Thu Hang: Nghe An singer succeeds with lyrical music

- Why did you compete in three game shows in three years despite winning high prizes?

- The first competition I participated in was The Voice of Vietnam in 2015. Although I was eliminated early, my coach at that time - singer Dam Vinh Hung - advised me to pursue lyrical music. That same year, I competed in Solo with Bolero and won first prize. In 2018, Mr. Dam Vinh Hung encouraged me to compete.Love storytellerto practice more stage expressions. I participated and continued to win late last year.Besides gaining more singing experience, I want to find a playground to create new opportunities, after many months with almost no shows and little income.

- What difficulties did you encounter when pursuing this career?

- After coming out of the Bolero contest, I thought I would earn a lot of money and have many shows. On the contrary, no one invited me to sing. For a month, then two months, I had no events. That period lasted almost a year. My income was only about six or seven million VND per month, lower than before I became famous. In the past, I performed for military festivals, occasionally sang outside, earning 20-30 million VND, enough to support myself and my sister. After that, I gave up my salaried job and went to the South to start a business.

Without a singing show, I was very self-conscious. The contestants who competed with me released products in droves, and the media was strong, but I looked back at myself and saw nothing. Reading negative comments about me, such as: "The champion lost to the runner-up", "This Hang sings like nothing"... I became even more negative. I started singing late, and only started to have a few achievements at the age of 30, so I tried to force myself to speed up. Gradually, I became confused, wondering whether choosing this singing path was right or wrong. Sometimes, sitting among my colleagues, I felt scrutinized with contemptuous eyes. I wanted to quit the profession when I felt it was not worth the effort. I questioned myself why I was so incompetent.

- Mr. Dam Vinh Hung helped me by taking me along wherever he went to sing, then deducted a portion of the salary to pay me. He told me that many people who work with a salary of 4-5 million VND can still make a living, so there is no reason why I cannot manage. He used himself as an example, telling stories of his past struggles, spending a dozen years lining up to sing in tea rooms to get to where he is now. I also received clothes from Ms. Le Quyen. They not only advised me on my expertise, but also taught me experience in the profession.

- How is your singing career now?

- After winning the latest competition, I got more shows. In the past, no one knew me on the street, now I'm starting to get noticed. I'm happy because there are women selling clothes, street vendors who recognize and greet me. My income before was only about 6 million VND, now it's 10, 15 times more. I have money to reinvest in products. I no longer have to wear the same outfit, but can change this and that. I take better care of myself, have designers make clothes. With a higher salary, I invest in music. I don't have to buy beats (background music) online for 150,000 VND a copy anymore, but can order people, ask them to edit it to my liking.

More importantly, I feel more mature and confident. Before, if I sang a wrong line, I would sweat, my face would be pale and I could not continue singing. Now, when I encounter a problem, I know how to steer. My efforts and perseverance in the past are gradually bringing results.

- Seeing many beautiful singers who bought houses and cars after a few years of singing, what do you think?

- Sometimes, I see information about many colleagues showing off their houses and cars and feel a bit sad. I am still renting a house. Many singers started with me, even after me, but still quickly became successful. I feel like I am not as quick and adaptable as many of my colleagues.

Now there are many young singers singing Bolero, so the audience has more choices. There are singers who are seven or eight years old but their fees are already very high. I am sad, but I do not blame myself for choosing a safe style. I pursue a calm, mature singing style, a private life without scandals, and a well-crafted product to target a suitable audience.

- How was your Tet holiday?

- I did not return to my hometown but stayed in Saigon to sing at tea rooms. Tet is the time when the audience goes to listen to music the most, I have to take advantage of the opportunity. Celebrating Tet far from home, I also feel sad. Sometimes looking back at my parents, I feel sorry because they are getting older. My father is now 70 years old, my mother is 66 years old. But I tell myself that this is an opportunity for me to be loved by the audience, so I try to approach them more. Out of 1,000 audiences, if only 10 people remember me, that is good enough. A little bit each day, I believe that gradually the audience will be impressed with me.

Thu Hang was born in 1987 in Nghe An. At the age of 12, her parents divorced and she lived with her mother. At the age of 15, Thu Hang studied at the Hanoi Conservatory of Music, Department of Traditional Musical Instruments. Because her family was poor, Hang hid from her parents and worked to pay for food and tuition to make her parents less tired. She worked as a dishwasher at a pho restaurant and as a waitress at a coffee shop. In 2015, she took the examThe Voice of Vietnambut was eliminated early. In the same year, she competedSolo with Bolero- contest in which Dam Vinh Hung was a judge - and won first prize.In 2018, she continued to win.Love storyteller.After the contest, she mainly sang at events, tea rooms...