'Thank you, Mr Lee'

'Thank you, Mr Lee'

SINGAPORE - He is a YouTube singer who has performed covers of popular English-language hits for the past three years.

And Republic Polytechnic student Dominic Chin's videos usually get between 2,000 and 5,000 views each.

However, the 18-year-old's most recent music video titled You First Believed has attracted more than 107,000 views as of last night since it was uploaded more than a week ago.

The moving six-minute clip, dedicated to former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, features old footage of him making speeches (and even tearing up), as well as snippets of young adults thanking him for making Singapore into what it is today.

Dominic, who wrote the lyrics and sang the song, is also featured performing with his friend Joash Foo, 17, who composed the music.

Dominic told The New Paper: "Mr Lee's the person who made Singapore what it's today, and I feel that he's not given enough appreciation by the younger generation.

"By making this video, I simply wanted to honour and give thanks to our founding father."

WORKED WITH FRIENDS

Dominic and six friends started working on the video last November and they uploaded the final product onto YouTube on Feb 15.

He spent three days penning the lyrics, admitting he had difficulty coming up with the words initially.

"I pretended I was writing a letter to Mr Lee, but I got stuck. So I thought of how Mr Lee had this fantastic vision for Singapore and made it a reality. I thought of the good things he did for the country and was inspired by them," Dominic recounted.

"Feb 15 (was also) Singapore's Total Defence Day and I felt it was an appropriate date to upload the video."

Even though some netizens have commented on other media platforms that You First Believed feels like a publicity production for the Government, Dominic denies being backed by any government agency.

However, he did send the video link in a private message to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Facebook, a day after the video was uploaded, in the hopes that the younger Mr Lee will see it. He has not received a reply.

Dominic said: "I'm not upset that he has not replied as I'm sure he has a lot more important things to do."

He also disabled the comments for the video, as he did not want unwarranted remarks on his platform.

jocelee@sph.com.sg


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