Fan-favorite singers headline football championship

The first time that Thanh Nien invited celebrated singers to perform at its under-21 football event five years ago, the audience in An Giang Province’s Long Xuyen Town was enthralled with the sets.

The organizing board for the event now has decided that singers should become a fixture at the annual championship.

Singers, who are also enthusiastic football fans, have been eager to sing at Thanh Nien’s championship event. Famous pop stars such as Lam Truong, Siu Black, Dam Vinh Hung, My Tam and Ho Quynh Huong have charged up the atmosphere in the past.

Since the scale of the event has expanded to several Asian countries since last year, singers are even more enthusiastic toparticipate in the event.

Singer Ngoc Son, who joined his colleagues in dazzling fans at last year’s championship, is a hardcore football fan. He will appear once again to croon at this year’s event.

This year’s national championship in central Binh Dinh Province and the 2nd Thanh Nien U.21 International Football Cup will once again be headlined by famous singers. Pop favorites Doan Trang, Thu Minh, Nguyen Vu, Kasim Hoang Vu, Minh Thu and Phuong Vy will all appear at tournament games.

Although he was informed on short notice, much-loved singer Quang Dung instantly accepted the offer to sing in Binh Dinh, his hometown, without even inquiring how much he would earn for the performance.

Up-and-coming vocalist Han Thai Tu said after last year’s tournament held in central Khanh Hoa Province that he had hoped to have other opportunities to sing at Thanh Nien’s sporting events. His wish came true this year as he joined other singers in belting out a memorable performance at the opening game last Thursday. Among this year’s star-studded lineup is high-profile singer Thuy Lam, the reigning Miss Universe Vietnam.

Lam will appear at the opening game of Thanh Nien’s U.21 International Football Cup to be held on September 20 in the imperial capital of Hue.

The invitation came as a surprise for Lam, who grabbed the opportunity immediately. She said she would give her best effort, though performing in a large stadium is much more difficult than performing onstage.

Songstress Doan Trang also expressed her joy in attending the event.

“I’m pretty busy right now preparing my English album set to come out soon,” she said. “But when I was invited by Thanh Nien, I put off other plans and accepted the offer right away. I really can’t wait to perform for spectators at the U.21 International Football Cup in Hue.”

Phuong Vy as Global aspirations

More than ever before, local singers are taking a stab at the international market but many say it’s an uphill battle.

In 2004, My Linh, a self-proclaimed “diva” forayed into the American music scene with an album titled “Coming to America.” The album, which mainly features iconic Vietnamese songs sung in English, was not enthusiastically embraced by US audiences as she had expected, however.

Linh is one of many local singers eyeing the international market and hoping to reach fans beyond Vietnam’s borders.

Success is proving elusive, however, for more than a few aspiring hopefuls.

Up-and-coming local singer Duc Tuan held a concert titled “My Secret Passion” Tuesday where he sang 19 international hits including The Phantom of the Opera and O Sole Mio (My Sun) at Ho Chi Minh City’s Khong Ten cabaret.

Tuan is also looking to release his first album of world music in English, French and Italian.

“Many singers ignore this segment, thinking it is too hard to crack,” he said.

“Everyone thought I must be out of my mind to invest in such a risky, unprofitable project and I’m recording the album in Canada as no one here is willing to cooperate with me,” he said.

“My Secret Passion” drew large audiences, mostly foreigners living and working in Vietnam, and it gave Tuan the confidence he needed to proceed with the album, he said.

There are too few musical programs that serve foreigners in Vietnam and many are not thoughtfully produced, Tuan noted.

After studying music in the US and winning second prize at HCMC Television’s prestigious singing contest in 2001, Doan Trang is now speeding up production on an album featuring all English songs.

“In my opinion singing in English is the best way to promote one’s image abroad, as audiences cannot like us if they don’t understand what we are singing about,” the English graduate from the HCMC University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology (HUFLIT) said.

To be on the safe side

Several singers choose to feature one or two English tracks alongside Vietnamese songs just to be on the safe side when entering the global market.

If the English songs fail to strike a chord among foreign audiences, it is thought the Vietnamese songs will “save” the albums.

In addition, the English songs add diversity and originality to their albums.

Minh Thu, the niece of renowned pop singer Lam Truong, is also making her debut on the international scene with the songs “Fire” and “Wondering,” which she composed herself.

The songs appear on an album which was produced by Thailand’s House of Indies Co. in 2005 and featured all Thai singers.

She was interviewed on MTV Thailand in July last year and “Wondering” was later broadcast on the channel.

A graduate from the English department at HUFLIT, Thu composes lyrics and sings in English as well.

She won Vietnam Television’s Cung Uoc Mo Xanh (Together with Youths’ Dreams) singing competition in 2002 and finished among the top 12 in Vietnam Television’s Sao Mai – Diem hen (Tomorrow’s Stars) competition in 2006.

Phuong Vy, who won first prize at the first Vietnam Idol contest last year, also performed an R&B English song titled “Leave Me Alone” on her first album Luc Moi Yeu (When one first fell in love) released last March.

Having secured an exclusive contract with Music Faces Co., one of the most prestigious entertainment firms in Vietnam, she also plans to enter the MTV Asia market.

“Most local singers, including me, aspire to become internationally known but how to achieve that goal is the question,” the RMIT student said.

Stumbling blocks

One of the major hurdles in performing English songs and breaking into the international market is that due to their limited English skills, few local singers can compose refined English songs.

English pronunciation is another major obstacle for many homegrown singers.

Thao Trang, praised by foreign audiences as being one of the few Vietnamese singers who can sing well in English, points out that it is essential for local singers to improve their English pronunciation if they want to break into the world market.

“One will certainly fail if no one can understand the English language in

Phuong Vy - Leave Me Alone

Leave Me Alone is a song by the first Vietnam Idol, Phuong Vy.

It's a cathcy pop dance. When I hear for the first time, I kinda like it.

Kinda bitchy song, but love her.

This song is also available from her first album.

Her album was released on february 2008 called "Luc Moi Yeu".

You should listening this song, not bad for asian singer.

Lúc Moi Yêu Vol.1: Studio album by Phuong Vy

Lúc Moi Yêu Vol.1 is the debut album by Vietnam Idol winner Phương Vy. Following the success of Vietnam Idol, the album was highly anticipated. Phuong Vy sang the lead single off the album, "Lúc Mới Yêu" during the Asian Idol competition.

Track listing

1. "Lúc Moi Yêu"
2. "Leave Me Alone"
3. "Em Biet"
4. "Nhu Suong Mai"
5. "Tình Ngai"
6. "Nhung Ngày That Khác"
7. "Ngày Tháng Quay Ve"
8. "Câu Chuyen Buon"
9. "Khát Khao Cua Em"
10. "Nhung Loi Buon"
11. "Nu Cuoi và Nhung Uoc Mo"

Singles

Four songs have been confirmed as singles from the album; "Lúc Moi Yêu", "Em Biết", "Nhu Suong Mai" and "Leave me Alone".

Other Info:

• Released: March 2008 (Vietnam)
• Genre: Ballad, Jazz, R&B
• Label: Music Faces
• Producer: Đuc Trí

Reactions on Asian Idol Results

Hady Mirza's win came as a surprise, as at least three of the judges predicted that the winner would either be Marcelo, Mohede, or Victor.

There were claims that Hady may have gotten the crucial second vote outside of his home country, wherein it is claimed that votes for strong candidates were paired with weak ones like Hady and Sawant who were trailing in Asian Idol's online survey. This voting tactic was said to avoid viewers' home Idols be beaten by their closest rivals.

In Singapore, the victory stirred hopes of a revival of the country's golden age of music during the 1960's and 70's. Taufik Batisah, first season winner of Singapore Idol, said that the win is something their country should be proud of and hopefully this would "open the eyes and ears" of listeners. However, there were viewers in Singapore who still doubt Hady's singing ability, claiming that his performance in Asian Idol was not as strong as other competitors and it was a matter of "luck over talent". Singapore Idol judge Ken Lim reiterated that "looks and voice" had won the title for Hady.

Meanwhile, Hady shrugged off speculations that he won because he was a "non-threat", but considered himself an underdog and that he did "pretty well" in terms of sincerity and connecting with the audience.

Filipino TV and movie critic Nestor U. Torre mentioned that he was not surprised about Hady's win, even lauding him for his "impressively cool yet dynamic" performances. He also appreciated Victor and Phuong Vy's performances. While Torre was also equally impressed by Marcelo and Mohede's voices, he also said that their girth worked to their disadvantage. On Sawant, Torre noted that his "balladeer" projection was "less dynamic" with his country's large voting population failing him. Despite the surprises and disappointments in the competition, Torre regarded Asian Idol a success as it produced relatively new talents in the Asian and international music scene.

HTV9 airs Asian Idol to rally local support

HCM CITY—HCM Television’s HTV9 brings Asian Idol to the airwaves at 8pm last evening, enabling voters from across the country to help Viet Nam’s Phuong Vy in her rise to stardom.

Asian Idol began airing from Singapore on Monday, gathering amateur singers from six countries in the region, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Viet Nam, the Philippines and India, to go head to head in an effort to become the next regional pop star.

Vietnamese TV-viewers must vote for at least two candidates and send their choices to call centre 4365. I-pop, the network specialising in provision of mobile content, billing and marketing solutions to Asia and the world, is responsible for collecting and filtering the results from all six countries. Winners will be announced at an award ceremony held at 9pm on Sunday, broadcast live on HTV9.

Singer Siu Black is the only Vietnamese member on the contest’s jury board. — VNS 

Technorati Tags: Vietnam Idol,Asian Idol,HTV9,Phuong Vy

Viet Nam News

Phuong Vy

Nguyen Ngoc Phuong Vy is the winner of the first Vietnam Idol on October 3, 2007. She auditioned in Ho Chi Minh City and never voted for bottom 3 at all time, finally enter the final round and won over Ngoc Anh with total votes of 53,44%. She was granted $US10,000 and signed a contract with Music Faces Company.

After winning Vietnam Idol, Phuong Vy concentrated on her study at RMIT, majoring in Business Administration, while finishing her first album with Music Face recording company.

Phuong Vy claims that her talent, luck and support of fans are the most important thing to win the contest, now that she got the chance to perform in Asian Idol in Jakarta this December.