The Nghe An seamstress entered the Top 4 of the final ranking of Star Search Star.

In Vinh city, people in the industry are very familiar with Truong Bao Yen.girl with powerful voice, inspiring and singing a variety of music genres. Yen is also a singer who is very familiar with tea rooms, coffee shops, large and small music stages in the province. That girl came to music by chance, at first with only Trinh songs, love songs that she loved and was encouraged by friends, then gradually she was known by musicians, show organizers, loved her voice, simple and emotional storytelling and invited her to collaborate regularly.

Truong Bao Yen at the Star Searching Contest organized by Ho Chi Minh City Television. Photo: NVCC

Gradually, Truong Bao Yen became an indispensable name in large and small music programs and stages in the area. However, when listening to Yen sing and watching her perform professionally on stage, few people knew that she was a Tho ethnic person from Quy Hop district, who had only moved to Vinh city in 2011. "My starting point was quite poor in terms of artistic qualities, but my passion gave me confidence and pride that, although I had little contact with professional art, I was an ethnic girl with enough courage because of the qualities in my singing voice," Bao Yen shared.

However, Yen's musical path was not as smooth as people thought, there were difficulties in life, and at times she thought she had to give up the path that she was so passionate about and wanted to pursue. However, later, also from passion, Yen was able to earn income from this "side job", her family gradually had to accept Yen to perform.

Yen can sing all genres of music from pop to folk songs, and even pure folk songs from Nghe An with a wide range of up to 2 octaves. Photo: NVCC

But after all, Yen is still a diligent tailor, which, according to her, is also her main source of income to support her life. “I am certainly not as good at sewing as the famous fashion designers in the city, but I know how to create poses for all customers. Perhaps because I perform a lot, I have carefully studied how to cut cups for evening gowns and performance costumes, so I still have a certain number of customers,” Bao Yen shared.

Talking about participating in the program Sao tim Sao - a pure Vietnamese format of Ho Chi Minh City Television Station, which was just held in mid-February 2020. This program gathered more than 2,000 contestants, in which, notably, there were many contestants who had been trained at professional music schools across the country.

Truong Bao Yen received high praise from singer Dam Vinh Hung, the judge of the show. Photo: NVCC

When entering the first round, Truong Bao Yen with her warm, soulful voice and skillful vocal technique through the songs "Please don't" (Thanh Bui) and "Mai dinh lang bien" (Nguyen Cuong) completely conquered the judges with compliments.

Yen said: "In fact, I entered the contest with the spirit of testing myself, so I was very comfortable, singing to satisfy my passion, and unexpectedly received many compliments from the judges."

In this round, Truong Bao Yen received compliments from the judges for her singing voice and mature performance. Singer judge Dam Vinh Hung said: "According to your introduction, you have never been to school, but I believe that you are a veteran of the stage, otherwise you could not have performed such mature, profound musical works. I thought you were a singer who had received formal training and had many years of experience on big stages." Coming to the round with 3 songs in 3 different music genres, including 2 pop songs, 1 song written on the background of Nghe folk music, the judges and audience were truly surprised.

Singer Doan Trang, also a member of the jury, said: "The way you performed the song, your emotional voice, and your large vocal range, up to 2 octaves, made us think you are a singer who has reached a certain level of maturity."

Truong Bao Yen performed many genres of music at the same time in the same competition night. Photo: NVCC

Regarding this, Yen shared: “Honestly, when I chose to sing to earn money to support myself and my family, I received a lot of encouragement from the audience, my brothers and sisters in the profession, and the musicians who chose me for their new songs. However, I never thought I would win a high prize or be honored in a competition, simply because I am inferior to many well-trained singers, even though I have a voice, even though I have a unique way of telling stories through my musical works. Coming to the first professional competition in my life when I am no longer young, already approaching 30, the words of encouragement and praise in this competition are a great source of motivation for me.”

When coming to the contest, Yen had just experienced a family crisis. Every time she performed on stage, she had to shed tears because of the stories she was telling through music. She said, those were also her confidences and her feelings when she dared to walk on the path she had chosen. Now that she has chosen music as her path for the rest of her life, Yen only hopes that she will always be peaceful and at peace so that when she sings songs about love and human nature, she can tell them with the emotions of someone who has gone through events.

Through many rounds of competition, from the selection of only 22 excellent candidates from thousands of contestants in the preliminary round, Yen has now entered the top 4, with the admiration of the judges and the audience watching the competition. The final ranking night will take place on January 23, 2021, receiving the anticipation of audiences across the country.

Yen shared: "Getting to the final night is a stroke of luck. For me, no matter what the result is, I will be very happy and honored. However, with the spirit of a girl from Nghe An, I will be determined to stay calm and confidently present my entry in the most unique and emotional way."