‘Fun Pack Song’ pulled from lineup for now
The organisers of this year's National Day Parade (NDP) are pulling the now-infamous "Fun Pack Song" from their performance lineup, while they seek modification rights for "Bad Romance".
The controversial song, created to introduce the items inside the annual NDP Fun Pack, carried lyrics written by Haresh Sharma to the tune of the hit Lady Gaga single.
While the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) was able to secure public performance rights for the original song, they did not seek rights to modify its lyrics, and were hence still found to be in violation of the original copyright held.
In a statement, MINDEF said it did not realise that public performance rights did not constitute or include rights to modify the song lyrics.
"We're in the process of working with the recording and publishing company to try to secure the rights to modify the lyrics, and, until then, we will not perform the song," said the NDP 2011 show committee chairman Colonel Ong Tze-Ch'in.
He added that they will first revert to the usual format of having the show hosts announce the items in the NDP goodie bag.
"What we want to do this year is to try to do it in a fresh and light-hearted way with a musical concept," he said.
Since it was first performed at rehearsals last Saturday, a recording of the song that surfaced on YouTube has since gone viral, generating harsh criticism from netizens.
Read the original story and watch the song here.