Flashy getai shows and raucous live auctions typical of the Hungry Ghost Festival celebrations in Singapore are noticeably missing this year. But even though Covid-19 has put a halt to live Seventh Month stage performances, the shows must go on…online, that is.

The Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre's TGIF Music Station series of online gigs, which happens every first and third Friday of the month, is about to look a little different in its next edition on Sep 4. It will hold its inaugural special getai edition, with getai performers, such as Hao Hao, Desmond Ng and The Babes (or Baobei Jiemei) taking the virtual stage in the Facebook livestream. If there ever was a getai performance for millennials, this would be it.

Sep 4, from 8pm, at https://www.facebook.com/crossratio/.

This is getai as you know it. Except this time, the music isn’t blaring from speakers from the field downstairs, but on a device near you. Lex-S, one of the biggest getai show operators in Singapore, pulls out all the stops with its online getai shows, livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube almost every day of the week during the Hungry Ghost Festival. We’re talking gaudy neon signs, glitzy costumes, and hilarious banter between hosts such as getai stalwarts Marcus Chin and Liu Ling Ling, and of course, plenty of music. All that’s missing is that empty row of plastic chairs in the front.

More info at https://www.facebook.com/lexswatchlivechannel.

This fundraiser getai performance may be over, but the two-and-a-half-hour gig is still available to watch online. Held just last week (Aug 28), it featured stars like Jack Neo and getai veteran Wang Lei, among others, singing their hearts out to raise funds for the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS). The call for donations is still open, and all proceeds go to SCS.

Watch it at https://www.facebook.com/sgcancersociety/posts/3844134075617021. Donate at https://give.asia/campaign/scs-online-getai-charity-night-2020.