National Day 2023 saw ordinary citizens celebrating Singapore's 58th birthday in a myriad of interesting ways.

These included a Choa Chu Kang preschool hosting a mini National Day Parade, a boy getting an "I ♥ SG 58" hair cut, and a man spending S$58 on biryani & drinks to thank migrant workers in Singapore, and more.

The latest?

A group of Republic of Singapore Navy servicemen from the guard-of-honour contingent were spotted singing their rendition of the iconic National Day song "Home", while ascending an escalator in Raffles City shopping centre.

The video

A TikTok that captured the impromptu singalong was shared by @qiqi_quarz at around 9pm on Aug. 9, and has since been viewed more than 53,000 times.

@qiqi_quarz Singapore 58th National Day #NDP2023 Young Soldier Truly Singapore #singaporetiktok ♬ original sound - qiqi_quarz_oe

In the video, the servicemen in the ceremonial No. 1 uniform, complete with peak cap were singing the familiar chorus of "Home" on the escalator while ascending.

They appeared to be celebrating after the end of their involvement in the parade.

A few of them were waving their hands to the rhythm of the song, while one acted like a hype guy by emphasising the last word of each verse (e.g. "This is home truly... Truly!").

And while their singing wouldn't win any prizes, their voices were likely audible throughout the mall.

This continued for a good minute or so until the chorus ended, and the performance was capped with a round of cheers and applause.

For context, Singapore's National Day Parade was held at the Padang for the first time after three years.

The show started at about 5:30pm on Aug 9.

The guard-of-honour contingents were housed at Raffles City Convention Centre, which is on level four of the Raffles City Shopping Centre.

Online users respond

In the comments section, most users appreciated the spontaneous performance of one of Singapore's most beloved National Day songs.

A few thanked the servicemen for sacrificing a good number of weekends to practise for the parade, and suggested they were in a celebratory mode after it was over.

One commenter, however, pointed out that it might be better not to have heard the performance in person.

Everyone loves 'Home'

The timeless classic "Home", which was written by composer Dick Lee in 1997 and performed by singer-songwriter Kit Chan the next year, often takes the top spot in polls about Singaporeans' favourite NDP song.

During the circuit breaker in 2020, Singaporeans took part in a mass karaoke session, simultaneously singing along to a recording of the song while waving a torch from their windows and balconies.

This was to thank front line and migrant workers in Singapore fighting Covid-19.

It was also the song choice of Singapore's first-ever virtual choir, which brought together 900 Singaporeans across 26 countries to perform a rendition of "Home".

As this year marks 25 years of "Home", the original singer Chan performed a 25th anniversary edition of the song at the National Day concert on Aug. 5.

Other renditions of 'Home'

Top image from qiqi_quarz on TikTok.