The Chocolate Who Can Sing

Meet Doan Trang, Vietnam’s Latin pop singer “This is the best year of my life” beams Doan Trang, one of Vietnam’s most charismatic popular singers of recent decades. She’s just hit one of the most universally dreaded milestones of anyone’s lifetime, clocking into her forties in early February—yet for a performer whose youthful confidence has always been the core of her stage presence, she … Read more

In Control

Singer Tia Hai Chau opens up about maturing musically and her latest single, Wasted In the pantheon of popstars, where twerking, Twitter feuds and a willingness to shed some celebrity skin are all but expected, Vietnam’s Tran Hai Chau appears to be the exception. Having lived under the glare of the media spotlight already, and … Read more

Yeah Boi!

Vietnam’s first successful female rapper The DJ lays down another track as Suboi sits, hands clasped and elbows on her knees, brow knitted in concentration – and then she takes a breath, sits back, shakes her head and says, “Sorry guys, I don’t like any of these beats.” There’s a literal record scratch. Every head … Read more

Seoul Music

Vietnamese-Korean singer Hari Won opens up about the industry of making Korean pop idols It’s been almost two decades now since the delicious beauty and artifice of the Korean entertainment world began to prevail over popular Asian culture. The power of appearances has held enormous sway in this region since the time of Confucius, so … Read more

Zero to Hero

Vietnam’s next musical idol, German Viet Kieu Trong Hieu American Idol may already be walking the green mile, but the popular TV format appears to be stronger than ever here in Vietnam, where the show continues to reward artists who break the local pop industry’s cookie mold. While its US counterpart has long since been … Read more