Update 21 Mar 2021: Indian composer withdraws claims to Count on Me, Singapore, apologises for ‘confusion caused’
Mr Joseph Mendoza, an Indian composer, has withdrawn all claims relating to the song We Can Achieve, which is nearly identical to the national song Count on Me, Singapore. (Photo: Facebook/Joey Mendoza)
An Indian composer who said he wrote the song We Can Achieve – which is nearly identical to national song Count on Me, Singapore – has withdrawn his claims and apologised for the “confusion caused”, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) said on Sunday (Mar 21).
Mr Joseph Mendoza earlier claimed that he composed We Can Achieve in 1983, three years before the creation of Count on Me, Singapore, after footage of a performance of the former went viral.
The lyrics of We Can Achieve are the same as Count on Me, Singapore, apart from the substitution of “India” or “Mother India” for “Singapore” and a minor difference in one of the verses.
Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth - MCCY 4 hrs
Mr Joey Mendoza had earlier claimed that he wrote “We Can Achieve”, a song that is practically identical to “Count on Me, Singapore” (the “Song”), in 1983.
This is untenable, given that Mr Hugh Harrison wrote “Count on Me, Singapore” in 1986.
There is not only contemporaneous evidence to support this, but also first-hand accounts such as those of Mr Jeremy Monteiro, a well-respected Singaporean musician who has himself been involved in the making of several national songs. Mr Monteiro has confirmed that he was together with Mr Harrison when the Song was developed, and saw its evolution.
“Count on me Singapore” now changed to “Count on me India”
Netizens have found a plagiarised version of the Singapore National Day Song ‘Count on me Singapore‘. The altered song titled ‘We Can Achieve‘ is now used as a patriotic song in India.
“We have a goal for Mother India/ We can achieve, we can achieve” this lyrics are written, copying the lyrics from the 1986 Singapore National Day song.
However, every mention of ‘Singapore’ was replaced with “India”. The song title was also changed to “We can achieve” instead of the familiar ‘Count on me‘
Indian man says he can send MCCY videos of 2 women from orphanage who claim they learnt to sing 'Count On Me India' song
A patriotic Singapore song, Count On Me Singapore, has been turned into Count On Me India
He said in his reply to MCCY that he can send videos of children at an orphanage "testifying that they've learnt the song" as they sang it in 1983.
The two videos were described by
Today as consisting of two women who said they remember learning the song that Mendoza composed. One of the woman said she was in the Bal Bhavan Orphanage from 1976 to 1989. The other woman said she was in the orphanage in 1983.
related:
Indian composer says in reply to MCCY that 250 children are ‘living proof’ of his song
The
Indian composer at the centre of a controversy involving a Singapore National Day song told TODAY that he has replied to the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) on the matter and that 250 children are “living proof” that he was the original composer of the song. Mr Joseph Conrad Mendoza, who emailed a copy of his reply to
TODAY, told the ministry that he can send recently taken videos of people who were children at an orphanage singing it in 1983, “testifying that they’ve learnt the song”. He also asked for MCCY's suggestions on what he should do in this situation.
On Thursday (March 18), Mr Mendoza sent TODAY two videos of two different women, one who said that she was in the Bal Bhavan Orphanage from 1976 to 1989 and another who said that she was in the orphanage in 1983. Both said that they remember learning the song that he composed. “I am not interested in any court or to justify anything… I don't earn anything out of this,” he wrote in an email to TODAY, adding that he had not heard from Mr Harrison.
In a Facebook post earlier on Thursday, MCCY said that the Singapore Government holds the copyright to the music and lyrics of Count on Me, Singapore. The ministry is “
puzzled” by Mr Mendoza’s claim that he wrote the original version of Count on Me, Singapore, and has asked him to substantiate his claims.
Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth - MCCY 52 Min 
We are aware that a song titled “We Can Achieve” that bears striking similarity in tune and lyrics to our national song “Count on Me, Singapore” has been circulating on the internet. The Government holds the copyright to the music and lyrics of “Count on Me, Singapore”.
Pauline India has since publicly acknowledged that “We Can Achieve”, which was produced in a CD in 1999 and made available on their platforms, appears to have been substantially copied from “Count on Me, Singapore”. Pauline India has also clarified that they were unaware “Count on Me, Singapore” had been Singapore’s national song since 1986. They have since apologised and removed the song from their platforms.
Whilst “Count on Me, Singapore” is one of our most beloved national songs, we are also happy that it seems to have been well appreciated in India, with the video showing teachers and students in a school performing the song, and expressing their love for their own country. We do not think any ill will was intended either by Pauline India or the school, and have accepted the apology.
Arising from this, a Mr
Joey Mendoza has asserted that he wrote “We Can Achieve” in 1983, before “Count on Me, Singapore” was created in 1986. Given that the two songs, and their lyrics, are practically identical, and that we hold the copyright to “Count on Me, Singapore”, we are puzzled by this claim. We have thus contacted Mr Mendoza to invite him to substantiate his claims. We are still waiting for his response.
The Online Citizen Asia 21 hrs "It's insulting to me that out of all the compositions in my life, that this one I will choose, somehow, magically, find out about it in 1986 before the internet in one day when I flew from Hong Kong to Singapore," said Hugh Harrison, composer of 'Count on me Singapore'.
Joseph Mendoza has claimed that he
composed the song 3 years before Singapore released its version during the National Day celebrations in 1986. Speaking in CNA interview, he claimed that his version inspired by 'You Are My Sunshine'.
Earlier, Mr Harrison wrote on his YouTube Channel saying that Mendoza has “illegally” repackaged the Singapore national song. ‘Count on Me Singapore’, was composed by Hugh Harrison, arranged by Jeremy Monteiro and performed by Clement Chow. The song was commissioned by the then Ministry of Culture in the mid-80s and is now owned by the Singapore government. The 2 songs are almost the same except for the words “India” or “Mother India” replacing the word “Singapore”.
HUGH HARRISON ROAST INDIAN JOEY MENDOZA’S WE CAN ACHIEVE. SAY HIS ENGLISH IS THRASH
The original composer of the song, Count on me Singapore, has hit back at Joey Mendoza who tried to take credit for composing the song, We Can Achieve.
In a comment in Youtube, he stated that the English written by
Joey Mendoza is rubbish.
Here is what he
stated in his post.
Hugh Harrison
To all those who have
made me aware of this situation regarding the illegal repackaging of Count on me Singapore as We Can Achieve by one
Joey Mendoza in India, please be aware that I have written to both Joey and the executive of Pauline Communications in Mumbai requesting that certain actions be taken to address Mr Mendoza's false claims to be the original creator of this song. I will let you know if and when I get a reply and how I intend to respond should corrective action not be forthcoming. Thank you all for your kind words and support. Sincerely, Hugh Harrison
Indian composer takes credit for ‘Count on me India’ song
He says he wrote his song in 1983 and didn't know about the 1986 Singapore song
Pauline Communications, the company that apparently plagiarised the Count On Me Singapore song, has taken to social media blaming the Indian composer for the entire saga.
In a Facebook post on Sunday (Mar 14), they wrote: “We would like to inform you that we had produced this song with the help of Mr
Joey Mendoza who sold the copyright of the lyrics and music to us, claiming he owned it.”
The company added that they were sold the copyright in 1999 when they produced a CD titled” We Can Achieve”.
related:
It has come to our notice that the Song “We Can Achieve” in CD (1999) “We can Achieve – Inspirational Songs for Children and All” by Pauline Communications has some copyright issues with regard to the lyrics and music of the same. It seems that it has been copied 99 % from the Song “Count on Me Singapore”. Song and Lyrics by Hugh Harrison and sung by the Singaporean Clement Chow in a TV programme.
We would like to inform you that we had produced this song with the help of Mr.
Joey Mendoza who sold the copyright of the lyrics and music to us, claiming he owned it. This was in 1999, when we brought out the CD “We can Achieve. We were not even aware, that this song has been the National Day Song of Singapore since 1986. We had uploaded it on SoundCloud in 2012 in the album “We stand United” which was a collection of patriotic songs from our various CDs produced by Pauline Communications, India.
Sorry for any inconvenience caused and sentiments hurt.
Mumbai composer embroiled in copyright dispute over Singapore’s national song
In a statement to the media on Tuesday,
Joey Mendoza claimed that 250 orphans had performed the song in 1983 after he had written it while teaching music at the Bal Bhavan orphanage in Mumbai, where he is based. He also claimed that the original tapes of his composition were swept away in the 2005 Mumbai floods. “The only living proof I can offer you are the 250 orphans who first learnt it in 1983 and all the orphans at Bal Bhavan in the successive years too,” said the 58-year-old, who claimed he was a graduate of the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California. He sold the rights to the song to a Christian book and record store, Pauline India, and recorded the song in 1999. Although Mendonza acknowledged similarities between the two songs, he insisted that there was no way he could have known about “Count On Me Singapore” as there was no Internet in those days.
“Count on Me Singapore” composer Harrison responded on Wednesday in the YouTube comments of the song: “The fact that he (Mendoza) is claiming now in 2021 that he is the original creator of the song, implying I copied the song from him, is a direct attack on my integrity and professionalism and for that he could be sued for slander and/or libel. “As it stands now, I have written him and given him the opportunity to rescind his claim and am awaiting his response,” The Straits Times quoted Harrison as saying.
The Facebook page of Singapore’s Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) has also weighed in: “This is one of our most beloved and recognised national songs, we are happy that it seems to have struck a chord with people in India as well.
Count on me, Singapore: Our 1986 NDP song? Or did India’s Joey Mendoza compose it in 1983?
Confusion arose: Was song composed in Singapore in 1986, or in India in 1983?
Amidst the flurry of comments here, there, everywhere, there was one comment on Youtube that had caught some attention.
Someone by the name of Caroline Duia claimed that our “Count on me, Singapore” song is not an original song. She suggested that the Indian version of “We can achieve’ is the original instead. She claimed that the song was first composed by a
Joey Mendoza back in 1983.
For the record, Singapore’s version of “Count on me, Singapore” was actually our National Day Parade theme song for 1986. The song itself, released in 1986, was supposedly composed by Canadian
Hugh Harrison, and sung by singer-songwriter Clement Chow.
250 orphans are ‘living proof’ my song came before ‘Count On Me Singapore’: Indian composer
An Indian composer accused of copying a patriotic Singapore anthem is sticking to his claim that he was the tune’s original author
Days after Singaporeans discovered what seemed to be an Indian remake of 1986’s Count On Me Singapore, songwriter
Joey Mendoza, whose real name is Joseph Mendonza, responded to copycat accusations in a statement to Coconuts last night, saying he wrote his song, We Can Achieve, three years earlier. Who could prove the truth of his claim? Two-hundred-and-fifty people, Mendoza said.
“The only living proof I can offer you are the 250 orphans who first learnt it in 1983 and all the orphans at Bal Bhavan in the successive years too,” the 58-year-old said, referring to an orphanage in Mumbai.
After We Can Achieve was recorded and released on cassette in 1999, Mendoza said he was only paid INR2,000 (S$37 or US$27). The original tapes, he said, were swept away in the 2005 Mumbai floods.
Singapore and India CECA
WP’s Jamus Lim points out reasons why CECA benefits India more than Singapore
Workers’ Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP) Jamus Lim took to
Facebook on Friday (19 March) to pen down reasons why the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) offers more gains for India rather than Singapore.
During WP’s recent house visit at 326C Anchorvale Road, he met a resident who voiced his unhappiness towards the CECA. “Since its conclusion in 2005, there has been much sturm und drang about the merits of the CECA deal between Singapore and India. These have focus principally on the sense—one shared by Mr Singh—that the deal has been unfair for Singaporean workers, and has led to both a flood of Indian nationals, alongside a loss of local opportunities,” said Mr Lim.
Given that the Sengkang GRC MP is also an international economist, he expressed that he understands that trade deals are rarely “unequivocal”, and that there will often be a loser in a trade deal and that the benefits depend on conditions faced by both parties.
