Noisy story about adopted children in Vietnamese showbiz

On the stage of a music venue, the MC introduced: “I would like to introduce to you singer Anh Linh, a beautiful girl from the beautiful land of Tuyen Quang, a singer whose voice was highly appreciated at the contest “Solo with Bolero”. The audience below was silent, only a few faint claps. But when the MC added: “This is the girl who was adopted by male artist Hoai Linh”, the applause immediately broke out in a flurry.

Hoai Lam - Hoai Linh when they were still close.

Distinctive

Around the world, artists often adopt orphans. In Vietnam, every now and then, audiences see an artist announce that young singer A or contestant B are adopted. In the current booming game show era, the frequency of adoptive fathers and adoptive children, adoptive mothers and adoptive children is even more intense. Most adopted children are about to reach adulthood and have biological parents.

The artist who has adopted the most children is probably Hoai Linh. Occasionally, the audience hears him announce that he has more adopted children. The list of Hoai Linh's adopted children is quite long, from Hoai Lam, Cao Huu Thien, little Kim Cuong to child actors Nguyen Hoang Quan, Anh Linh, Gia Bao, Huu Thien, Quach Phu Thanh, Nguyet Cat...

Phi Nhung when she first adopted Ho Van Cuong.

Another artist who also has many adopted children is Phi Nhung. According to the singer's recent announcement, she has adopted 23 children. However, unlike Hoai Linh, Phi Nhung adopts disadvantaged children who have little to do with showbiz. Among Phi Nhung's 23 adopted children, 4 are involved in showbiz: Ho Van Cuong - the contestant who won the highest prize of Vietnam Idol Kids 2016, Tuyet Nhung - a singer who participated in The Voice Kids 2014, Thien Ngan - a participant in the Solo with Bolero 2015 contest and Quynh Trang - a singer known to the audience as "Bolero Angel". These 4 people also sing, gradually making an impression on the audience.

Meanwhile, Quang Le, Dam Vinh Hung, Thanh Thao... only have a few adopted children.

Conflict

Singer Anh Linh admits that being adopted by Hoai Linh has helped her develop her music career. Thanks to Hoai Linh's reputation, Anh Linh has received more shows, and Hoai Linh's fans also support her. "But it's not all about convenience. I have been criticized by the audience and thought that I borrowed my adoptive father's name to approach the audience. In the middle of lonely Saigon, having never faced showbiz, seeing negative comments, I could only cry," Anh Linh confided. She also believes that being adopted is just the first step, if you want to rise up, you have to try hard yourself.

According to Hong Son, who specializes in organizing music shows, the adoption of children by artists is not new and is acceptable because it is just a form of sponsorship between veteran artists and artists who are just starting out in the profession. “The main cause of conflicts is the lack of understanding of both parties and behind that, there are also personal interests. Therefore, in my opinion, adoption needs to be transparent, clear and have specific legal bindings. Only then can the above conflicts end.”

However, there are many cases where after a while, adopted children and their adoptive parents have major conflicts. With the desire for their son to enter showbiz, Nguyen Tuan Loc's parents relied on Hoai Linh. And when Hoai Linh adopted Tuan Loc and gave him the stage name Hoai Lam, the boy's career took off like a kite. Hoai Linh helped Hoai Lam sing on big stages and participate in many TV game shows. However, when Hoai Lam became famous, he had conflicts with his adoptive father. Although the conflict was not made public, Hoai Lam later announced his retirement from showbiz, and Hoai Linh said: "Hoai Lam's career goes down or up depends on whether he knows how to keep it or not. This is no longer in my hands."

The conflict between Ho Van Cuong and Phi Nhung also made many people worried. After Cuong became Phi Nhung's adopted son, Cuong's whole family (including his biological parents) lived in the female singer's house. Cuong was able to go to school and sing, while his biological parents worked at Phi Nhung's restaurant. But recently, Cuong wrote on social media that Phi Nhung's house was a "devil's nest" and wanted to escape. Phi Nhung posted about Cuong as "lazy, rude, not knowing how to help younger siblings in the family, showing signs of star disease"...

The incident stopped after Cuong apologized, but the online community still believes that "Phi Nhung is exploiting Ho Van Cuong's labor".