How to Write a Hit Political Anthem for the Presidential Election

The key to winning an election is convincing people to vote for you. Now, that sounds like a really simple way of putting it, but think about all that means for a second. What do you say to the press? What do you wear? How do you brand yourself so people would trust you with their money? It’s a business of trying to sell a product—here the product is you—to the entire country. And, sometimes, like any other businesses, having a catchy jingle helps.

The 2019 Presidential Election is fast approaching, and the campaign season is only getting hotter. And just like in previous elections, songwriters are utilizing their talents to compose anthems in support of their favorite candidate.

During a political campaign, thousands of people are trying to get their point across at any given time. From online posts to political flyers, it’s impossible to escape the messy, chaotic jungle of messages. Songs are a powerful tool. In politics, they could be a game-changer—especially in countries like Indonesia where the majority don’t care all that much about politics in the first place. A hit song has the ability to cut through the noise and grab people’s attention. If a song is catchy enough to worm its way into your head, you can't help but think about the election, even if you skip the news every day.

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OK, so how do you produce an effective political song? VICE talked to two polar-opposites in the campaign anthem field: Haddad Alwi, writer of “Jokowi Don’t You Be Doubtful” (Jokowi Jangan Kau Ragu) and Johny, who's better known as Sang Alang, the writer of “2019, Replace The President” (2019 Ganti Presiden). While the tone of the two songs are incredibly different, both are successful enough in terms of popularity. And that’s kind of the point to these songs—they need to be popular to work. So, take notes if you, for some reason, want to pen the next hot political single.

Before we start, here's this year's two big political songs (though the first was released two years ago) in case you've been living like a hermit and still, somehow, haven't heard them yet.

"Jokowi Jangan Kau Ragu," by Haddad Alwi

"2019 Ganti Presiden," by Sang Alang

How do you write something like this? Here's five simple steps:

What do you want to achieve? Your motive would dictate the style of your song. Sang Alang, who wrote what is arguably the most-played political song of 2018, has one clear motive: To get Jokowi out of office. “From what I see, the students are no longer protesting. Critical musicians are getting soft," he told VICE. "But, you know how the government is now. In some aspects, even the New Order was a better regime."

Meanwhile, Haddad is all for keeping the status quo. “My song was meant to be directed towards the government. It’s a message of approval and support from the people.”

Political songs are meant to be heard by as many people as possible, so you have no choice but to go mainstream. And here in Indonesia, mainstream usually means one thing—dangdut.

“My team and I agreed that for music arrangements, we have to be populist," Haddad said. "We inserted Indian elements and dangdut beats to the song, to add more flavor."

Dangdut have been frequently used for political campaigns, so this is a useful pointer. It’s probably used for a good reason—dangdut is, after all, the music of our country. (There's a reason why Via Vallen performed at the Asian Games opener.) Even though Sang Alang skipped dangdut and opted for rock instead, the same principle applies.

“Pick an easy tune that’s easily digestible and not complicated," he said. "So they can think, 'You know what? This song is not bad,' after a few plays."

After making sure that your song is going to be stuck in people’s minds comes the actual message. This is where your motives come into play. If you want the people to pick opposition, then it’s best to play mean. Criticize the current government, and mention some of the people’s biggest concerns—but be careful not to take to too far.

“We have to look at the fact that people are unsatisfied," Sang Alang said. "But don’t make things up. You could get in trouble with the law."

Indeed, most of the lyrics to Sang Alang’s song are filled with some of the problems Indonesians face today like unemployment, eviction, and rising commodities prices. Simply put, it tries to paint as sad a picture of the country as possible so that people will want to personally kick the current government out of the office.

Haddad plays by a different rule. He said he's against creating anything hateful. Recently, he even released a new song encouraging supporters to not use abusive language towards each other.

"Playing nice, I think, has more advantages," he told VICE. "When you make a song that’s too harsh toward a specific candidate, you’re creating a repelling force. We want to support Jokowi, but we also want to encourage peace. The song I made wasn’t just for Jokowi’s supporters. It’s for everybody.”

Political songs don’t work unless you can tap into people’s feelings. Adding "soul" is important, Sang Alang said. This can be expressed through lyrics or the song’s general structure.

"My song starts calmly but it gradually heightens 'till it reaches the climax,” he said. This, he believes, can make listeners sort of emotionally submerse themselves in the music.

Lyrics-wise, Sang Alang said slight exaggerations are helpful.

“My lyrics are a bit funny,” he laughed. “Like, there’s one part that says: Meat is getting expensive, go eat bekicot (Bahasa Indonesia for the great African snail). I’m aware that it's freshwater snails (keong sawah) that were in the news, but the word bekicot is much harsher. Sometimes we have to exaggerate."

Et voila! So now that you've composed your own catchy political song— dangdut beats, soul-drippin' lyrics, and all. Share it with your friends, and then sit back and wait for people to pick it up. And if you said the right things, you might just be lucky enough to get a phone call from the presidential candidate himself, saying “Hey! I wanna use your song as my declaration anthem!”