<![CDATA['Genuine club-banger': Coronavirus songs in Asia that have gone viral]>
For many in Singapore, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak is associated with a popular television character rapping that "Sars is the virus that I just want to minus". In four minutes, construction boss Phua Chu Kang urges Singaporeans to not work if they are sick, wear a mask to the doctor, not doc-hop and "wash your hands whenever you can".
As the world now grapples with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, another Asian virus song is capturing hearts and, this time round, it is also going global.
Vietnam's Ministry of Health has released an animated video to the tune of local pop song Jealous, tweaking the lyrics to tell viewers to "push back the virus Corona, Corona" with good handwashing.
The video, titled Ghen Co Vy, garnered 5.6 million views as of Friday evening. The tune was so catchy that John Oliver, the host of the satirical US news programme Last Week Tonight, featured it on his show, calling it a "genuine club-banger". Vietnamese are also uploading videos of themselves dancing to the song on Tik Tok.
A screengrab from Vietnamese coronavirus song Ghen Co Vy. Photo: YouTube alt=A screengrab from Vietnamese coronavirus song Ghen Co Vy. Photo: YouTube
That the virus education song has gone viral is good for public education, said Edwin Yeo, general manager of communications consultancy SPRG Singapore.
"Using pop culture, cartoons and music to educate a population on the necessary measures to protect themselves, if done right, can go some way in making personal hygiene a new normal which helps in combating the virus," he said.
Such videos can also calm the population and encourage people to go on with life but with added precautions, said Yeo. "That's just as important as fighting the disease itself because panic tends to have a long-term impact for the economy, which ultimately leads to job losses and so on."
Here are a few coronavirus songs to keep you in the loop:
Lyrics:
Wash our hands, rub, rub, rub, rub evenly Do not touch eyes, nose, mouth And limit visits to crowded places Push back the virus, corona, corona
Constantly improve your health, And clean your personal space, Let's improve our social awareness, Push back the virus, corona, corona
Singapore comedian Gurmit Singh stages a virus song comeback, after his 2003 hit Sarvivor Rap. The lyrics feature some throwback to his earlier song, such as "Virus wants to stay in Singapore, use your yellow boots kick it out the door", which references the construction boots associated with his Phua Chu Kang character in the Sarvivor video.
Singh also dressed in character in this public education video commissioned by the government. No song, though.
Two children in Hong Kong, aged eight and 10, play ukuleles in a song they composed addressed to Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam. "Mrs Carrie Lam, don't you hear the people suffer? Don't you hear the people cry for masks? Mrs Carrie Lam, don't you hear the people's voices? That they are worried and afraid?"
Singapore's Ministry of Education uploaded a video on its YouTube channel on February 13 featuring students singing about five perennial hygiene tips.
"Wash your hands to the beat, let's keep the virus off the streets / Don't touch your face with your bare hands, cause you don't know where the germs will land / Wear a mask if you're falling sick, go see a doctor don't be so thick / Spread the word all around town, c'mon everybody let's wipe down."
The chorus then urges the coronavirus to go away.
This is not a public education video, but a parody song first performed in a Hong Kong pub by actress and dancer Kathy Mak.
She wrote the song to offer relief amid a stressful situation and has succeeded in making many viewers laugh at her rendition that captures the panic buying in the city.
"So then I finally went out on the streets, after days of being at home hiding in my sheets. But then I start to worry cos, there's nothing at the grocery store. I can't find bok choy no more. There's just white people things, like pasta, cheese and corn."
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
