Some samples recorded of the pool table in their shared home provided the beat and the inspiration for a group of housemates to come up with their prize-winning entry for The Straits Times' "In This Together" Singalong Challenge.

Calling themselves The Monastery, the group - Rupak George, Nir Cang, Asif Ansar and Nashwa Bliss - were among 10 winners of a $1,000 cash prize for the contest, held in partnership with Nets.

Held from May 12 to 18, participants had to submit a clip of not more than 60 seconds of themselves singing an original song, rap or jingle incorporating the phrase "in this together".

Other winners included families, children, friends who collaborated over Zoom, and solo artists.

Ms Nur Aufa Diyanah Ahmad Fahmi, for instance, sang an emotional plea from a child to her nurse mother to the accompaniment of a ukulele.

Meanwhile, Ms Joy Heng used everyday items like hand sanitiser and disinfectant spray to create a soundscape for her piano-driven song.

Social Disdancing - the song by The Monastery - includes rapping about "finding new ways to deal with reality" and is a confluence of their talents.

The music production and video were handled by Mr George, 34, a music producer in world electronic music band Mantravine and Mr Cang, 39, whose hobbies include videography and photography. Mr Asif, 43, a copywriter, took charge of the lyrics while Ms Bliss, 37, a yoga and dance instructor, came up with the video concept and the dance moves.

Mr Cang says they took just 48 hours to write the music and lyrics as well as shoot and edit the video.

"Just a few days before that we had a bit of turmoil in the house because somebody didn't clean the kitchen, but this (project) ended up bringing us all together... we had so much fun doing it," says Mr Cang.

The Straits Times received more than 500 original entries over seven days. Participants were judged on their singing, songwriting and the creativity and entertainment factor of their videos.

The judges included local music veteran Clement Chow, best known for writing National Day Parade song Count On Me, Singapore; SPH Radio's Kiss 92 DJ Joshua Simon; The Straits Times executive editor Sumiko Tan; and The Straits Times music correspondent Eddino Abdul Hadi.

Mr Chow said: "What I look for is simplicity - it's to the point, memorable, and there's clarity and emphasis on the title 'in this together', and there's a genuine feeling about it.

"Some of these entries were really able to capture those things."

Mr Eddino mirrored his sentiment, saying: "I had a hard time narrowing down the contestants because there were so many impressive entries. In the end, I went with what moved me emotionally, the songs and videos that embodied the spirit of resilience and togetherness while we are all living in a global pandemic."

Mr Ricky Lim, Nets group chief executive officer, said: "We are delighted to see many creative talents sharing inspiring music that connects us all during this pandemic season, some paying tributes to unsung heroes within our midst.

"With everyone trying to keep our spirits up during this circuit breaker period, Nets is pleased to do our part in bringing some cheer to the larger Singapore community."