Hear65, the national movement in celebration of all forms of Singaporean music, will launch Hear65 Sing Along SG, a month-long digital karaoke concert series starting from 23 May. With the widespread cancellation of events and closures of performing venues nationwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hear65 Sing Along SG is designed to bring a reimagined digital concert experience to Singaporeans in a safe yet innovative format, while celebrating Singapore’s music industry and providing tangible support for the Arts.
Singapore’s gig economy comprises an estimated 200,000 Self-Employed Persons (SEP)[1], 47% of whom are estimated to work in the arts sector[2]. This is higher than the national average where SEPs constitute 7.5% of the labour force[1]. Some of these personnel have seen their incomes take a hit as high as 70 per cent[3]. Industry-wide losses are estimated to be more than S$32 million to date, affecting approximately 9,000 projects[4]. Arts practitioners whose incomes have been affected include artists, musicians, audio engineers, production managers, artist managers and media crew, among others, all of whom are indispensable members of the arts community.
Hear65 Sing Along SG will feature music performances by 16 artists across different languages and music spanning across at least eight genres, while aiming to provide work opportunities for over 90 self-employed practitioners from the arts community. Hosted by actress and host, Munah Bagharib, from 23 May to 13 June, performances by these 16 acts will be broadcast over four weekly Saturday sessions from 7.30pm via Hear65 and Bandwagon’s channels on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Artists performing in the first week include The Pinholes, Tabitha Nauser, THELIONCITYBOY and RRILEY.
Produced by Bandwagon, each session will last about three hours and artists will perform their original works with lyrics provided on-screen in a karaoke format so that audiences may sing along from the comfort and safety of their homes. Live interviews will also be conducted with each artist, where fans may pose questions to be answered in a live chat feature.
From now till 21 May, members of the public are invited to vote on www.hear65.com for their favourite artists to be featured in the final session on 13 June. During each broadcast, there will also be a donation feature on Twitch for audiences to contribute to the artists.
Hear65 Sing Along SG is presented by Bandwagon in partnership with the National Arts Council, as part of the #SGCultureAnywhere campaign. #SGCultureAnywhere brings together the best of Singapore’s arts and culture digital offerings on one integrated platform, A-List.Sg, to be enjoyed and experienced, anytime and anywhere.