'It is our gift to Singapore': Kit Chan remakes iconic National Day song Home

When you think about Singapore's National Day, one of the first few songs that will pop into your head will definitely be Kit Chan's Home.

With Kit's comforting voice and the smooth ballad, the song, which celebrates home as a source of strength and hope, has been a favourite among Singaporeans and sung every year in schools during the National Day period and at the National Day Parade (NDP).

But do you know that it has been 25 years since it was released?

In an Instagram post on Thursday (July 20) evening, Kit announced that she has remade Home for its 25th anniversary and her 30th anniversary in the entertainment industry.

She wrote: "For a long time now, whenever I heard the song that I recorded in 1998, or watched the MV, it was with a detached familiarity. It is me, unmistakably, but also not quite me.

"I have changed, and so has Singapore. And my feelings for her have also grown more complex."

Kit added that she is "no longer that starry-eyed 25-year-old belting her lungs out at her first NDP", as she had grown over the years.

"I continue to find my joys and my comforts in this amazing little place that is my home. I'm immensely proud of it, especially when I'm abroad, like so many Singaporeans, and then complain about it with my compadres," wrote Kit.

In the music video for the remake of Home, Kit presents familiar scenes in Singapore, including getting a traditional breakfast of hot kopi with hard boiled eggs and soya sauce at the hawker centre, travelling through the streets of Singapore and watching the fireworks during celebrations.

There is also footage of Kit singing Home during the 1998 National Day Parade, which was held at the Padang. Local duo The Freshman, which consists of Tan Diya and Carrie Yeo, also made an appearance in the music video.

Kit added that the remake is her "vision of Singapore" and her "personal experience of it now".

She wrote: "This is a labour of love that would not have been possible without the generosity, commitment and love of my friends and collaborators. It is our gift to Singapore and all Singaporeans and those who love and admire her."

Kit will also be performing at the National Day Concert at The Meadows, Gardens By The Bay on Aug 5. The concert will begin at 4.30pm and admission is free.

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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