MediaCorp unveils its final 3 for 50th anniversary song competition

The three entries which have made it to the final stage of The Gift of Song, a songwriting competition organised by MediaCorp to celebrate Singapore’s 50th year of independence next year, were revealed this week.

A call for song submissions drew close to 1,000 entries from people from all walks of life, over the course of six weeks.

The three entries come from a music duo named Ciao Turtle, chef Lee Chin Sin, as well as graphic designer Andrew Lee. These were selected by the competition’s judging panel, which headed by well-known local musicians Dick Lee, Jeremy Monteiro, and Sydney Tan.

“We were trying to choose keeping all these things in mind – genre issues, quality of songs, authenticity of the song,” said judge Sydney Tan.

“The hardest thing about writing a song is, I think, the lyrics. Melodies are one thing. You could have a beautiful melody, but if the lyrics don’t really resonate, the song fails,” said judge Dick Lee.

The three songs will hit the airwaves in January 2015 on MediaCorp radio stations, and their music videos will be broadcast on MediaCorp TV channels, Out-Of-Home Screens and online at the Toggle website. 

The three songs will then be subject to public voting. Their votes will contribute 60 per cent of the scores. The song with the highest score will win the competition.

The winner of The Gift of Song competition will receive a cash prize of S$10,000. MediaCorp will also produce a music video of the winning song, showcasing Singaporeans from all walks of life. This will be released in the lead up to next year’s National Day.

Bernard Lim, Managing Director of TV at MediaCorp, said: “We had about a thousand entries from all walks of life in Singapore, including nine entries that were submitted by prison inmates. So, it is very heartening to see Singaporeans from everywhere coming together, putting their effort to present a gift for the nation, as SG50.”