On 19 Apr, celebrities came together to help raise nearly $128 million for the World Health Organization to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Some of the music world’s biggest names – Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, Elton John and Jennifer Lopez included – performed in the worldwide broadcast of Global Citizen’s “One World: #TogetherAtHome” concert hosted by comedians Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Steven Colbert. They spoke about the need for solidarity with healthcare workers and other frontliners at this time.
From Metallica to Coldplay to BTS home concerts, many would agree that free live entertainment may be the best thing that came out of staying at home. Music can encompass cultural, political, social and even spiritual connections. In that way, it has always brought people together and that’s one of the great things about it. So even when we can’t meet with friends or gather at entertainment venues, we can still connect with others through music.
Here are my top five song recommendations to get you through the circuit breaker:
Track 1: One Republic – Better Days
Oh, I know that there’ll be better days
Oh, that sunshine ’bout to come my way
May we never ever shed another tear for today
‘Cause oh, I know that there’ll be better days
A hopeful song for everyone worried if there will be an end to Covid-19. Like other viruses we’ve overcome such as H1N1, bird flu and SARS, we will come out stronger and better if we stay united.
Similar to Global Citizen’s concert, the music video was released in support of WHO‘s Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and donations can be made directly to the fund from the video’s YouTube page. The music video also features OneRepublic fans all over the world finding ways to spend time in quarantine. It certainly provides inspiration for all!
Track 2: Kodaline – Saving Grace
When my heart’s getting older
And my body is breaking down
In my head yeah I know that I’ll be by your side
I don’t know about the future
No one knows what the future holds
All I know is I know that I’m giving you my life
This verse is dedicated to the mummies and daddies who have to work from home, on top of supervising home-based learning (HBL), while being a cook and cleaner at the same time. We know you’re tired, but hang in there! Hopefully, when they are older, your children will understand the tears and sweat you’ve put into raising them.
Track 3: John Mayer – You Are Still You
You are still you
You still got style
Even if you don’t put pants on for a while
Know it all can seem to be a bit confusing
All the days and weeks and months you may be losing
running out of clever things to do
It still holds true
You are still you
Even after our daily routines and social lives have been turned upside down because of the coronavirus, this song reminds us that every bit of who we were before this crisis began still lives inside us.
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Track 4: Snow Patrol – Saturday Songwrite 4 (Working Title)
You’ll be home someday
and all will be well then
this tumbling emotion like
falling from grace
The masks that we all wear
so hard to take off now
this bed feels so broken
without you here
Hold, hold my memory in your hands
cause you illuminate everything
and there’s no uniform theory of
the light that you create
Gary Lightbody, the lead singer of the band who gave us Chasing Cars, has gathered fans and followers on Instagram to help write totally new songs while in quarantine. Every Saturday, fans can suggest lyrics and chords, and Lightbody unleashes his songwriting genius on them.
The lyrics in this song, created during his fourth #saturdaysongwrite session, talk about looking forward to the time where we can all meet again. It’s a wonderfully melancholic yet hopeful song that reminds us that even though we cannot do so now, we can still reminisce on happier times to get us through this period.
Track 5: Adam Sandler – Quarantine Song
Last but not least, if you need a little silliness to lift up your mood amid the deary news, actor Adam Sandler’s got your back.
Sandler wrote and performed a humorous tribute to doctors and nurses in one of the at-home editions of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”:
Rocking shades and a faux fur-collared jacket, the Wedding Singer actor yodelled unplugged: “God bless Italian doctors in Italy and all the Spanish doctors in Spain. And God bless Chinese doctors in China and also Chinese doctors in America.”
The Saturday Night Live alumni ended the song by reminding everyone to be socially responsible and once again showing his appreciation for those on the front lines.
“Stay home as much as you can, make sure to wash your hands. Let’s make this damn thing go away. We love you doctors and nurses, you’re saving lives every day. Find a cure for the —–, ‘cause I really miss hugging my mailman,” he sang.
Many Singaporeans have also stepped up to share their own voices in this difficult time. From participating in virtual choirs, writing songs to unite Singaporeans to ‘Overcome as One’ and even companies rolling out their own music videos, these initiatives have the same goal – to get fellow citizens through this crisis.
So plug in those headphones or blast it out through your speakers (without disturbing your neighbours, of course) as you work from home for a mood booster throughout the day.
Bonus track: JJ / Kit / Stefanie / Tanya – #stayathome
深夜和朋友聊天，感嘆大家都快沒工作，也不能出去玩，什麼都做不了，感到好無奈。又不時看新聞報導還是有人群聚集在外面，真是為他們擔憂。想想我們音樂人朋友之間到底能做些什麼？幾通簡訊後，在一個小時內大家都義不容辭立馬答應，我們的 #stayathome movement 就這樣一夜間誕生了。大家都各自在家裡自拍影片，有默契，認真又搞笑，各種花招都拿出來，又在同一天完成剪接這個影片！The message is clear.. no? 感謝JJ, 燕姿和潔儀！難得咱們可以隔空有這樣深具意義的合作。很是感動。凝聚一份力量希望能起一些微薄的效用。Let’s do this together! 孫燕姿 Sun Yanzi 陳潔儀 Kit Chan 林俊傑 JJ Lin#stayathome #please#乖#seriously#doitforyourselfandforothers#flattenthecurve#在家無聊會做的事#friendscometogether#JKST#weareapartbutcloseatheart#第一次當剪接師老花眼變更嚴重
Posted by 蔡健雅 Tanya Chua on Monday, April 6, 2020
When Singapore’s very own “Heavenly 4” serenades you to stay home for the safety of others and yourself, just do it!
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