Muse

To tell you the truth,
I never really gave much thought nor placed much significance on the songs I recorded for mediacorp dramas.

Somehow, everything seemed so... formulaic.

This is how you have to sound, the lyrics have to literally spell out what the moral crux of the story is about, and there are always so many drama songs to do, and so many christmas albums, and chinese new year albums to do, but so little people to work on it and hence, the amount of time that can actually be spent on each song is really little.

So, singing the mediacorp theme songs was always a matter of exposure, a matter of just "doing my job".

But i have alot of respect for Benny. The guy who did this song, he's in the studio for hours in a day, mixing, producing perhaps even up to 3-4 songs in one day. And he does talk about how overloaded he is, but his passion shows even when he talks about he drama songs he writes which I place little importance on.

He has a clear idea of what he wants the song to sound like, what message he wants the viewers/listeners to get. And recording with him is always such a joy because he has so many ideas! And ideas are good, i don't feel like I'm there to just be another singer.

And this song is one song, which really says alot.

I can place utmost importance on trying to do so much in one song, on wanting the song to be a noble representation of the heart and soul of the music people. But at the end of the day, if no one is at the receiving end. Then the song has failed.

But a simple song like this, one that took less than an hour to record in the studio.
Benny said to me, he wanted this song to be a very sweet heart warming song, and asked me to sing it as I would imagine S.H.E would. I resisted the idea a little at first, obstructed by the pride in my heart that I should have to sing as how some other singer sings.

But he sold the idea very gently to be. And I did as I was told.

The effect is as proven, the song was well received. People loved it. I had people coming up to tell me the song really tugged at their heartstrings while watching the show. And then I realised. It doesn't take too much. Things don't have to be complicated. Music doesn't have to mean so much for it to mean something.

Music is at its simplest form, just music.

Why put a tag to it? Why justify it? Why judge fellow musicians as being jaded? As not doing the "right" thing?

Since when was there a "right" or "wrong" in music?

Thank you Benny, Thank you mediacorp the monopoly television station in singapore for showing me that. Thank you the people who liked this song. Thank you pueplelious who put up this youtube video and added in such beautiful pictures....

I hope you like the video as much as I did. Be blessed. :)