Singapore, 27 July 2020 – Organised by Composers & Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS), Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre and Ocean Butterflies Music, SG:SW I Write The Songs has entered its fourth year. ‘SG:SW I Write The Songs’ is a nationwide Mandopop songwriting festival which provides a platform to uncover and cultivate the next generation of original local music talent. Since the first instalment in 2017, the festival has received nearly 1,100 compositions, setting off a local songwriting craze that has not been seen for many years.
The festival aims to build a supportive community of home-grown talents and provide a prominent and iconic platform to discover outstanding original songs written by locals. As seen from the previous two instalments of SG:SW, winning songs are professionally produced and released, with music videos specially recorded for these winning entries.
SG:SW I Write The Songs 2020 Goes Online
This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘SG:SW I Write The Songs 2020’ brings the entire experience online, where the selection, masterclasses and performances will be fully digitalised. Live performances at the usual performance venues will be replaced with live-streaming of pre-recorded performances on the SG:SW Facebook page, and masterclasses will take place over video conferencing platforms.
The Top 20 song entries selected after the ‘Open Call’ curation are required to perform their songs with at least one live music instrument, and pre-recording of these performances will take place in batches before the broadcast date of ‘Online Live Showcases’ on 17 and 18 October 2020. On the day of the live broadcast, emcees,
participants, and judges will participate in a video conference together. As participants share the stories of their content, the judges will give a live commentary on the performances and 10 outstanding songs will be selected to proceed to the next round of the festival. The ‘Online Finale Concert’ will also be recorded and broadcasted in a similar format.
New Format Brings Greater Exposure & Greater Benefits
Jumping on the bandwagon of live-streaming trends, this year’s online edition of ‘SG:SW I Write The Songs’ aims to bring greater exposure for the participants by broadcasting these performances on the SG:SW Facebook Page. By making it available online, we are able to reach out to a wider audience and keep the public entertained at all times.
In addition to greater reach, the decision to broadcast the festival online also aims to draw more attention and awareness to local music. The organiser hopes that the key lessons of the ‘Online Masterclass’, which will be posted on the festival’s Facebook Page, will allow other non-festival songwriting enthusiasts to benefit from the masters’ tips and advice too.
Local Renowned Musicians Lee Si Song and Billy Koh to Hold Masterclasses
‘SG:SW I Write The Songs 2020’ sees the rare return of the two local music industry pioneers, Lee Si Song and Billy Koh, who have been focusing on overseas developments in recent years. As mentors for the festival’s ‘Online Masterclass’, the producer-songwriters will critique the Top 10 song entries and share their songwriting experiences and tips with the participants. Having the industry pioneers join forces to deliver songwriting classes will surely excite many local songwriting enthusiasts.
No strangers to the Chinese music scene, Lee’s nearly three-decade-long career has had innumerable highlights. He has composed many popular hits such as ‘A Thousand Sad Reasons’, ‘Cloudy Day’, ‘The Scent of Lemongrass’ and ‘She Told Me’, and has collaborated with multiple established singers namely Jacky Cheung, Jolin Tsai, and Jam Hsiao. He is also one of the mentors of Singapore’s top Mandopop export Stefanie
Sun, where he not only created many classic songs for her but also established her status in the music scene.
Having produced more than 100 albums and groomed regional stars like JJ Lin, Kit Chan, A-do, and BY2, Koh remains one of the most influential music industry players today. Under his belt, he has produced numerous award-winning hits such as Kit Chan’s ‘Heartache’, A-do’s ‘Persevering’, JJ Lin’s ‘River South’ and ‘Those Were The Days’. With the participation of two reputable masters, participants of ‘SG:SW I Write The Songs 2020’ are in for a treat.
Local Singer-songwriter Serene Koong Takes on SG:SW 2020 Ambassador Role
Given this year’s online edition, the organiser specially invited local songbird Serene Koong to participate in ‘SG:SW I Write The Songs 2020’ as the Online Ambassador, where she would be heavily involved in all promotional activities of the festival. This includes hosting a weekly Facebook LIVE programme titled ‘SG:SW LIVE!’ for the month of August, as she chats with other local singer-songwriters on the show.
With a growing portfolio of hit songs, she has also produced music for hit television series and films with accolades to match. Koong has established herself as one of the prominent new generation female singer-songwriters in the local scene. Her signature hits include a multi-award-winning theme song for MediaCorp’s blockbuster The Dream Makers – ‘Happiness is Not Difficult’ and sub-theme song produced for The Dream Makers 2 – ‘All Alone’. Koong is undoubtedly the best candidate for this year’s ambassador as she has actively participated in the promotion of the festival since the last ‘SG:SW I Write The Songs’ as a guest speaker and judge.
Bonus! SG:SW Releases Festival’s Theme Song For The First Time
SG:SW will be releasing its official theme song titled ‘The Songs I Write’ this coming August. The theme song, a pop-rock tune with inspirational lyrics, represents the voices of many aspiring songwriters. The theme song reflects the spirit of the festival – to uncover and cultivate the next generation of original local music talent. SG:SW hopes that the theme song will encourage songwriters to stay true to their beliefs and be courageous in pursuing their dreams. The theme song is performed by previous SG:SW winners, which reflects SG:SW’s efforts to encourage like-minded participants and provide opportunities for local songwriters. ‘The Songs I Write’ will be exclusively released on YES 933 on 3 August and other major digital music platforms on 7 August. The Music Video will be premiered during the first episode of SG:SW Livestream programme ’SG:SW LIVE!’ on 7 August hosted by its Online Ambassador, Koong.
A new format certainly creates greater excitement! ‘SG:SW I Write The Songs 2020 Online Edition’ thus hopes to begin with a bang. Have you been writing songs? With the new presentation of SG:SW 2020, we hope to invite aspiring songwriters to be part of this exciting journey! Come and take part in this Festival and you may be the next hitmaker in the region! The Open Call for submissions will be from 27 July 2020 to 30 August 2020, 23:59 hrs.
About 【SG:SW I Write The Songs】2020 Online Edition
Website: https://sgsw.sg/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/SGSWFest
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sgswfest/
【SG:SW I Write The Songs】2020 Online Edition Event Timeline
1）Open Call Submission
Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents or foreigners living in Singapore with a valid student, work visa or long-term visiting pass whom are aged 15 years old and above may apply. The original songs submitted can be songs written by individuals or as a group (with consent from all songwriters involved). Entrants may submit multiple songs, with a maximum of 3 sets of lyrics and 3 sets of melody composition associated with each songwriter, regardless if the songs were submitted by themselves or other entrants. Open Call Submission starts from 27 July 2020 till 30 August 2020, 23:59 hrs.
2）Online Live Showcases
The song entries received through the ‘Open Call’ will be curated, and 20 song entries will be selected to be showcased via Facebook LIVE. Songwriters of the selected songs are required to decide on their song’s live performance format (be it as a solo act, group act or with a band etc). Songs must be performed with at least one live music instrument (e.g.: Guitar, Keyboard, Ukulele, etc). All performances will be pre-recorded in batches and released on SG:SW Facebook Page for public viewing. Live commentary by industry professional judges will also be conducted during live streaming to critique
on the songs performed and top 10 song entries will proceed to the next round. Songwriters of these 10 selected songs are eligible to attend the ‘Online Masterclasses’ and perform at the ‘Online Finale Concert’. ‘Online Live Showcases’ will be broadcasted on SG:SW Facebook Page on 17 and 18 October 2020, while dates for pre-recording would depend on participants’ grouping.
3）Online Masterclasses
Songwriters selected for the ‘Online Finale Concert’, will be entitled to attend fully-sponsored ‘Online Masterclasses’ via video conferencing platform. The finalists’ songs will be critiqued by established and renowned songwriters during the ‘Online Masterclasses’ for further improvement. With the tips and knowledge gained from the ‘Online Masterclasses’, the participating songwriters could improvise their song (if they wish to) and present the final rendition at the ‘Online Finale Concert’. ‘Online Masterclasses’ will be held on 24 and 25 October 2020.
4） Online Finale Concert
The Online Finale Concert will be broadcasted on 27 November 2020, on SG:SW Facebook Page. A panel of judges will be selecting 7 winners for the night and awards will be presented for “Best Song”, “Lyrics (Merit)”, “Melody (Merit)”, “Best Vocal Performance”, “Best Performing Band”, “Popularity (Public Voting)” and “SCCC Xchange Award” for compositions with multicultural elements. Winning awards are not listed in any particular order.
| As a form of encouragement, awards are inclusive of the following prizes: Best Song Award | ▪ S$2,000 Cash ▪ Song will be professionally recorded and produced to EP released and a Music Video will also be produced for the single
▪ KKBOX Premium Account (1 Year) |
| Lyrics (Merit) Award | ▪ S$1,500 Cash ▪ Song will be professionally recorded and produced to EP released and a Music Video will also be produced for the single
▪ KKBOX Premium Account (1 Year) |
| Melody (Merit) Award | ▪ S$1,500 Cash ▪ Song will be professionally recorded and produced to EP released and a Music Video will also be produced for the single
▪ KKBOX Premium Account (1 Year) |
| Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Xchange Award | ▪ S$1,000 Cash ▪ Song will be professionally recorded and produced to EP released and a Music Video will also be produced for the single
▪ KKBOX Premium Account (1 Year) |
