In 2004, an elegant eighteen-year old Olivia Ong sang our (Singapore’s) national anthem at the 2006 Fifa World Cup Asian qualifying rounds in Saitama Stadium. (Qualifying matches take place long before the actual world cup, hence the difference in dates. )
She had been in Japan since she was 15 and is a real tough cookie. Now 25, she has released at least four albums and I have at least two of those.
Well Ivan Chew and I only found out about her two years later through that now famous clip in which she sang and captured the hearts of many. We blogged about it enthusiastically but some time after, the youtube clip went MIA. A subsequent post I made in 2008 provided a new youtube video link but that too went dead.
I see people searching for Olivia’s rendition of “Majulah Singapura”, which typically happens close to National Day. There are now many copies out there including one I have filed away for safekeeping.
For this post, I present the first copy on YouTube that I found. Here you are folks, in preparation for National Day on 9th August 2011, our national anthem by Olivia Ong:
- “Olivia Ong’s a capella rendition of Majulah Singapura (2004),” by N. Sivasothi. Otterman speaks, 31 Jul 2008.
- Singapore National Anthem, sung beautifully,” by Ivan Chew. Rambling Librarian, 17 Sep 2006.
- ““Majulah Singapura”, a cappella, by Olivia Ong,” by N. Sivasothi. Otterman speaks, 19 Sep 2006.
Otterman speaks... 