Ms Cheng described this year’s show as “so futuristic”, while Ms Thio pointed to what she saw as more applied artificial intelligence (AI) being incorporated into the performances. For the teens, the larger scale and more technology-heavy production made this year’s NDP feel noticeably different from the one they remembered from secondary school. Ms Thio also found herself transported back to her school days by familiar National Day songs. For Ms Thio, seeing so many Singaporeans come together at NDP made the future feel a little less daunting. Every year during National Day, we are reminded that there are still things to be proud of, as Singaporeans and for Singapore as a whole.