SINGAPORE - This year's National Day Parade theme song will be one that looks into the future as the nation celebrates its 50th birthday and at the same time pays tribute to its pioneers and to founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

This year's song, Our Singapore, was penned by singer-songwriter Dick Lee, who will also sing the song alongside pop singer JJ Lin.

Mr Lee said he is "terrified" of comments that the new tune will attract.

"It is going to be put out there to be judged. But then I thought about it, I've been judged all my life...everything I do is being judged."

The 57-year-old, who wrote four other songs before settling on the final version last December, said: "It just felt right. I was looking at all the SG50 plans and I realised that there is a lot of focus on the past and not really enough about the future. So I thought why not write a song about the next step and what's to come."

He acknowledges that people will compare his new song to his previous song Home, which has become a classic among Singaporeans.

"I didn't want people to compare whatever I will write to Home...There was a lot of pressure...the more that was put on me, the more stressed and more hesitant I was."

Besides unveiling the theme song, Brigadier-General Melvyn Ong, who is coordinating this year's show, gave more details of the Aug 9 show that is themed Majulah Singapura, the title of the National Anthem, which in Malay means "Onward Singapore".

The main show will be at the Padang and there will also be a bayside show at The Float @ Marina Bay. Together, the venues will double the number of seats available for Singaporeans and permanent residents this year. Besides the 26,000 seats at the Padang, people can also ballot for 25,000 seats at the floating platform.

Top leaders or heads of state in the region will also attend the Golden Jubilee show. It is the first time since 1969 that foreign leaders are invited to the event.

Highlights include a vintage segment, which will showcase participants, including the nation's pioneers, in the army's old Temasek green uniforms and the now-defunct Singapore Fire Brigade's helmets, among other things.

Kicking off the show will be a segment to pay tribute to Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who died on March 23, aged 91.

Besides keeping Mr Lee's seat at the stands empty, the Republic of Singapore Air Force's Black Knights will also fly in a "five-star" formation, an aerial salute to honour Mr Lee.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said five stars represented "the ideals that Mr Lee spent his life pushing for - democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality".

"It will be a fitting tribute to Mr Lee, for all of us to look up and beyond and remember his wish to keep Singapore going."

Our Singapore (Lyrics)

[VERSE 1]
It isn't easy building something out of nothing
Especially when the road ahead's a rocky one
But if we gather all our courage and conviction,
And hold our dream up high,
The challenge will be won.

[CHORUS]
So now we look around us and we see
A nation built with love by you and me
A land to treasure right down to the core
Our home, our heart, our Singapore.
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Our home, our heart, our Singapore.

[VERSE 2]
Through many years gone by, we've moved ahead together
We've built a brave new world where we could shine and grow
And now we only have to look towards tomorrow
To carry on the dream as far as it will go.

[CHORUS]
So now we look around us and we see
A nation built with love by you and me
A land to treasure right down to the core
Our home, our heart, our Singapore.
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Our home, our heart, our Singapore.

[BRIDGE]
And amazing as it seems,
It all started with a dream.
And our dreaming isn't done
'Cause the best is yet to come.

[CHORUS]
So now we look around us and we see
A nation built with love by you and me
A land to treasure right down to the core
Our home, our heart, our Singapore.
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Our home,
Our heart,
Our dream,
Our Singapore.
Our Singapore.