Sing Song Social Club: A Community Choir Bringing People Together Through Music
The first rule of Sing Song Social Club is: you do not use your phones. The second? Come as you are and sing your hearts out.
One day, while scrolling through TikTok, independent creative consultant Aarika Lee stumbled upon a video that immediately struck a chord with her: more than 200 people of various ages belting out the 2000s electropop anthem Dancing on My Own in a grungy basement. The clip reignited her longing to relive her choir days in school.
“Singing together is incredibly healing,” says Lee, who’s also an adjunct lecturer at Lasalle College of the Arts and a regular face on the local entertainment circuit – the youthful 41‐year‐old used to be in the music industry with her husband, artiste Kevin Lester, aka THELIONCITYBOY. “I don’t know if it’s my algorithm, but my feed has been serving me podcasts on the science of singing in a group – how it produces a dopamine hit for everyone.”
It turns out that Lee isn’t alone in her nostalgia. When she shared the TikTok video on Instagram (her account is @aarikalee), others – including several who also used to sing in choirs – reached out to her, lamenting the lack of a similar outlet in Singapore. An idea hit: If she could find three other individuals to help her lead different sections of a choir – soprano, alto, tenor and bass – she could recreate the joy of group singing for herself and others.
Aarika Lee (standing in middle) founded Sing Song Social Club to recreate the joy of group singing that she had experienced when she was in the choir.
She approached musicians Benjamin Kheng, Nathan Hartono and Sandra Riley Tang (better known by her artiste name RRILEY) – all personal friends of hers. All eagerly said yes and Sing Song Social Club – or SSSC for short – was born.
Last November, the four hosted the first session of SSSC in the school hall of the trendy lifestyle complex New Bahru, which was graciously loaned to them by its landlord for the occasion at no cost. They treated it as a test run, inviting 30 friends and family members to sing an arrangement of I Wanna Dance with Somebody – Whitney Houston’s 1980s breakout hit that has also seen a TikTok resurgence in recent years as a dance challenge. “We knew the first song had to be a classic that everyone knows. We wanted to let people know that Sing Song is for everyone – whether you’re a bathroom singer or a choir singer,” she says.
Since then, four more monthly sessions have been held, with every one free of charge for participants – something Lee is determined to stick to, and made possible only because of the goodwill of venue sponsors and volunteers. “Sing Song runs because everyone offers his or her time, resources, instruments, skills, space, et cetera, out of big‐heartedness and the belief that what we do here does have an impact that goes beyond a group singing session,” she says. “I think the fact that we offer Sing Song for free spurs others to see how they, too, can contribute and keep the good vibes going.”
The latest edition on March 21 drew a crowd of 120 whose ages spanned 20 to 60‐plus (Lee stresses that all ages are welcome). The tune of choice? Chappell Roan’s rousing liberation track Pink Pony Club, with many turning up suitably dressed in pink – or sequins.
Those interested to join in should stay glued to Sing Song Social Club’s steadily growing namesake Instagram account (as of press time, it had already chalked up an impressive 12.4K followers): A registration link is shared each time a new night is announced, with priority going to those who’ve attended previous editions. Lee explains: “I think the most important thing about growing a community is its culture. Having existing members who understand how we work come back helps us recreate a safe space at every session, and new members take the lead from them.”
Belting one’s heart out in sync with strangers does call for not only a certain daring, but also discipline and deference. Every session goes something like this: Registered participants arrive and – under the guidance of Lee and co. – perform vocal warm‐ups before being split into four sections to practise the song of the evening. Then, after about an hour, everyone reunites to sing literally in harmony.
The music that comes out of Sing Song Social Club is magical, but what’s truly inspiring about it is its social impact. Every session is free of charge, thanks to the goodwill of volunteers and sponsors who believe in its cause – the landlord at New Bahru, for example, has allowed several sessions to be conducted in its school hall at no cost. And this feel‐good spirit has only led to more participants offering their help and services for future sessions. Says Lee: “We don’t have to get paid. Just being able to give the community something like this is really special.”
Throughout the process, the only ones allowed to use their phones are volunteer photographers and videographers who document the session, then share it with everyone unedited. “What everyone gets to see and hear is the entire experience raw and at its purest,” says Lee. “At SSSC – and especially at that moment when we come together – everybody’s the same. There’s no focus on who’s a professional singer and who isn’t, or who the facilitators are. We are one with everybody.”
Adding to the fuzzy, feel‐good vibes are wholesome activities. This January, for example, participants were each asked to write his or her hopes for the year on Post‐it notes, stick them on the wall, then pick one penned by another to take home as a memento. “We just wanted to add that element of a takeaway. Some participants have said that coming here is like free therapy – they come and leave feeling better,” says Lee.
Many have also stepped up to be volunteers for future sessions, helping with anything from handling the registration to leading the sectional practice, proving that good does beget good. “The response has been very heart‐warming for us. The singing brings us together, but it’s this strong sense of community and support that makes everyone come back,” says Lee. “Who would have thought that strangers can put together something that sounds so amazing in just two hours? Now imagine what more we all can do if we extend this community spirit and heart to other things?”