Out of 22 song submissions, out of seven final selections, one original song, “Tal Ngimech/One Drop,” composed by singer and songwriter Kendall Titiml, won the coveted contest to become the Palau National Marine Sanctuary (PNMS) song.
“One drop, a ripple, but a giant wave all around the world,
Born of love, born of hope, for the generation that’s down the road.
For our children, our nation, our ocean,
To protect, to thrive, to survive….mem de kedmeklii tial Sanctuary…ka me de lemelemii tial Sanctuary…” the song reverberates across Toachel Mid channel at the Night Market last Saturday night.
“I was inspired not by one thing but a couple of things,” said Kendall Titiml of what inspired his song composition. “I wanted to be able to capture the human aspect of the Sanctuary without all the scientific jargon….While doing this, I could not help but think of my children and their future in Palau.”
Performed on the December 17th Night Market with the six final contestants, the crowd was treated to seven original song performances by seven local artists.
The song that took the number 2 prize was “Eoteled” by Neil Fisher and the most popular PNMS song by popular vote was “Tia Di Kloklek” by Kelau Remeliik.
The seven final contestants out of the original 22 original song submissions were Adora Nobuo, Howard Charles, Kelau Remeliik, Kendall Titiml, Neil Fisher, Sarah Sugiyama and Sharon Sato.
“We knew we have very talented local artists we could utilize for outreach. After receiving the submissions, we were amazed at the quality of the lyrics and the music. We were excited to showcase these very talented Palauan artists at the last night market of the year”, stated Mr. Singe Hideos, Communications and Outreach Officer at PICRC.