Famous singer Hoa Mi reveals the 'unwritten rules' that differentiated A-list stars in the past

Hoa Mi used to study at a music school called Truong Mi. After that, she was given the opportunity by musician Hoang Thi Tho to appear on stage with the songTake me down to the boat.The female guest shared: “I still remember it clearly because that day marked an important milestone for me to officially enter the professional singing career. I was a student of musician Hoang Thi Tho. When I debuted, I was unexpectedly given a stage name change. Since then, I have been named after a bird - Hoa Mi.”

Famous singer Hoa Mi believes that this profession was chosen by her ancestors. She confided: “I myself did not choose it. I like music and study music, that’s all. At that time, musician Hoang Thi Tho helped me become a professional singer, and I had the opportunity to work as a singer in the true sense. I appeared in a program and became famous right away, that was luck.”

Famous singer Hoa Mi said that after 1975, when there were not many opportunities to sing, she thought she would not stick with the profession. At that time, the female guest was studying law and planned to continue on this path. “At that time, everything was very difficult, I helped my family with two meals a day, took care of the children in the house. During the time I had not yet started singing again, I sold sticky rice and lined up to buy rice, noodles, potatoes, milk... like everyone else.”

Then, the opportunity came to the famous singer Hoa Mi once again when the Kim Cuong troupe performed in a program in Ho Chi Minh City. Hoa Mi's name became more known to the public. She was always in a state of running shows so she had to calculate the movement between locations reasonably. "At that time, the city did not have as many entertainment activities as now. People only went to see the theater so every music venue was full of audiences," said the female guest.

Famous singer Hoa Mi revealed more: “In the past, there was a rule for A, B and C-class singers. A-class singers were only allowed to sing at 3 venues each night, and their salaries had to be paid according to regulations, not freely like now. Therefore, venues had to ask for a balanced appearance of A-class stars. However, on weekends like Saturday and Sunday, A-class singers still accepted more, at least 4 to 5 shows, because all venues wanted to have more A-class stars.”