Singer Anh Tho: 'I'm stingy but invest in the right places'

The singer's nameAnh ThoYou always sing with Trong Tan every time you sing a duet, but for the live show "Poetry" on June 23 at the Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Cultural Palace, you did not invite Trong Tan. Why is that?

Yes, we are the couple that everyone always expects. We sing together a lot but our live shows are not the same.Trong Tandid not invite me and my live show did not invite Trong Tan either. We both agreed that if we had our own live show, we would have to invite something different to create a new feeling for the audience. Maybe soon there will be our live show to perform the duet songs that made the two brothers famous. As for the showVerseThis song is a bit more lyrical so I invited Mr. Tan Minh to join.

The ao dai worth billions of dong that I wore on stage at the previous live show was designed by ao dai artisan Lan Huong. That ao dai was studded with a lot of stones so it was expensive. I only wore that ao dai once, now it is on display at designer Lan Huong's house. This year, designer Lan Huong is still designing the outfit for me but it probably won't be as expensive as the previous one. I will wear about 7 or 8 ao dai but they will only cost a few tens of millions each. The outfit I invested in this time will probably only cost a few hundred million.

After the epidemic, singers just want to have shows to perform, but you organize a grand show, are you really willing to spend?

I'm actually a gambler, not a big spender. Playing here means I invest in the right place. I think that the money I spend will be recovered, I don't care about losses, I hope to make a profit. And whatever profit I make, I will do it for charity. Before, even when I wasn't rich, I still did charity. Besides, the budget for the whole show is about 2 billion, so I can afford it.

Actually, I haven't performed much in the past 5 years, but I know I have a large audience. In the past 5 years, many audiences have texted me, hoping that Anh Tho will sing. Many of them love me very much. Sometimes, when I perform in remote areas, I sing 6 or 7 songs and they still want me to sing more. There are some older people who hug and hold my hand. Therefore, the showVerseas my gratitude to the audience, to the profession.

I have never done any business because I don't know how to do business. Trong Tan has both because he sings and his wife does business, but I only sing. But I have known how to do business since I was 7 or 8 years old. At that time, my house was right next to the market so I did some business. At that time, I was still young but had money in my pocket. But I don't know why I was stingy, I didn't want to spend money on tickets, I always waded through ponds and water to watch shows secretly.

The amount of about 2 billion spent on this show is completely my savings from the day I started singing until now.

You are very private about your personal life. What is fun about your current life?

I am living a very happy life. I have two children, the first one just entered the National Economics University, and the second one is in 6th grade.

I know the audience is always interested in the life behind the curtain, behind the glittering stage of the artists. But whether I share it or not, my life is still the same. I am just like any other woman, nothing strange. But saying I don't love is not right, I also have a little love to make life more poetic. I am a strong woman so I will never depend on someone to destroy myself. I always have to be beautiful. Of course, in front of everyone, but when I go home to my children, I am still like a maid.

I only talk about love with my children, but not with men, because it is only true in the present, even though I am very serious and loyal.

Being a strong woman, are you at a disadvantage?

Of course, a strong woman has to suffer many disadvantages. I am not pampered but always have to worry about others. When in love, I always pamper others and that is also my happiness. Be as generous and tolerant as possible. That person does not know but heaven and earth do.

I never want to find perfection in the man for me. I have to know how to balance and accept in love, gain one thing then lose another. If I keep loving this person and then find they are not what I want and then stop loving someone else, that is not okay.

So strong, must love you sober?

No, when you are in love, how can you stay awake (laughs). But I have to accept that life is not perfect. I earn money, I am blessed with a singing voice, so there must be something lacking that I can improve to be more perfect. I cannot demand that everything is perfect for me. I know how to accept and be happy, enjoy life.

How do you enjoy life?

I work hard all year, so it’s normal to reward myself with something sweet. But I never waste, I can do a lot of things in a day. In the morning I go to the market to prepare 3 meals, come home to teach my children, in the afternoon I teach, in the evening I record,… I don’t even dare to paint my nails because I’m afraid I won’t be able to do housework. I do everything very quickly, so even though I’m busy, I still have time to go out and not just focus on teaching, taking care of my children or performing.

After all that work, I can enjoy myself by taking my kids to a resort for 4-5 nights. Before the pandemic, I took them to 7 countries in a month. Wherever I go, I only go with my kids.

Anh Tho Live Concert 2022 "Poetry" will have 3 chapters edited and selected by Anh Tho herself and her editing team. Chapter 1, titled "I love my motherland's language", is a collection of songs about love for the motherland, chapter 2 "Con ngay long, con tinh troi" specifically recreates regions in music, familiar and poetic lands and people, chapter 3 "Nguoi da dau mat suon" is the fate of women, a climax narrative chapter and Tho sings for Tho herself, as well as the women around her.

There will be songs familiar to the audience such as Xa khoi, Khuc hat song que, Ho Tren nui, O hai dau noi nho, Tho tinh cua nui, Chiec khan Pieu, Tinh ca, Dung vi em la bien,... This music night is also an opportunity for Anh Tho to pay tribute to talented musicians who have passed away: Phan Huynh Dieu, Nguyen Tai Tue, Nguyen Trong Tao, Pho Duc Phuong. These are musicians whose songs have contributed significantly to Anh Tho's reputation. In addition, there will also be a new song section, including songs released for the first time by musicians such as Ho Hoai Anh, Nguyen Vinh Tien...