Actress Ngoc Huyen: 'I learned from my mother-in-law how to preserve my beauty'

The cai luong artist said she always considered her mother-in-law - famous singer Thanh Tuyen - as a role model in maintaining professional performance.

- After 15 years in the US, you are about to have your first licensed performance in Ho Chi Minh City (October 20). How do you feel?

- My feelings are hard to put into words. Above all, I hope to reunite with my hometown audience on stage and in real life. I remember in 2002, when I was still in Vietnam, every death anniversary, my small house welcomed more than 300 fans. I remember that time, I visited all the stages and art troupes such as Tran Huu Trang, Saigon 1, 2... to perform the ancestral worship ceremony. I consider myself a child of the profession, living on the love of the audience and colleagues. Until now, I am moved that those feelings are still intact when I return.

The upcoming program is just a mini-show, I still want to prepare everything carefully. I made a list of songs that the audience loves to perform. I hope to sing a lot in the concert to express my feelings during the days away from home. Artists will be like "fish in water" when standing on stage. Otherwise, they will not be themselves anymore.

Ngoc Huyen's beauty at age 47.

- How do you think your voice and appearance have changed?

- Over time, I find myself singing more delicately, feeling the song and the character more deeply. I want to be better than before in terms of voice and performance style. But when I turned 40, I felt that my figure was no longer the same as before. When I gave birth to my first child - Ha Tien, just one month later, I sang with a slim figure. After giving birth to my second child, my figure became rounder.

To maintain my form, I now exercise every morning and drink lemon and honey water. I eat more moderately, and eat less starchy foods. The old saying goes: "eat like dancing, sleep like singing". I value sleep and exercise the most. I learned this from my mother-in-law - the famous singer Thanh Tuyen. Over time, my mother's singing voice has become warmer and warmer thanks to her constant care for her health and voice training. My mother is a role model for me. No matter how busy life is, I still practice my voice every day, spending 10-15 minutes singing from the lowest to the highest notes, practicing breath-holding techniques.

For artists, maintaining their appearance - not just their voice - is also a way to respect their audience.When I step on stage, I still try to be as confident as possible, and the audience will judge.In my singing career, I have never heard anyone criticize my voice, or maybe people criticize behind my back. If I am criticized, I will try to listen and correct myself if the comment is valid.

Ngoc Huyen with her husband - son of famous singer Thanh Tuyen - and two children.

- In the US, how often do you perform shows?

- I mainly perform on the weekends, occasionally I have a show at the beginning of the week. I just did a mini show in Southern California and the audience supported me.
In America, my singing career is still going well, but the cai luong artists here have a much harder time than in their homeland. Stage designs, costumes, and props all have to be sent from Vietnam. Here, everyone is in a different place, like I used to live in Dallas, then moved to Houston, many other colleagues are all over California, each time we meet it takes 6-7 hours to drive.

Overseas, I mainly sing modern music. But in each performance, I still try to reserve a few cai luong pieces to sing for my satisfaction. Luckily, overseas audiences still love cai luong, especially the elderly. Over there, every time I organize a show, many young people bring their parents to listen and gradually become interested in cai luong as well.

- What is a normal day like for you in America?

- Every morning, after waking up, if I don't have to take my kids to school, I will exercise and practice my voice. I turn on my computer and email the band the songs for the upcoming shows. In the afternoon, I pick up my kids from school. After the family has dinner, I will teach my kids to speak Vietnamese. Ha Tien can read and write Vietnamese fluently, while the youngest is still in the basic class.

My singing career is enthusiastically supported by my parents and husband. I came back here to perform while it was school season for my children in the US. My daughter Ha Tien is 14 years old and knows how to organize her studies to help her father take care of her younger sibling, helping her mother feel secure singing away from home.

* Ngoc Huyen, Kim Tu Long sing traditional songs

- What does making money from singing mean to you now?

- For me, whether the salary is enough to live on or not depends on the individual. If I feel it is enough, then it is enough. Having been a Buddhist for a long time, I do not care about a luxurious material life. The most important thing is a peaceful spirit.I am happy with my current life. Singing is one of those happinesses for me.

- What is your biggest pressure in the upcoming reunion show?

- I have been away for 15 years, so my biggest fear when I return is selling tickets. Last year, I was a judge on a cai luong game show, but the show was open to the public to watch the broadcast recordings, so I was not worried about the number of attendees. Now I am wondering if the audience will come to support my mini show, even though I have prepared everything, from the song list, cai luong excerpts to props, costumes, and even the spirit and emotions to convey feelings to the audience. With the difficult economic situation, people spending money to enjoy a cai luong night is a problem. But the upcoming show, whether crowded or not, I will still take care of each performance to appreciate the money that fans spend when coming to me.

* Ngoc Huyen, competing for candidates on the "hot seat"

- What is your greatest desire for your career?

- I hope that young audiences in this fast-paced era will turn more to cai luong. In the past, when I was three years old, I knew by heart the play Half a Life of Incense by the late artist Thanh Nga - my idol. I hope that my return will help young people love vong co more, just like what my colleagues and I did when we were judges on the Road to Famous Vong Co Singers 2016.

I also cherished doing a live show for my comeback. Meritorious Artist Kim Tu Long and I planned to do a concert together, but had to postpone it because he was busy with his role as a game show coach.

According to VNE