13 Awesome Online Concerts and Performances to Cheer You up During Circuit Breaker

We’ve all heard the idiom, “Music is good for the soul.” But according to research, it’s good for your mental health as well.

A study published in the Nature Neuroscience journal suggests that listening to music releases dopamine — the feel-good chemical that is released when you engage in a rewarding feel-good activity.

The study also found that the amount of dopamine released was 9% higher when participants were listening to the music that they like.

Although it may seem quite obvious. This study provides strong evidence for the link between listening to music and our mental well being.

Personally, I am a big believer in this as music is a big part of my life. I listen to music on the daily and I love discovering new music.

I could survive without it but without it, my mood would be considerably worse.

As such, I would like to share the joy with you during this difficult time in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Plus, a part of me is interested to see what the artistes’ homes look like…

TL;DR: 13 Awesome Online Concerts and Performances to Cheer You up During Circuit Breaker

English Music

6) Esplanade’s The Show Goes On…Line – Enjoy Local and Regional Acts

Every Friday, the Esplanade will upload performances from local and regional acts.

You can catch performances by local singer Kelly Poon, Mandopop duo StellaVee, local Jazz star Jeremy Monteiro and indie music star Inch Chua and poet Tan Lixin

Non-English Music

8) Eric Chou – Performance on YouTube Music Night

Taiwanese Mandopop star Eric Chou Eric famous for his emotional hit ballads like How Have You Been (你,好不好) and The Distance Of Love (以後別做朋友).

Even someone as jiak kantang (hokkien for westernised) as me knows his songs.

The singer sang his heart out on YouTube Music Night, a series of online performances organised by YouTube.

During this hour-long performance, he also answered questions from fans. Well worth the watch.

How to Watch: Eric Chou’s YouTube channel.

9) JJ LIN 327 Love Wishes – With David Tao, Mayday, and Tanya Chua

Local singer JJ Lin celebrated his 39th birthday in style, with a live stream concert on 27th March (recorded pre Circuit Breaker)

The singer expressed that he wished to use music as a way to bring everyone together and deliver a message of love and hope.

His friends, mandopop stars David Tao, Tanya Chua and Taiwanese rock band Mayday also joined in.

This was a fun performance with variety show elements and was hosted by Taiwanese comedian Mickey Huang

How to Watch: YouTube.

10) We Are The World 2020 – COVID-19 Relief Concert

South Korea China alliance.

The biggest stars from the K-Pop and Mandopop industry will be joining hands to raise funds to fight COVID-19.

The concert entitled We are The World 2020 has been likened to an Asian Live Aid.

The likes of Mandopop star Jay Chou, Cantopop legend Jacky Cheung and K-Pop star G-Dragon will be headlining this star-studded concert.

Viewers will be able to donate in real-time, with all proceeds going to the World Health Organization‘s Coronavirus Relief Fund and the Community Chest of Korea.

Date and Time: 30 Apr 2020.

How to Watch: Concert will be on YouTube and Chinese social media platforms.

11) Believe in the Future – Chinese Online Benefit Concert to Help Fight COVID-19

Speaking of COVID-19 relief concerts, Believe in the Future, a Chinese online benefit concert has been announced.

Backed by four major internet platforms — Damai.cn, Xiami Music, NetEase Cloud Music, and Sina Weibo, the concert is set to be quite the event.

The initial list of 22 acts has been announced via Believe in the Future’s official weibo account.

Mandopop diva Faye Wong has been named as one of the artistes who will take part.

Apart from her, other artistes named in the first batch include Kris Wu, Lay Zhang, Zhou Xun, William Chan, Na Ying, Wang Feng, Lang Lang and more…

Concert Details: To be announced, check their Weibo for more details

12) ONE OK ROCK Past Concerts

Like Radiohead, legendary Japanese rock band ONE OK ROCK had to postpone their Asia tour (including Singapore) due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Fun fact: The band’s name comes from “one o’clock”, the time that the band used to practice their music on weekends as it was cheaper to do so.

Since the Japanese made no distinction between R’s and L’s, “O’CLOCK” transformed into “O’CROCK” or “O’KROCK”, which later transformed into “OK ROCK”.

They have been streaming their past concerts exclusively via YouTube premiere on their channel.

You can catch their 2014 – 2017 concerts from now till the end of May on their YouTube channel.

Date and Time: 10 pm SGT on various scheduled dates till 31st May.

How to Watch: ONE OK ROCK’s YouTube channel.

13) Power Gig Music Festival – Performances From Jocie Guo Mei Mei, Derrick Hoh and Benjamin Kheng

Senoko Energy has partnered with independent creative agency GERMS to hold a weekend-long online music festival Power Gig to raise funds for the Community Chest’s Invictus Fund.

The two-hour-long live stream concert will be headlined by Jocie Guo Mei Mei of Mouse Loves Rice (老鼠爱大米) fame; Derrick Hoh (He Wei Jian, Kenny Khoo (Qiu Feng Zhe) and The Sam Willows artiste Benjamin Kheng.

More information on the initiative including information about how to donate can be found on their website. To support the community, Senoko Energy will match public donations dollar-for-dollar, up to S$30,000.

Performance Information:

Kick-off Performance 

Friday 1 May, 4-6pm

YES 933’s Facebook Page and radio broadcast on YES 933

Power Live Segment

Friday, 1 May (6pm) – Sunday, 3 May

Various artistes’ own Instagram accounts.