Set in the 1940’s, A Song To Remember portrays the glittering Singapore nightlife of old. Working in a cabaret required attention, especially if you want to be famous. 2 doyennes of Shanghai Li Ming Troupe, Yu Hong (Joanne Peh) and Song Qiao-er (Eelyn Kok) fight it out on stage. As rivals, it was natural of Qiao-er to want to get rid of Yu Hong and thus, every time Qiao-er sabotages Yu Hong, the latter would retaliate. On the other hand, a young musician, Mo Li Guang (Qi Yu Wu), arrives in Singapore and meets Liu Jiumei (Julie Tan), which results in the duo composing songs and performing songs together. As the paths of the 4 characters cross, what complications would ensue?

A MediaCorp Channel 8 drama serial produced by Chia Men Yiang and written by Ang Eng Tee, the 30-parter will feature a number of melodious pieces composed by celebrated composers.

What ought to be noted would be that the situations brought into the show’s context reflects what happens in reality. On an everyday basis, somewhere in this world, workers are bound to backstab each other, and this show highlights the consequences of such actions. An example of which would be how Qiao-er constantly tries to harm Yu Hong.

Eelyn commented that she wouldn’t do what Qiao-er did because she doesn’t agree with her actions. “She doesn’t mind sleeping with men and bringing others down to achieve her position in the cabaret world. Struggling for power, she tries to put Yu Hong down because she wants to maintain her status as the leading performer in the troupe.”

When someone tries to harm us, we will brace ourselves and fend for ourselves. And in this show, that’s exactly what Yu Hong did, even though her defenses might be a little too extreme.

Joanne explained that Yu Hong’s retaliations were merely just acts of survival. “Because Qiao-er sees Yu Hong as a threat, she repeatedly tries to take her life. When you want to take my (referring to Yu Hong) life, there’s no way I’ll just sit idle and let you bully me. So the only way for me to save myself would be to take over your position.”

There are many times that we have no choice but to do what has to be done, and Jiumei proves this to be true in this show.

Julie stated that Jiumei’s life changed the moment she entered the cabaret world and thus led to complications arising. “Because Yu Hong is her benefactor and Qiao-er is her mentor, Jiumei is stuck between the two and doesn’t know what to do. All she wants is to sing and perform in the troupe, but because she doesn’t have a choice, she tries to bring Yu Hong down.”

And what would this show be without a little bit of love? Li Guang brings in the love factor when his relationships with Yu Hong and Jiumei get complicated.

Yu Wu mentioned that Li Guang went to Singapore to seek love. “I believe everything that Li Guang did was all for the sake of love. He’s actually a pretty simple person who is not ambitious and doesn’t care much about being a person of a higher status. Basically, he’s a sensitive guy who cares about the one he loves.”

Photos courtesy of Samuel Ow from Klix Photography and MediaCorpTV.

Infusing universal themes such as betrayal, making choices and survival, A Song To Remember comes off as a local version of Hong Kong television series, Beyond the Realm of Conscience and it should be on your list of must-watch, especially if you love sudden plot twists.

A Song To Remember debuts on Nov 22 and runs every Mon to Fri at 9pm on MediaCorp’s Channel 8.