After being exposed to many instrumental heavy NDP songs, listener fatigue soon set in. All the NDP songs started to sound like a boring mush, until this comparatively slow-tempo song came about. NDP songs do not necessarily have to be hype and simply depict the simple vignettes of life, nothing grand and bombastic. I would genuinely listen to this song outside of National Day. If other NDP songs evoke a sense of pride, this song makes you feel an inexplicable wave of nostalgia despite it only being released 3 years ago. And to add more points, this song is so singable!
We will get there (2002)
One of the few songs that would be stuck in my head hours after every NDP, humming to the melody even though I did not know the song’s name. This song is the peak of my primary school NDP. This song cured my “unpatriotism” while singing it along with my peers during the National Day celebration, waving the red and white flag together, basking in the joy of a non-school day.
One Singapore (2013)
“I do not know why I like this song but it just hits.” As easy as that would have been, this is an article and I have to give serious ratings. The song contains many parts where people can sing and resonate together from its pre-chorus to its chorus. In hindsight, there is not much I can say about this song besides that it is nice, but I think that everyone has their own NDP song that accompanies their childhood and this is one of mine.
Classics (Peak NDP)
These are the staples that you would definitely hear during National Day 88% of the time and you might even find yourself bopping to it out of the festive atmosphere.
Reach out for the Skies (2005)
This is already the clearest photo I could find on the internet, send help.
Inspiring, nice, upbeat. One of the classics to play during NDP. This song reminds me of the aerial segments in NDP, and that is totally not because of the word “sky”.
Stand up for Singapore (1984)
Ancient meme from 2011
It is an effective song for livening the atmosphere, another song that does its job. Plus points for the jokes you can make when you “stand up for Singapore”.
Home (1998)
I could memorise the entire music video with the number of times I have watched it
It is up here because of my immensely vivid memories of this song. It was my Kindergarten Horror Moments. Sat in threes under a dimly lit musty room with flaking walls, a group of 9 kids would chant along to the lyrics on the glowing TV screen playing Home nonstop, again and again until their teacher said they could stop. It felt like a fever dream. To this day, I never understood the obsession with the song Home, but it surely made an original experience.
One United People (2003)
It possesses an infectious charm that will make you uncontrollably sway to the beat. It's like a slice of bread, good enough for your taste buds to enjoy, but not memorable enough to eat it alone.
One People, One Nation, One Singapore (1990)
Not to be confused with the newer song “One United People”, this song is the epitome of a national day song, hitting all the criteria for an average NDP song: mentions of Singapore, the building of a nation, coming together as different races. It might just be our unofficial anthem,
Mid. (It does it’s job.)
Our Singapore (2015)
Great to listen to but bad to sing along to. It was a good song to add to the short list of slow songs but the “ohh” felt like the main bulk of the song, going not once, not twice, not even thrice but six times. Minus points for being one of the songs I had to sing back when I was in choir, the unison “ohh” slowly felt like groans of lethargy with each repeat. You can tell I did not like being in the National Day choir.
Other repetitive songs: In a Heartbeat (2011), We Are Singapore (1987)
If there is no hate for repetitive songs, then I am dead. It is one to have a catchy chorus, it is another to force a chorus to be catchy. However, the main motto is just what is needed for people to remember and sing along, because what is a good NDP song if you cannot remember the lyrics and sing along?
Forgettable (Does anyone remember them?)
These songs are underrated, but face the problem of being too slow-paced for them to be used more often in National Day celebrations.
My Island Home (2006)
If you remember this song, you are in the top 4%! (insert a royalty-free picture of a shocked man)
This song has a nice melody but no particular part that captures my attention. The “part of me” scratches my head in a good way though.
Where I Belong (2001)
This song fits as closing credits music, but not as a main NDP song. The rhythm is not the easiest to follow and the melody is not memorable. You might enjoy the song in the moment but in the next few minutes, it is going to slip from your mind.
Shine on me (2000)
2000s vibe
This is honestly a really underrated song but no one will ever know this song.
Song for Singapore
Do you even know this song besides the one phrase in the title? I hear this song now and then before the start of NDP celebrations but could never put my finger on it. The anticlimactic build-up of this song makes no mark on my brain.
Not Bangers (My ears can’t take it anymore)
It is entirely personal reasons.
Stronger Together (2022)
It tries to be your classic NDP song but does too much and becomes the jack of all trades. The inconsistent tempo with its slow buildup to its repetitive chants of the same phrase, the tacky lyrics that feel out of place, the entire song feels like an overcooked stew too far gone to be saved. Its anticlimactic chorus makes it hard to be invigorated by.
But of course, there is another personal reason behind this already heavily opinionated article: having to perform this song for my National Day celebration back in secondary school. That had only amplified the distaste I had for this song. The endless rehearsing for this song and the nonstop chanting of the chorus made me feel like a clown incessantly putting on a show for an empty audience. This song gave me headaches.
Shine Your Light (2023)
If forced enthusiasm was a song this could be it. “Shine Your Light” felt like a rip-off version of “Stand up for Singapore”. As if it suffered from the aftermath of "Stronger Together”, the song also faces issues of being anticlimactic, with the melody feeling empty at times. The song tries to squeeze in as many cameos and singers in an attempt to mask its flaws but the end product simply felt like unfinished works patched together to be submitted on a tight due date.
Conclusion
There are most definitely only 18 NDP songs in the history of National Day songs. (There totally aren’t a whole 15 other songs I just don’t have much opinion to comment on.)
At the end of the day, NDP songs are always the best when we are younger with simpler things to look forward to and excite us, especially after 17 and more times of National Day, the celebrations naturally get duller. But what was once entertaining is now something we can easily relate with each other regardless of identity and that is what National Day is all about. Whether you are enjoying your free day at home or outside let’s celebrate Singapore’s 59th birthday together as one, Happy National Day!
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