Thanks to her striking rendition of a popular National Day song, Mrs Maykala R. Subramaniam will be able to witness both her children perform live at the nation's birthday bash on Wednesday.
Her 11-year-old son, Aadeetiya Jayashanker, is among the child hosts while her nine-year-old daughter, Jyotsnaa Jayashanker, will be dancing in an item.
"That was what motivated me to participate in this contest," she said. "I really wanted to be there to see my kids."
In a video lasting nearly a minute, the 47-year-old manager sang an improvised version of Home that impressed the judges of the #singwithST contest organised by The Straits Times, which closed last Wednesday.
Mrs Maykala is one of 15 winners who each won a pair of tickets to the National Day Parade (NDP) this Wednesday, out of more than 100 entries received.
Contestants had to submit a 15- to 30-second video excerpt of them singing one of six National Day songs, such as Stand Up For Singapore, Home and Count On Me Singapore.
Judges Eddino Abdul Hadi, ST music correspondent, and Sujin Thomas, editor of Business Insider Singapore and Malaysia, said they were impressed by the effort put into the submissions.
"You could see that they were not singing for the sake of the submission, but there was a strong sense of patriotism in their voices," said Mr Thomas.
Mr Eddino said he was impressed by the younger participants, especially eight-year-old Tiffany Lum, who sang this year's NDP song, Because It's Singapore!
"It was impressive to see young kids being able to sing with that voice." Both judges, along with other ST journalists including deputy news editor Kor Kian Beng, also selected 50 consolation prize winners, each of whom received this year's NDP funpack.
Some participants stood out with their creative choice of location or attire, such as Ms Nurshaqinah Kamsani, 23.
With her colleague's help, the marine engineer recorded a video of herself decked in a safety helmet and industrial uniform, singing at the Sembcorp Marine Tuas Boulevard Yard with the sea as the backdrop.
Said Ms Nurshaqinah: "It symbolises that even when I travel to other places, my heart is still with Singapore."
