Songwriters can be inspired by pretty much anything. The Beatles’ Come Together is said to have taken its name from a catchphrase popularized by LSD guru Timothy Leary. We’ve Only Just Begun by the Carpenters started life as a bank commercial.
Still, there’s something very, very Singapore about penning a passionate ode to a mall waterfall.
Granted, it’s not just any mall waterfall, it’s our very own Jewel Changi Airport Rain Vortex, the impressive indoor water feature that’s now served as the overly-used backdrop to roughly one million Instagram selfies since it debuted.
Enter homegrown star JJ Lin, who decided it was The Right Time (ahem) to honor the spectacular water show in song, one done in partnership with, you guessed it: Jewel Changi Airport. Not that the commercial aspect of this in any way influenced the deep, raw passion Lin clearly felt.
The 38-year-old composed the Mandarin-language pop song with lyricist Xiaohan after feeling “a wave of emotions when he first saw the artist’s impression of the Rain Vortex,” according to a press release by Changi Airport Group yesterday.
Lin was also quoted as saying: “I am very excited to be part of this project. Producing a song for the Rain Vortex is an honor to me because I believe that Jewel is a landmark that will help attract tourists from all over the world to Singapore.” Can you feel the emotion?
A 15-second teaser of the ballad’s music video was posted on the Changi Airport Group Facebook page on Monday after it was filmed last month at Jewel.
Fans who can’t get enough of the tune — and we know you’re out there — can look out for the full song when it drops across all popular music platforms on Aug. 26. Yes, we just used the term “drop” for a song about a mall waterfall.
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