Recently, a Chinese New Year (CNY) song sung and written in Melayu by Malaysian Artistes, Ayie Floor, Harry Khalifah, Sarah Suhairi, Liza Aziz, Beby Acha, and Aidilia Hilda has gone viral, chocking up almost 600,00 views on Youtube since it was released on 7 Jan 2022.
It was said to have been a hit amongst all races and religions in Malaysia given the multicultural nature and the catchy melody of the song.
The song is titled ‘Dong Dong Qiang’.
Familiar tunes heard
In the first minute of the video, a familiar tune in all Chinese New Year songs was heard.
It is none other than the iconic ‘dong dong dong qiang’ x2 that is frequently heard in most Chinese New Year songs.
The music owner, MVM Production had also reached out to music producer and composer Nevin Hiong, for his assistance in the song production according to CNA.
It was emphasised that for Chinese New Year themed songs, phrases like ‘gong xi ni’, ‘dong dong qiang’, and ‘huat ah’ have to be incorporated to give it the CNY ‘vibes’.
Hiong also roped in his Malay production manager Uncle Chain, to help mash this phrases into the Melayu lyrics smoothly.
Hiong added that this is most likely the first CNY song sung in Malaysia’s national language.
Meaningful lyrics promoting unity
The lyrics also did well in promoting unity amongst the races and also the overall music video had good usage of props like CNY essentials such as Ang Baos (red packets) and mandarin oranges.
Some lines which were meaningful included:
Luar kita berbeza
Hati tetap kan sama
Kita bagaikan pokok
Kuat pada akarnya
which loosely translates to:
On the outside we are different
But our hearts are the same
We’re like a tree
Strong at the roots
and also:
Hari ini hari raya
Lain bangsa tapi bersama
Tahun baru teman yang lama kita
which loosely translates to:
Today is the New Year
We’re from different races but we’re together
New Year, old friends
Tiktok hand signals spotted
As the music video progressed, you would have noticed Tiktok video hand signs.
Director-cum-composer Wang Xi Min told MYSinChew that they have hired a professional to add these signals in the MV to make it trendier with the viewers.
Reflects our multiracial society
The MV has done well to remind us of the multiracial society that we live in and other than it being an entertainment for the festive season, it reminds us that if we live together harmoniously and respect each other’s culture, there is so much more in our unity.
Even though the song is in Malaysia, it reflects well for all countries with diverse races and cultures.
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Image and Video source: MVM Music/Youtube