Having just received the news that he is one of the three artists from Nghe An to be honored as Meritorious Artist, Que Thuong said that it is the sweet fruit of his tireless efforts over many years of working. For Que Thuong, a singer who only has a natural voice is not enough, but also needs to practice to have good technique and sensitive musicality, so that when performing a work, he can best convey the author's spirit, tell a musical story and convey emotions to the listener.
Because of that belief, Que Thuong is always asked by the audience to sing over and over again some of the works that she has successfully sung, typically "Xa khoi", "Tau anh qua nui", or "Dat nuoc tinh yeu". These songs have been performed by many famous artists, but listening to Que Thuong sing, you can still feel the fresh breath, still passionate, emotional, and strangely attractive. Musician, People's Artist Hoang Thanh once said: Que Thuong is a rare singer who can sing sweetly with a wide folk range. She pronounces the words carefully, neatly but very soulfully. When giving a song to Que Thuong, you just need to tell her the idea, the rest is for her to find a way to empathize and convey the emotions appropriately.
To achieve today's milestones, Que Thuong has gone through a difficult artistic journey, overcoming herself, reaching out to the ocean to seek new knowledge, even when she had more or less become famous in Nghe An. In 2013, Que Thuong passed the entrance exams to two schools: the Vietnam National Academy of Music and the Military University of Culture and Arts. She decided to choose the Academy because although the environment was harsher, it offered more challenges and creativity. "Overcoming difficulties will certainly bring us sweet results" - Que Thuong said.
Looking back on that journey, Que Thuong describes it as “just running, no walking”, day after day burying her head in books, playing the piano and practicing her voice, without any real time to rest, which made her want to collapse and stop at times. But then, the singer from Nghe An remained steadfast in her chosen goal: to grow up, to study and study better than her friends. Every day of Que Thuong was so urgent and busy that she wished she could split herself into 4, studying to surpass the young people, speeding up to learn the next week’s schedule so she could return to her hometown with her children for the 2 weekends, and fully participating in the working schedule of the Union. “There were times when I didn’t understand how I had such good health. I studied in the morning, practiced the piano or vocal techniques at noon, and practiced my voice at night and buried myself in difficult exercises” – Que Thuong said. That effort was rewarded when she was continuously an excellent student in her class and faculty, always getting a perfect score of 10 in her major.
To achieve that achievement, in addition to her own inner strength, Que Thuong was also fortunate to have the encouragement and support of her family. Her husband - a fellow villager, who is passionately in love with his wife's singing voice, has always accompanied her throughout her arduous artistic journey. Que Thuong tearfully recounted: "There were times when my child was in the hospital for a whole week, but when he called, my grandparents still said that my child was playing well and was going out somewhere... They said that so that I could study and practice with peace of mind, because my grandparents knew that if I missed just one day, I would have to retake the class and risk graduating late."
From those efforts, Que Thuong graduated with honors and was invited to work in many units such as Voice of Vietnam, Central Music and Dance Theater... However, she did not waver in refusing good opportunities, determined to return to her homeland with the eagerness to contribute her singing voice on the stage of her hometown.
Que Thuong is famous for being a meticulous and careful artist in both her work and her life. Therefore, any musician who has assigned a song to Que Thuong is assured of her thorough research. She still remembers that there were composition competitions where, out of 8 works, she performed 4 of them. "This is the happiness of an artist, but it is also a pressure because the result next time must be better than the last time" - Que Thuong said. She always strives to achieve new milestones: "Lullaby of the Origin" by musician Xuan Thuy won the Gold Medal at the National Professional Music and Dance Festival in 2015; "Oh, the Fate of a Girl" by musician Trong Dai won the Gold Medal at the National Professional Music and Dance Festival in 2018; "Song Soul" by musician Xuan Thuy won the Gold Medal at the National Professional Music and Dance Festival in 2021; “Waiting for You to Come Back” by musician Xuan Thuy won a Silver Medal (no Gold Medal) at the 2022 ASEAN Music Festival…
Each song that comes to Que Thuong is carefully researched by her, expressing the lyrics with deep understanding and deep emotions. Like the song "Thuong oi phan gai" - based on the poem of poetess Ho Xuan Huong about the fate of women in the old society, Que Thuong was very concerned. She thought, how should she sing so that in addition to achieving good vocal technique, she also has to bring out the soul of the song, express the author's thoughts and feelings, and convey the layers of meaning in each sentence. Musician Trong Dai - the composer of "Thuong oi phan gai", was also a bit worried when he heard that Que Thuong chose this song to perform, because he was worried that the provincial singer had little experience and her life experience was still immature; however, when he heard Que Thuong perform, this famous musician had to admire her musical sense, her torment and her breakthrough.
There are many more songs with high difficulty and wide ranges of sound, requiring the singer to express a proud and open-minded style but also very delicate in small notes, which Que Thuong performed perfectly. A typical example is “Song Soul”, for which Que Thuong was awarded a perfect score by the jury member, People’s Artist Thu Hien, in the National Music and Dance Festival, with the comment: “I was really moved by this performance. And the perfect score is completely deserved for you”.
In her career, up to now, in addition to her dream collection of awards, Que Thuong is also known as a professional composer and program director. The songs she composed such as “Ve voi que em”, “Chieu Cua Lo”, “Mua xuan goi ban”,… revealed her new abilities. Notably, her song for children “Bai hoc trac toi” won second prize in the Traffic Safety composition contest not long ago.
