In 2015, an idea sparked: Why not have an original song, composed, performed, and produced by a local musician, to mark each year’s WiT theme? Wendi Koh, a renowned Singaporean rock artist, answered the call enthusiastically, saying, “Yeah, let’s do it.”
Since then, Wendi has become an integral part of WiT Singapore, creating and producing a new song every year and performing live on opening day. Not just that, Wendi’s songs set the tone for our entire calendar year, echoing throughout all our events be they in Japan, the Middle East or South Africa.
This year’s theme, debuting at WiT Singapore (Oct 14 – 16) is the Next Generation. Significant shifts in demographics in Asia Pacific are happening, with leaps in tech and Gen AI blazing the trail. There’s all sorts of machinations, fragmentation and consolidation happening in distribution, marketing and tech throughout the value chain. The Next Generation is about capturing all these opportunities while creating an industry for the Next Generation of travellers, talent and leaders.
To get a glimpse of how Wendi’s captured all of that and put it into a song, we put together a featurette spotlighting her creative process. Watch the full video here.
For the 2024 theme song, Wendi collaborated with a talented singer from Madagascar, a music producer and musician from Italy, and a mix-down expert from the US. “That’s a lot of talent to use together,” she notes. The collaboration process was both fun and inspiring for her, capturing the spirit of technological advancements in travel.
“Most, if not all, the songs that I write for WiT start always from lyrics,” says Wendi. She emphasizes that the song must speak about the past, present, and future, capturing the emotional journey of letting go and moving forward.
This year’s theme song is described by Wendi as dynamic, energetic, and fierce. “I wanted the song to sound bold and brave, happy, optimistic, and forward-moving,” she says.
Wendi’s creative process involves taking breaks to let ideas develop naturally. “I find that if you don’t work too hard at an idea, the idea comes out better. The emotion of the song had to be not just hopeful but fierce, like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna win. We’re the next generation. This is it, and we’re in it to win it.'”
Each year, attendees have their personal favorites, and this year’s song, titled ‘Let The Show Begin’, might just top the list. We’ll let you judge for yourself, as the full playlist of these memorable tracks can be found here.
Join us at WiT Singapore from October 14-16 to experience Wendi Koh’s latest song in full and engage in thought-provoking, mind-opening conversations that define the next generation. And if you feel like getting up and dancing, go ahead, because as Wendi says, “I wanted it to be something you could put on and just groove to. And if they feel like getting up to dance even better. That makes me the happiest.” Get your tickets now.
Watch the full video here:
