THIS year's National Day Parade will be a rockier affair, with local indie rock band Electrico taking centrestage.

The three-piece band has been picked to pen and sing this year's theme song, 'What do you see'.

The trio said they were proud to sing be able to sing for the nation and represent the local music scene.

'There was a time when they they wil never let rockers near a NDP, let alone onstage singing the National Day song,' said the band's frontman David Tan.

The 33-year-old added: 'It shows that we have progressed...we are proud to be recognised as the people whom they (NDP organisers) like to make the change with.'

On Thursday, show committee chairman, Colonel Desmond Tan, revealed more about the two-hour-long song and dance, entitled One Show, that will incorporate the military parade and the 15-minute Total Defence Display.

It involves more than 6,000 participants of all ages from schools, associations and clubs, including hearing-impaired singers. Also working up the crowd will be 400 motivators and seasoned emcees like Gurmit Singh and Michelle Chong. The show tells the Singapore story, as it morphed from a fishing village to a metropolis, said Col Tan.

Key highlights of the 10-chapter light and sound show include lit boats sailing down Marina Bay, life-sized puppets, and images being projected on the 120m-long and 83m-wide Floating Platform. Setting the show's creative direction is Mr Ivan Heng, artistic director of theatre company W!ld Rice.

Col Tan said that the show, which is based on the national pledge, will not just dazzle audiences with its mass displays and special effects.

'The pledge is a very familiar and meaningful emblem that captures the dreams and aspirations of Singaporeans. We hope that at the end of the show, everyone watching will recite the pledge with a renewed conviction.'