"The Goat Herder" from Nghe An and his amazing cover songs.

(Baonghean.vn) -Nguyen Thanh Vien, a young man from Nghe An province, has become a "musical phenomenon" in the entertainment industry, known as "the goat herder."

People are referring to the image of Viên's first public appearance in a cover video of the song "Knocking on the Heart's Door," which Viên uploaded online to share with friends. In that clip, Viên and her sister, after herding goats in the forest, took the opportunity to sit by their family's cassava field in Nghĩa Lợi (Nghĩa Đàn, Nghệ An) and record the song themselves using an old computer. Immediately, the song was shared widely with much enjoyment and affection. The nickname "the goat herder" has stuck with Viên ever since…

And I imagined, every night on the streets of Saigon, Thanh Vien returning on his rickety motorbike. The scent of makeup drifted away on the wind. The glitter had been left behind the stage wings. When confronted with the shadow on the wall of his house, that goatherd would once again be overcome with nostalgia, affection, and his dreams.

I also happened to hear that song by Vien online, loved it, and that's how I connected with this kind, amiable young man. It felt like the depth, smoothness, and simplicity in his voice perfectly reflected Vien's personality. Vien said: "I'm from a poor rural area; my parents grow cassava and sugarcane. My older sister married a man from the countryside and raises chickens and goats. I'm more skilled at farming and animal husbandry than at singing, but singing is my passion, my dream, and it has never changed."

Member once went back to his hometown to help his family with farming.

Born in 1991, Thanh Vien is the youngest of four siblings. From a young age, Vien loved singing. It wasn't just an "instinctive" passion; when he sang, he felt like he was expressing himself, sharing his feelings, remembering, and forgetting. Vien said that he was the strongest in the family, so he tried to help his parents with many strenuous tasks: planting cassava, loading sugarcane for hire, plowing with his father…

Clip of two sisters tending goats singing "Knocking on the Heart's Door":

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Even when she was most tired, melodies still resonated in Vien's heart. They helped her forget her fatigue, helped her understand the hardships of her mother, father, and the people in her hometown… As a child, whenever she had the opportunity to “perform” in front of a crowd, Vien would choose songs about maternal and paternal love, and each time she sang, it brought tears to people's eyes. Vien's parents, therefore, greatly respected her love and passion for music. However, her relatives always advised her to consider it a “passion” to bring joy to her life, not her sole purpose, because “singing is a very unprofitable profession.”

Therefore, after graduating from high school, Vien applied to Thai Nguyen University, majoring in Human Resource Management, instead of pursuing any of the arts as she had hoped. Moreover, at that time, Vien had absolutely no knowledge of vocal music beyond what she had learned in high school.

Members help their mother reclaim hillside land and develop the economy.

After graduating and failing to find a job, Vien decided to move south to pursue his career. He went south with a dream still burning in his heart: perhaps he would find a chance to… sing. In the early days, the naive country boy wandered aimlessly through the city, returning to his rented room with his sister's family, filled with sadness and longing. He had to keep his songs tightly suppressed in his heart.

Video of a goat herder singing as well as Quang Lê:

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There were times when Viên felt so small and lost that she would "befriend" her old computer. Viên missed her hometown. She missed the cassava fields, the flock of goats, the expansive mountains and rivers of her homeland, and especially her mother. Back then, at home, after simple but warm meals, Viên would often sing for her mother. For Viên, even now, her mother is her loyal, devoted, and unconditionally loving audience.

Those songs, sung and recorded by Vien himself on his computer in his small, cramped room, were filled with longing and sent to his mother. Surely, in the cassava fields and sugarcane paddies of their hometown, his mother was working tirelessly and also thinking of her youngest son. Was she crying silently, out of love for her son? Did she remember the songs of the past, when they were together in warmth and comfort, and he was still in her arms?

Viên poured all his emotions into songs like "Happy Birthday, Mom," "I Won't Be Coming Home This Spring," "Remembering a Spring," and "Bitter Lips"... These songs were uploaded online, and Viên asked villagers to play them for his mother. The "voice of the heart" of this filial son not only reached his mother in his hometown but also resonated with and shared the feelings of many others.

With his passion for singing, "the goatherd boy" Thanh Vien has become a musical phenomenon in the entertainment industry recently.

For a while, Vien got a job as a waiter at a karaoke bar near his rented room. Vien recounted that one time, after the last customers left, he went to clean the karaoke room. The music on the screen was still playing when Vien picked up the microphone and sang passionately. A customer who had forgotten something returned and, seeing the waiter singing so enthusiastically, stood silently listening for a while. When he finished singing, Vien was startled to feel a warm hand placed on his shoulder along with the advice: "Your voice is excellent; you should take singing lessons to become a professional singer."

“It was just words of encouragement, but it warmed my heart so much, and it made me even more determined to pursue my dream,” Viên recounted, visibly moved. After that, Viên received much help from friends and professional singers, securing gigs at weddings, birthdays, events, and nightly performances at tea houses. His image, that of “the goat herder Nguyễn Thành Viên,” appeared on billboards advertising music programs at tea houses and small stages, as a way to attract customers.

Viên said, "For me, that's happiness. Being known and listened to by people. Singing as a way to express myself. Moreover, singing has given Viên an income; besides the fees, she also receives encouragement from the audience… Isn't that what she has always wished for?"

But more than anyone else, the Member understood the price behind the glitz and glamour of the stage. It was the exhaustion, the constant effort to innovate, the controversies, and the ever-present threat of failure…

Every night after a performance, there were times when I was overwhelmed with anxiety, but thinking about the applause, the fresh flowers from the audience, the encouraging pats on the shoulder, the smiles and tears of those who listened to me sing, I felt "more confident." There's a saying from an older sister that has always guided me whenever I feel uncertain or defeated: "Never mind, take a deep breath, exhale, stand up and say: Let's try again!"

Currently, the musical products of "the goat herder" Nguyen Thanh Vien are partly supported by his fans and admirers, but mostly produced and edited by Vien himself. Vien's strength lies in the lyrical genre. He has also started taking intensive music lessons. His first recorded songs were "It's Not Our Fault" (Ngoc Van) and "My Love Is as Vast as the Sea and as Long as the River" (Thong Dat), with "My Love Is as Vast as the Sea and as Long as the River" being particularly popular with audiences. Vien's debut music video, "A Story at the Beginning of the Year," was released and warmly received by netizens right before the start of 2016 as a gift and a wish from Vien to his audience: "May the beginning and end of the year bring good luck. May the family always be happy and reunited."

The member said that every lyric in his songs reflects the image of his homeland.

What could I say to my beloved audience? It's a thank you. Without their love, their expectations, and even their demands, how could I have dared to pursue a singing career, even though it was my dream? The "goat herder" said this with all sincerity. I also feel fortunate to have met my idol singer and received encouragement from him, Quang Lê.

I asked Vien about her homesickness, and she said, "Surely you can see it too, in every song I sing, there's a deep longing for my homeland. That's where my house is, where my parents are, where my sister is, where everything that has shaped me into who I am today is. I still long to return, to sing in my homeland for the hardworking people who toil under the sun in the cassava and sugarcane fields. I always see the glistening, sweat-drenched smiles of my parents there."

And I imagined, every night on the streets of Saigon, Thanh Vien returning on his rickety motorbike. The scent of makeup drifted away on the wind. The glitter was left behind behind the stage. Facing his shadow on the wall of his house, that goatherd boy would once again be overcome with longing, affection, and his dreams. Hopefully, Thanh Vien, that boy from the mountainous region of Nghia Dan, will reach his dream of a professional singing career and always be remembered by music lovers for his sweetness, depth, and simplicity.

Thuy Vinh