During lunch with my mother a couple of weeks back over yong tau foo, I was asked about my opinion on the latest NDP song.

And of course, as expected of any chronically insular millennial, my reaction was: “Huh? There’s a new NDP song?”

But of course there is. And I say this not to disparage the wonderful songwriters and musicians that provide an anthem to remember the nation’s birthday by annually, but to knock into my own mind the harsh reality: We’re already in mid-June. 

It felt like just yesterday that we were running around from car launch to car launch at the 2025 Singapore Motorshow. Or busting our jackets out during Singapore's 25-degree winter in late-Jan/early-Feb. Also, battling the heat during CNY visitation. My ICT was in mid-March! Where on earth did the first half of the year go? 2025 just started.

I ask not to seek any answers (I probably already know them anyway: the months were eaten up by doomscrolling, a familiar concoction of overthinking and anxiety, and insomnia), but - again - to knock into myself the reality that we are now into our sixth month of 2025. But months are just social constructs right? Introspection is a social construct too. Hmm.

Anyway! Singapore turns 60 this year! Admittedly, this year’s NDP song doesn’t rise to the anthemic heights of SG50’s Our Singapore, nor match the striking vulnerability/self-referential electronic balladry of 2021’s The Road Ahead. (At least not on first listen, nor to this listener's ears. Very very important caveats to make, since musical taste is highly subjective.) I do, however, greatly enjoy the mellow production and the way that Charlie Lim's, The Island Voices', and Kit Chan's (!) voices blend together. 

Also, I know that the title of the song is meant to be a reflection of growth (in the sense of "Here we are! Look how far we've come!") - but I like that it can also be interpreted as a simple but powerful invitation to embrace the present. Here we are. What has passed has passed. Let's make full use of what we have at the moment. 

Anyone else given up on their New Year’s Resolutions yet?

- Matt