Viet Anh: The Wanderer of Street Love Songs

(Baonghean.vn) - If I were to choose songs that I would feel deeply in my heart when listening to them in the current Vietnamese music scene, I believe they would only be the songs of musician Viet Anh. 'Dong song lang dang', 'D'Mellow Dreaming of the City', 'My Love Sings'... These are gentle, quiet songs but have had a lasting vitality in youth music from the 90s until now.

The man of love songs

Musician Viet Anh's name became famous from the hits of Thu Phuong, Quang Dung... in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Unlike many songs that can be popular for a while and then quickly disappear, Viet Anh's music is always somewhere in the streets, with the love of the streets, the love of people, and anchored there, so that when sad, you can listen to it for fun and feel like you have a soulmate to share it with.

Viet Anh, in the eyes of many journalists, is a bit arrogant and unapproachable because he rarely appears in the media. He almost always appears with the words “Composed by Viet Anh” stamped as “sovereignty” in his songs. His facial expression has something secretive, thoughtful, and difficult to share about him, if only looking at his appearance.

Musician Viet Anh and singer Thu Phuong

Viet Anh's music is completely different. Many people love his music, both old and young, because there is a youthfulness mixed with maturity and experience; a loneliness mixed with a desire to share to the end; a depth hidden behind beautiful, gentle lyrics... "You are like mist, fragile on the street, Who knows one day the autumn wind. Every night I dream of the street, dreaming as if I forgot everything, Forgetting the love that was so heartless"... The gentle, pleasant melodies carry the beautiful poetic lyrics in Viet Anh's songs into the hidden corners of the listener's soul. And just like that, of course his music wins over many people, even the most difficult listeners, because at some point it has entered people's hearts because of the simple, sincere sharing.

Many years of living far from home, composing about home and past love affairs have given the young man Viet Anh real and calm emotions. And those emotions, although sometimes seem to be lost in the hustle and bustle of modern life, turn out to be anchored and remembered unexpectedly deeply. Because simply, no matter how much life changes, the beautiful love like the melody of the wanderer Viet Anh always has its hidden place - that is the heart.

Live show"The River of Laziness"

Viet Anh said he would not have been able to perform the live show "The Lazy River" without the encouragement of his family, friends and production crew.

Everyone will be surprised when "Dong song lang dang" is the first live show in musician Viet Anh's career, taking place at Hoa Binh Theater, Ho Chi Minh City on the evening of July 29, 2016. Because Viet Anh's name has been famous since the hits of Thu Phuong, Quang Dung... in the late 90s, early 2000s. It can be said that this live show has been awaited by the audience for a long time and Viet Anh's friends have urged him for many years but only now has he decided to do it. With the maturity of time and quality, so many good ideas, so many feelings to share, so many good songs, the musician gathered them all into one night with 22 songs performed.

With this live show, the musician of romantic love songs with poetic lyrics said: "After many times being urged by friends and audiences, I feel this is the most suitable time to hold a music night for myself, when friends and colleagues have contributed their efforts and money to be able to join hands to make a music night that is attractive and of the highest quality as desired". Viet Anh said, he would not have been able to hold the live show without the encouragement of his family, friends and the crew of The Lazy River.

The wandering moment of singer Uyen Linh in the live show "The Lazy River"

In a situation where the music market in general is very quiet, the performance market in particular is even more quiet. Even in the most vibrant music center in the country like Ho Chi Minh City, the situation is still very quiet, but The Lazy River is considered one of the two most anticipated shows of this summer.

The audience of The River of Laziness was able to relive a time considered the golden age of Vietnamese music with love songs in the top ten program Lan Song Xanh. The time when everyone eagerly watched the program Lan Song Xanh every weekend. The time when songs that made it to the top of Lan Song Xanh would definitely become famous, and the singers who performed them would definitely be popular. Viet Anh is a young musician with a style full of worries, concerns, and a bit of sadness, but he has quite a few songs that made it to the top of this program considered to be vibrant. The River of Laziness, Night of Dreaming on the Street, Airport Rain, Dropping by the Lake, Chua Bao Gio, Nhung Mua Hoa Bo Lai, Tinh Yeu Toi Hat, Hoa Co Vang Noi Ay... always receive many requests and votes from the audience because of the strangeness of Viet Anh's style.

In addition to the songs that have left a lasting impression on audiences, there will be new songs announced for the first time, exclusively for this live show such as: Nhung ben bo cho con, Xin gu em cho hoang hon, Khi vong mua sang.

Sing with the word Love

In addition to singer Thu Phuong, the live show "Dong Song Lo Dang" has the participation of many famous artists such as: Dam Vinh Hung, Quang Dung, Uyen Linh, Hoang Bach, Trung Quan Idol...

Director Tran Vi My, who directed this program, is one of the directors chosen by big names in the Vietnamese music industry. Conductor Tran Nhat Minh, singers Thu Phuong, Dam Vinh Hung, Quang Dung, Nguyen Thao, Uyen Linh, Hoang Bach, Trung Quan Idol and actor Quy Binh are familiar names in the art world. What surprised many people was that the artists participating in the program were willing to do their best for a fee of just a few bottles of beer, even joining hands to make Viet Anh's first live show have the best impression.

Director Tran Vi My has been a familiar name in many major music shows for many years. He is also an indispensable name in famous live shows of stars such as Dam Vinh Hung, Hong Ngoc, Le Quyen, Thanh Thao….

Director Tran Vi My said: “Trust me. The Lazy River will be a great show, with a musical space that you will love. Please let Vi My keep the details until the opening night, but I can be confident that anyone who is an audience of Viet Anh's music will be satisfied.

Viet Anh and I are very close. For this live show, Vi My and many of Viet Anh's other friends contributed. Everyone loves Viet Anh and always wants to have a memory of his first live show. I take care of all the director-related parts, and told Viet Anh to pay me a bottle of beer. Oh, but now I've changed my mind, maybe two or a little more."

Musician Viet Anh

Thu Phuong said that she had been waiting for the live show of her “musical soul mate” for a long time. She and Viet Anh’s friends had urged her many times and always told her to arrange everything immediately whenever there was a live show so that she could participate. Now she was satisfied because for a long time, she had wanted to sing her hit songs, in the musical space of the song’s owner. Thu Phuong believed that if so, the emotions would be very different from the time she had performed such songs as “Dem nam mo pho”, “Danh roi ben ho”, “Chua bao gioi”, “Chieu bien vong thang”, “Nhung mua hoa bo lai”… all over the country and overseas.

Uyen Linh and the artists in the backing group before the live show "The Lazy River"

When asked about Dam Vinh Hung's salary for singing in the live show "Dong Song Lo Dang", the male singer wittily said: "Hung never thought he would get close to Viet Anh, let alone sing Viet Anh's music. To be honest, in the first days of singing, nearly 20 years ago, standing from afar watching the Saigon Boys group perform, singing backup for the program "Lan Song Xanh" at Lan Anh stage. Hung saw a cute white bear (the affectionate way to call musician Viet Anh) playing the piano, composing hits "Mua Phi Truong" for Lam Truong, "Dong Song Lo Dang" for Thu Phuong, "No more autumn" for Tran Thu Ha..., Hung admired him very much. Therefore, when he had the opportunity to be invited to sing in Viet Anh's live show, Hung wanted to receive a special fee. Hung would not accept money, but instead, wanted musician Viet Anh to compose a song for him that could be said to be Viet Anh's best, until Hung was satisfied."

Saigon is in the rainy season. The season is considered the "nemesis" of music nights. But with Viet Anh's music night, the author has left his mark in the hearts of the audience with his deep, sad love songs. Perhaps the rain will leave more unforgettable aftertaste than the one from The Lazy River.

Vo Thu Huong