By Loh Keng Fatt
Copy Editor
kengfatt@sph.com.sg

 

JJ Lin rocks.

Ken Lim... maybe not.

Which song are you more impressed with?

Lately, two songs linked to sports - the Youth Olympic Games – have been airing on radio and TV.

I prefer the one from local Mandopop singer JJ Lin called You Are The One Singapore.

He wrote this cheer song for the upcoming YOG and it is one catchy piece.

Lin himself is full of boyish exuberance on the video which comes with cutesy hand gestures to spur athletes on.

The video is also great for people-watching, from swimmer Tao Li to former running great C Kunalan to swimming coach Ang Peng Siong.

I think the cheer song will go down well in the sporting arenas during the YOG, which begins on Aug 14, in between the jousting for medals.

Part of the lyrics go:

Beat of the drum (beat of the drum)

Feet on the ground (feet on the ground)

Shout it out loud (shout it out loud)

Make us all proud (make us all proud)

The song gets to the nub of the sporting m matter quickly and gets you into the rah-rah mood easily with its digestible lyrics.

But I cannot say I am singing along to the YOG theme song composed by Ken Lim.

If I were to replay the judge role that he did on Singapore Idol, I would say something like this: “This is a sports competition. You don’t want a song that you cannot quite tap your feet to. It lacks an immediate feel. To borrow a sports phrase, it catches no ball.”

A frustration really, for Lim has corralled a group of five singers, including chart-topper, Jamaican-American rapper Sean Kingston, to voice his song called Everybody.

The chorus goes:

Raise your hand for our generation

Fly the flags of every nation

Reaching out for that moment in our lives

Raise your hand for our generation

Living out your aspiration

Time to fly way beyond the skies

A world that shines for everyone

I think the lines are not something you can remember easily and seem, well, pretentious.

Certainly, the song is not as catchy as the one by Lin.

I wonder if the people who commissioned the songs actually tested them before a select group, just to listen to their feedback.

Or did they just go along with what Lin and Lim came up with? After all, they are icons in the music trade and few may dare question their output.

Well, the test is now in the listening.

Which song turns you on, or off?