Hoang Dung: One of the Most Recognizable Vietnamese Voices

Growing up without any brothers or sisters, I was fortunate to have found an adoptive family when I became a Vietnamese singer.  This family consisted of brothers and sisters who were also singers and, of course, Amerasian as well.  Jenny Trang was the first to welcome me into this family and to this day I still consider her as my sister.  Others included Dai Trang, Luu Quoc Viet, Ngoc Anh, Randy, Thanh Ha, Lam Minh, Lilian, Cathy Dung, Y Linh and Hoang Dung, who actually could pass as a biological brother to me.

The setting where we first met would be at a wedding of my stepfather's cousin in 1996.  The band that was playing that night was named Lucky Star.  I'd have to say this was one of the better bands at weddings.  The lineup of singers for the band included Marilyn Nhung, Chieu Phuong, Long Ho (Don Ho's younger brother) and Hoang Dung.  The singer that caught my attention the most was Hoang Dung.  He looked just like James Dean.

When we were introduced, I was a bit nervous.  I had recognized him on the covers of compact discs produced by Nguoi Dep Binh Duong.  When Jenny Trang introduced me to him, his reply to me was, "I'm your brother, Thien Phu."  Now how can anyone not like a cool guy like that?

In the months to come, my relationship with Hoang Dung would be like that of actual brothers. During the Thanksgiving weekend of that year, Hoang Dung and Jenny Trang performed in Atlanta. They both tried to get me to go on that trip with them, but I had a prior engagement in San Jose.  A few months later when it was my turn to perform in Atlanta, I remember from that trip was how everyone I had come across while in Atlanta kept raving about this handsome Amerasian singer named Hoang Dung that had brought the house down each time he came to Atlanta to perform.   The same folks would aslo ask me if I knew him personally and how they could go about to contact him so that he could return to Atlanta for another performance soon.  That made me feel really proud of this brother of mine.  During this time I would also learn that Hoang Dung's primary job was doing voice overs for Chinese dramas translated in Vietnamese.  In a sense, that would make his voice one of the most recognizable among Vietnamese voices.

Years later, when I was invited by Randy to perform with fellow Amerasian singer Ngoc Anh in Orlando, Florida for a show put together by Gia Dinh My Viet, I got Hoang Dung to come along.  Unfortunately, a series of events would take place that caused a misunderstanding between us.  Let's just say that alcohol had been involved.  That's a real shame, because Hoang Dung is really a great guy.  It's been a while since I've been in contact with him.  I just hope he's doing alright.