Uyen Linh- Viet Nam Idol produces singing sensation
I cannot count how many times I have heard the song Chi La Giac Mo (Just a dream) after Tran Nguyen Uyen Linh sang it at the just concluded Viet Nam Idol competition.
Viet Nam Idol 2010 finalists
I cannot have enough of it. Each time, I am touched by the image of a girl who has broken up with her love, and now the beautiful natural scenery around her, season after season, makes her feel that all of it is just an illusion, because he is not there to ground her in reality.
Linh is not the first singer of the song, but she evoked emotions in me that were stronger those brought out by Mariah Carey’s Without You or Tony Brixton’s Don’t break my heart.
It was no surprise to me that I was not the only one with this response to Linh’s rendition.
“I also felt the loneliness and the waiting for a miracle that would bring my love back to me, Uyen Linh aroused innermost feelings that not everyone can share,” a netizen, thuvy2004, commented on You Tube.
Indeed, when Linh won the third edition of Viet Nam Idol in a dramatic, emotional finale last week, there was a sense that the contest had been redeemed after being rocked earlier by a series of controversies including allegations of discrimination and secret recording and releasing of a competitor’s private moments.
In fact, the previous two editions had not been controversial, but there was considerable dissatisfaction among a lot of people that the deserving talents had not won the contest, but there were very few, if any, arguing with the latest result.
Rocky start
Viet Nam Idol is a reality television show based on the British hit Pop Idol produced by HCM City Television and Viet Nam Advertising Company. It’s stated mission is to turn amateurs into professionals, develop talent and give everyone a chance to be a star.
Phuong Vy and Quoc Thien won the first two editions of the contest in 2007 and 2008 respectively.
After being cancelled last year for various reasons, Viet Nam Idol returned to rock the country this July, hit by a discrimination scandal right at the outset.
Competitor Nguyen Son Lam threatened to sue judge Siu Black after being rejected in an audition round, claiming that he had lost out because of his physical disability.
This scandal was followed by another one when “sensitive” photos of contestant Duc Anh Hugo during his weight-losing process were leaked to the public by his peer, Dang Khoa, who also stealthy recorded a string of oaths delivered by Duc Anh Hugo and spread it on the internet.
And as if this were not enough drama, Khoa, who’d been supported by a huge number of young fans, suddenly withdrew from the competition at Gala 6, giving up his chance to go ahead.
His action set off plenty of speculation about the rationale, some saying he knew he would never win, others saying he knew he was riding on looks rather than talent, and yet others whispering about personal and family problems
All the controversies were laid to rest by Uyen Linh’s stirring performances that had the judges themselves on their feet several times, and their effusive comments were cheered lustily by the audience.
Late surge
Dream fulfilled: After a nationwide vote, Uyen Linh was named winner of Viet Nam Idol 2010.
This is the first time in any reality contest in the country that many fans were moved to launch a wave of campaigns canvassing votes for a contestant.
But Linh was not a leading contender for the title. In fact, she was nearly ousted at the sixth round because she failed to win enough audience support.
Fortunately for her, Dang Khoa’s surprise withdrawal allowed her to advance, a fact that she acknowledged later by thanking him for making her victory possible.
No other video clip from Viet Nam has had nearly 1.2 million views that Linh’s Chi la giac mo attracted in less than two weeks.
“What a wonderful voice! I live in the US. I usually do not watch shows in Viet Nam and did not watch the last two idols, however this season I’ve been watching because I read a lot of information the net about you. I really really love your voice. I will surely buy your CDs in the future,” another Youtube watcher named ntph100 commented a week ago.
Her Facebook fan numbers exploded from 4,000 to 28,000 after she sang the two songs. She won 83 per cent of the vote on the contest’s fanpage.
And it was not just Vietnamese viewers who were enamoured of Linh.
“This is a Vietnamese singer? Wow, although I do not understand anything, … her voice is so great that I feel sad when I heard this song. She has such a wonderful voice. I wish I were in Viet Nam so I can vote for her,” commented youtuber Bbnbom after watching Chi La Giac Mo.
Following the success of Gala 8, Linh did not look back. Her improvisation of the melody and lyrics of the song Sao Anh Chang Ve (Why you don’t return) composed by Viet nam Idol judge, Quoc Trung and the final song of the night, Cam On Tinh Yeu (Grateful for Love), also moved judges and the audience alike.
Sheer love of singing
HCM City native Uyen Linh, 22, is a student of the Viet Nam Academy of Diplomacy and a former student of Le Hong Phong high school.
She was not a stranger to contests. She had advanced into the final of the show named Sao Mai Diem Hen (Morning Star – the Rendezvous) 2009 in the North, won special prizes for Student Voices “Soul of Melody” and in the English singing contest “Let’s Get Loud” in Ha Noi in 2008.
In 2008, she had auditioned for the second season of Viet Nam Idol but failed to make it through.
“I failed to win prizes in most contests. I joined them just for fun,” Linh told Viet Nam News in an online chat hosted by the Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper.
She said her strengths were a “strong voice” and the ability to sing “many genres of music.” Her favourite genre is RnB.
Linh was not born into a family of artists, and has not been schooled in vocal music, but this heterodox was able to awaken an interest in producing music that had gone into hibernation in musician Quoc Trung.
“The most important things for a singer are aesthetics and spirit that cannot be acquired by training, but you have a lot (of these qualities),” said Trung – a fastidious judge.
“I will make an album for you after this competition,” Trung said.
Asked about her choice between music and her academic pursuit, Linh said: “Everyone knows that a career selects the person and not the other way round. I am still young and I cannot turn my back on my indulgence – and that is music.
“When I sing, no matter how large or small the space, how many members of the audience there are, even if I sing alone, I can feel that I am who I am.”
Source: VNS
No comments