Singaporean performer Alvin Oon creates Wuhan virus parody song within 48 hours

Singaporean performer Alvin Oon. (PHOTO: Alvin Oon)
Singaporean performer Alvin Oon. (PHOTO: Alvin Oon)

SINGAPORE – As China and the rest of the world battles the contagious Wuhan virus, a handful of entertainers have gone all out to cheer medical personnels and spread positive messages - through self-composed songs.

Singaporean Peranakan Alvin Oon, director of Peranakan Sayang, a cultural-entertainment company, has released a song entitled ‘Fight The Virus’, which is a parody of Simon & Garfunkel’s classic song, ‘Sound of Silence’.

Oon tells Yahoo Lifestyle SEA that he wrote the lyrics within three hours and the whole production took him only 48 hours. The song was released on his YouTube channel and Facebook page on Thursday (30 January).

“I thought it was a good idea to produce a song that is informative, encouraging and hopeful, with so many people being affected by the virus. I was searching for a song that had the right vibe and the ‘Sound of Silence’ fit the bill. I wanted to do something that could bring some cheer, hope and encouragement to everyone who are affected by this outbreak. We are all in this together, regardless of race or nationality,” Oon shared.

To record the song, Oon worked at his home studio, coupled with some trusty music and recording equipment: “It was done very quickly as I managed the recording, singing and video editing all by myself.”

This is not the first time Oon has created a parody song; inspired by Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, he released ‘Peranakan Rhapsody’ in 2018 to share the importance of the Peranakan culture.

Last Tuesday (28 January), Singaporean stars JJ Lin and Stefanie Sun have co-written a song to cheer on those affected by the Wuhan coronavirus. The song ‘Stay With You’ was composed and sung by Lin. The song has since amassed 774k views on Lin’s YouTube channel and over a million views on his Weibo account.

Click here for stories on the developing Wuhan virus crisis: sg.news.yahoo.com/health

Related stories:

Wuhan virus: Hotels in Southeast Asia are adding preventive measures

Wuhan virus: Thermal scanners, increased disinfection among precautionary measures at Singapore tourist attractions

Wuhan virus: 92 Singaporeans flown home from Wuhan

Wuhan virus: 3 more confirmed cases in Singapore, total at 13

Hong Kong singer Miriam Yeung postpones Singapore concert due to China travel restrictions