Over 40 Students Recognised at Annual Xinyao Singing and Songwriting Competition

1. More than 40 students clinched a total of 30 awards at the grand finals of this year's Xin Kong Xia (新空下) National Schools Singing and Songwriting Competition. Minister of State for Education and Chairperson of the Committee to Promote Chinese Language and Learning (CPCLL) Ms Sun Xueling attended the grand finals as Guest of Honour.

2. Jointly organised by the CPCLL, Jurong Pioneer Junior College, Lianhe Zaobao and music recording studio TCR Music Station, the annual competition aims to nurture interests in Chinese language and culture through Xinyao, Singapore's unique genre of Mandarin songs.

3. The competition's Singing category returned to stage this year after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The singing contest, which was held virtually to ensure of the safety of student participants, attracted 44 solo singers and 10 group contestants.

4. After the debut of the well-received Lyrics Writing category last year, more than 30 entries were submitted this year under the theme "My campus life, my growing up years" (校园生活与成长岁月). The winning entry, titled "Our Story" (我们的故事) by lyricist duo Keryn Ng and Jessica Zhang, was performed live during the grand finals.

5. To broaden the reach of Xinyao beyond this competition, 20 virtual sharing sessions were organised by TCR music station from May to July this year for about 6,000 students. On top of these sharing sessions, about 400 students took part in a two-day music camp in May to hone their singing and stage-performing skills, as well as to learn more about song composition.

6. Please see Annex A for more details on the award winners. For more information, please visit CPCLL's website at cpcll.sg or SPH's website at https://www.zaobao.com.sg/special/xin-kong-xia.