37 Malaysian artistes join voices to cheer on Covid-19 frontliners

Malaysian singer-songwriter Ellisan Tan (lower left corner) and 37 of her showbiz friends are cheering on our frontliners with a song titled Having You Having Me. Photo: handout

With frontliners all over the country working tirelessly to keep Malaysians safe, some of the local artistes wished to record their appreciation to these heroes battling Covid-19.

Local singer-songwriter Ellisan Tan wrote a song titled Having You, Having Me, and invited 37 of her Malaysian artiste friends to join her in cheering on the brave frontliners.

Tan says she has been keeping herself up-to-date while staying at home during the movement control order, with the latest news about the efforts and sacrifices of medical frontliners.

Malaysian singer-songwriter Ellisan Tan and 37 of her showbiz friends are cheering on our frontliners with a song titled Having You Having Me. Photo: handout

“When I saw on the Internet that Nurse Umi (who gave Tan much encouragement during her pregnancy) was going to serve on the frontline, I couldn't help but tear up.

“I was reminded of the members of the charity group who helped my grandmother when she was sick as well as other doctors who went to serve on the frontline.

“Life is unpredictable; we don’t know if anything would happen to us or our relatives and friends.

“But then, I felt that I must not continue thinking like that. I must have a positive energy. That's when I had a stroke of inspiration, and decided to compose the song.”

Tan wrote Having You, Having Me in half a day, and gathered 37 artistes to help complete the project in three days. The song is largely in Mandarin, with some words in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Tamil.

“We wish to offer our gratitude and pay tribute to the frontliners – doctors, nurses, police officers, paramedics, sanitation workers, delivery workers, those working in the essential services, and even family members who go out to buy groceries – and also to friends who work hard to stay at home in support of frontliners!"

Since everyone has to stay home and practise social distancing, Tan suggested just basic recording without any fancy post-production modifications.

She was happy that her friends immediately agreed, and were very enthusiastic about the meaningful collaboration despite their busy schedules. Each did their own part using their mobile phones or existing resources to record the footage for the music video.

The whole process took Tan more than 48 hours, as she worked around the clock to invite all the artistes to complete the music arrangement, video recording, editing and post-production.

Upon releasing the song, Tan and her celebrity friends expressed their "wish for everyone to stay safe and strong and healthy to survive the pandemic!"

“I see happiness and tragedy. The virus knows no borders, no races, and the whole world are in the same boat. We must work together and encourage each other to win the battle!” Tan wrote on her social media.

The artistes participating in Having You, Having Me are Eric Chen, Angeline Tan, MiaoMiao, Regine Tai, Cris Angel, Desmond Liew, Jimmy Liew, Kvix Lim, Dickson Loo, Zac Lin, Monkey.D, Victor Lee, Wei Wei, Vivy Wan & Twinz A, SKYap, Ezen Chan, Camilia Siaw, Bear Beh, Johnny Ho, Sharon Au, Catherine Soon, Faith Ong, Marcus Yong, Eraine Cheong, Ken Lau, Mint G, MaySim, Newman Chai, Jiro Ng, Vinz Primey, Rozita Rohaizad, Anis Aneesa, Azian Mazwan Sapuwan, Jessica Loo (violin), Lim Fung Keat (erhu), Jia Hui (guzheng) and Syed Aziz (narrator).