Dai Trang Featured on Viet Celeb

Dai Trang has definitely been one of the most successful overseas Eurasian Vietnamese singers ever since she first came onto the scene back in the early 1990s appearing on a string of Hollywood Night videos produced by May Productions.  She had started to make an impact in the overseas Vietnamese entertainment industry representing the Amerasian/Eurasian Vietnamese community before the likes of Thanh Ha and Phi Nhung had made their way.  It is my honor and privilege to feature Dai Trang on VietCeleb.BlogSpot.com.  For the tribute and bio of Dai Trang featured on Viet Celeb, click on the link below.  Our next Amerasian singers to be featured on VietCeleb will be Lilian and Randy.  Look for their upcoming bios and tributes that will be published at the beginning of next month.

Link:  

Dai Trang Bio on Viet Celeb

Danny Tuan - A Sight for Sore Eyes

Danny Tuan

When I first started out singing, there was this one particular singer, another fellow Amerasian by the name of Danny Tuan, that everyone was raving about just how gorgeous he was.  I remember the first time I was introduced to him was through a mutual friend, Perry Zeild, who had been the make-up artist to singers on Paris by Night.  The first thing that came to my mind was how everybody was right.  He is gorgeous.  He just looked like one of those guys on the cover of GQ Magazine.

For those of you who might not remember who Danny Tuan is, perhaps the following details will help remind you about this Chinese-Vietnamese Amerasian performer.  When Danny Tuan was first introduced onto the overseas Vietnamese entertainment scene, he had started out as a model on several of singer Nhat Ha's videos.  He was this dashing young fellow with striking European and Asian mixed features.  Shortly after, he had caught the eye of producer Le Ba Chu and signed with the Giang Ngoc label that would release three of Danny Tuan's solo studio albums.  Due to his popularity as a model in her videos, Nhat Ha had decided to include him on several other music video showcases as a singer.  Danny Tuan's most popular music video for Nhat Ha Productions was his cover of The Cascades' Rhythm of the Rain.  

I had met and spoken with Danny Tuan only a few times.  We weren't friends, but not enemies, either.  There was one thing that sort of bothered me when I first started singing.  And that was how I had been told that I look a lot like him and had even be mistaken for him several times.  As a singer, nobody ever likes to be mistaken for someone else.  Imagine how it feels after you've sung your heart out on stage just to be greeted by an audience member who calls you by another singer's name.  That has happened more than a few times.  It isn't the most gratifying experience.  I've even had that happen since I've set up my Facebook account.  One Facebook friend had sent me a private message once saying how she really loved watching me on video with the song, Rhythm of the Rain, for Nhat Ha Productions back in the day and had also enjoyed the songs I had recorded in Chinese, but was now really surprised that I could also sing in French.  It was obvious she had mistaken me for Danny Tuan, as well.  That really puzzles me, because frankly, I don't think Danny and I sound anything alike.  But now that I think about it, I'm rather flattered that people think I look like him.  He is afterall one very handsome guy.  Even if people said I looked like a less attractive version of Danny Tuan, I still take that as a compliment.  I remember on one occasion meeting Danny that I had told him how I've been mistaken for him.  He just laughed.  

It's been years since I've seen Danny Tuan or even heard of his whereabouts.  Sometime in the mid 1990s, all of the sudden he just disappeared from the Vietnamese music scene.  I guess with a lot of singers, he probably felt after a while in the spotlight that it had just gotten old and therefor decided to move on with his life.  The last I heard about Danny Tuan was from singer Thanh Ha about six years ago.  At the time when we spoke, she had said that a few years back she had run into Danny in Atlanta, Georgia at one of her shows.  Apparently, Danny had relocated to Atlanta and now lives somewhat of a quiet life there.  Even though I didn't know him that well, given how he is also Amerasian, I feel as if there is a certain kinship between us as I do with all other Amerasians, especially Amerasian performers such as myself.  I certainly wish him the best.


                                                                                                                 
Thien Phu

Look Who Has Made the List

Recently, Viet Celeb came out with a list called 50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time.  This list consists of the most beautiful Vietnamese actresses, singers, models and beauty queens.  Out of the 50 chosen women, 14 of them were either Amerasians or Eurasians.  The Amerasians and Eurasians include model Anh Duong, television news anchor Betty Nguyen, singer Dai Trang, French actress Dany Carrel, Italian cinema actress Diane Fleri, legendary Hollywood film and television actress France Nuyen, actress Jane March, the late Vietnamese singer Jeannie Mai, Vietnamese singer Julie Quang, French pop singer Leslie, Hong Kong and Hollywood film actress Maggie Q, winner of Revlon's Most Unforgettable Woman Award Mary Xinh Nguyen, Hollywood film and television actress Olivia Munn and singer Thanh Ha.  Amerasians and Eurasians are indeed some of the most beautiful people in the world.

Anh Duong

Betty Nguyen

Dany Carrel

Dai Trang

Diane Fleri

France Nuyen

Jane March

Jeannie Mai 

Julie Quang

Leslie

Maggie Q

Mary Xinh Nguyen

Olivia Munn

Thanh Ha

Link(s):

50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time

Thuy Hang, Remember Her?

There was a time during the 1990s that a fresh new face was just starting to make a huge splash in traditional Vietnamese popular music.  This singer was quite young.  So young that she wasn't even of legal age requirement to vote yet, much less work as a singer at nightclubs.  She was very pretty with fair-skinned complexion, chestnut hair and hazel eyes.  At first glance, most Vietnamese would not be able to tell that she is Vietnamese.  But when this teenage girl would open her mouth to let out just the first few words and notes of any of the songs she sang in Vietnamese, somehow everybody in her predominantly Vietnamese audience, whether it be at a venue or a viewer audience at some private residence watching the May Productions' Hollywood Night live show music video series on VHS back then, would all shut up as their jaws drop to the ground in amazement.  Now that's a difficult task to getting any group of Vietnamese folks to shut up at any given moment.  But this young 16 year old girl back then was able to do just that with her voice.  The singer I'm referring to here is Amerasian Thuy Hang back in the late 1990s.  Remember her?

During the latter part of the 1990s decade, Thuy Hang was the new singing sensation in the Vietnamese music industry.  If Ngoc Lan was dubbed as the queen of the Hollywood Night live show music video series back in the 1990s, Thuy Hang was undoubtedly the princess.  Her albums were selling like crazy at Vietnamese music stores all over the world.  Everywhere I had traveled to back then while I was on the road, I'd see posters and flyers with her photograph blasted as the headliner for an upcoming live concert show posted all over.  Whether I was in Chicago, Dallas, Canada or even Australia, I'd hear that Thuy Hang was either just about to appear in concert there or had just left there after a successful sold out performance.  She was definitely a hot commodity among Vietnamese entertainers then.

What was it about Thuy Hang that made her so special and had set her aside from the rest of Vietnamese singers at the time?  Was it her beauty?  Certainly, Vietnamese singers already have their fair share of beautiful women.  Was it because she was mixed?  Among Amerasian singers, there were already Thanh Ha and Phi Nhung just to name a few, not to mention Eurasian singers Luu Hong and Jeannie Mai who had come long before them.  It was the fact that Thuy Hang, this 16 year old girl, was born and raised in the United States to an Anglo-American mother and a Vietnamese father, yet was able to sing in not only Vietnamese, but traditional Vietnamese music.  Even I found her to be amazing when I saw her perform live.


I had only met Thuy Hang on a couple of occasions.  I wish I could have gotten to know her better back then mainly for two reasons.  The first being the fact that she spoke English like I do.  That time we had met during a flight from New Orleans to Atlanta I really enjoyed our conversation.  During my years working as a Vietnamese singer, it was rare whenever I ran into a colleague that had also grown up here in the States.  So when I met Thuy Hang, to be able to talk with one another as Americans was like a breath of fresh air.  I bumped into her on one other occasion.  It was in Dallas.  I had flown in to perform at some show for the Vietnamese-American Doctors' Association and she was there to perform for the Lunar New Year's Festival.  On both occasions, I found her to be quite lovely.  The other reason had to do with her being a fellow Amerasian.  I've always felt a kinship toward other Amerasians, especially other Amerasian singers.  Out of all the Amerasian singers I had met until Thuy Hang, I had always been the youngest.  I think Phi Nhung is only a year older than I am.  Most other Amerasians from Vietnam had been born in the 1960s.  I was born in 1972.  Thuy Hang didn't come from Vietnam and is nine years younger than myself.  But the fact that she was also Amerasian and a singer made me think of her as a little sister.

But just when it seemed she was at the brink of becoming a huge star in her singing career, Thuy Hang walked away from it all.  I had wondered what happened to her.  Then recently I came across Mr. Thang, the owner of May Productions.  From what he told me, Thuy Hang has now completed her studies and is a successful dentist.  I'm proud of her.  But I just wish she would consider going back to the singing profession.  She's still at an age where she can certainly make another go at it. If she would come back, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see her one day rise to the level of superstardom in the ranks of Huong Lan, Nhu Quynh and Phi Nhung.  

The First Amerasian Singer in the US

Tuan Kiet

Ever since the Vietnamese music industry has been established here in the United States, Amerasian and Eurasian singers have definitely played a viable part.  Among the Eurasian singers worth mentioning, of course, are Luu Hong, Julie Quang, Marie Louise, Quoc Anh, Christiane Le, Dung Thanh Lam, Pauline Ngoc, Jeannie Mai and others.  Among Amerasian singers, we have Thanh Ha, Phi Nhung, Randy, Lilian, Dai Trang, Jenny Trang, Phuong Thao, Danny Tuan and Thien Phu, myself even, and countless others.  But there had to be someone that was the very first, or the true pioneer Amerasian singer that really started it all for us in the Vietnamese music industry here in the United States.  That person happens to be a good friend of mine, an Amerasian singer based out of Minnesota by the name of Tuan Kiet. 

I first met this lad about a couple of years ago when he traveled to Southern California to perform for a show put together by my friend, Thanh Le, to benefit the disabled.  But we had become friends years before that.  It was kind of unusual how we became friends.  Sometime back in 2009, both he and I had been invited to perform for some show in Memphis, Tennessee.  Somehow the show never came to fruition.  That happens in this line of business.  Every once in a while we run into show promoters that can be rather flaky.  They'll call up a bunch of singers, print up the posters and then cancel on us right before the day of the show.  Like I said, it happens.  That's just the way it goes. 

Another singer that was supposed to perform on that particular that never happened in Memphis, Tennessee was my good friend, Jenny Trang.  It was through Jenny that I got to know Tuan Kiet.  We were on the phone one day and she put Tuan Kiet on and the three of us were talking on three-way calling.  Soon after, Tuan Kiet and I became friends as we would contact one another often.  I later found out that his aunt is the legendary Vietnamese singer, My Hang, whom I adore and have met quite a few times through Julie Quang.  Actually, I even worked with My Hang once at some show put together by Linda Go-Go and her husband down in San Diego.  I also would learn through the course of our friendship about Tuan Kiet's impressive long resumé as a Vietnamese singer.  Since he had first arrived to the United States in 1979, one of the first Amerasians to come over under the Amerasian Homecoming Act, he became the first Amerasian singer for the Vietnamese community here in the United States when he started his singing career way back in the early 1980s during his years in college.  That's another accomplishment of his, Tuan Kiet is also a college graduate with a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota.  As a Vietnamese singer, Tuan Kiet has worked with an impressive long list of some of the best among overseas Vietnamese singers including Huong Lan, Khanh Ly, Ngoc Lan and Cong Thanh and Lynn, just to name a few.  I just couldn't wait to meet this guy.

Tuan Kiet and I had developed a strong friendship through our telephone conversations through the years but had yet to meet.  We both had tried on several occasions to meet up.  It was either I would have to meet up with him over in Minnesota or he would have to travel over here to California and meet up with me.  Of course, we could also meet up during a show if we were to be both booked to perform together.  Tuan Kiet was sweet enough to try to get me booked on a few shows in Minnesota, but through no fault of his own those bookings didn't end up happening.  I also did the same for him, vice versa, on shows that I had been booked on for Gia Dinh My Viet to benefit Amerasians in Vietnam.  We also had no such luck through my attempts. 

It got to the point that we both realized just how awkward it was how we both had considered ourselves to be such good friends, yet we hadn't even met in person.  Finally at the beginning of 2013 after all those unsuccessful attempts we had each made to meet up by trying get the both of us booked to perform on the same shows, we both decided that no matter what we would meet up in the summer of that year.  Tuan Kiet agreed that he would come to California during the summer to see me.  I was really excited.  But then as luck would have it, sometime in the spring that year Tuan Kiet called me up one day to let me know he had just been invited to perform out in Southern California at the Saigon Performing Arts Theater on a show put together by Thanh Le to benefit disabled people.  That's when I found out that he, himself, was also disabled.  It had never occurred to me to ask before.  But in fact, my friend, Tuan Kiet, had been stricken with polio at an early age and resorts to the usage of crutches in order to walk.  Just by talking to him, nobody would ever even think that he had any physical handicaps.  He's just so positive.  And when he sings, he just puts everyone into a trance with his magnificent voice, I would later discover. 

The day that Tuan Kiet arrived here at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, I had promised to pick him up.  When I got to the airport, despite how we each had seen photographs of one another, we still had trouble spotting each other out among the crowd of airport travelers.  From what Tuan Kiet said, he saw me pass by him several times but at first glance thought I was some Caucasian guy.  According to Tuan Kiet, I don't even look one bit Vietnamese at all in person.  Finally, I had to use my cell phone to call him up to see just where he was at the airport.  After I dialed the number, I could hear the phone ring somewhere nearby, which means Tuan Kiet was standing within my proximex.  When I heard him say hello, I turned to look over and there he was.  That's when he told me how he had seen me all this time, but didn't approach me because he thought I was some White dude.  Now, even I thought that was funny. 

At Thanh Le's show at the Saigon Performing Arts Theater, out of all the singers there such as Thanh Lan, Quoc Anh, Lilian and Phuong Thao, it was Tuan Kiet's performance that really stood out for me.  He really impressed me.  He performed a medley of French songs together with Thanh Lan and Quoc Anh.  Of course, Thanh Lan and Quoc Anh both did a fine job.  Afterall, they are veteran performers who have reached legendary status.  But when Tuan Kiet started to chime in with the first few lines of Viens M'embrasser in his duet with Thanh Lan, I was completely in awe.  This guy's voice is just beyond breathtaking.  And his pronunciation in French, well, uh, coming from such a critic as myself, it is quite a compliment for me to say that I was truly impressed.  Like Khanh Ly had said once about Tuan Kiet, "When you listen to him sing, his voice just makes you forget that he is disabled.  I'll have to agree with her. 

After his performance at the Saigon Performing Arts Theater, I took Tuan Kiet out and spent the night carousing around various hangouts around the Little Saigon community.  We had a blast.  Every bar we had hit that night, both he and I would get up and sing.  Audiences just loved his voice.  Together, we were a hit.  Yes, even I got a few compliments for my singing that night, as well. 

It has been almost two years since then.  We still keep in contact through our telephone conversations.  He's really an all-around great guy.  At times I feel as if I've known him all my life.  I really look forward to our next meeting together, which I'm hoping will be sometime in the very near future. 

Thanh Ha and Phi Nhung Bios on Viet Celeb

Thanh Ha

Phi Nhung

Here are two of the most celebrated divas of Vietnamese popular music who happen to also be Amerasians.  I'm very proud of these two artists.  As an Amerasian, it is encouraging to see how these two have defied the odds in an often conservative culture to make it to the very top.  All I can say to these two divas is keep going.  Whenever I see how they shine, it is a victory shared by all Amerasians and Eurasians.  To read their bios and tributes on VietCeleb.BlogSpot.com, click on the following links.

Link(s):

Thanh Ha Bio and Tribute on Viet Celeb
Phi Nhung Bio and Tribute on Viet Celeb

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.

Review of Thanh Ha's One Night Engagement Live Show Performance in OC

It is quite rare among Vietnamese singers to ever do either a live show or concert where he or she would be the sole performer of the event.  It has happened before, but only by a select few.  I've had the pleasure of watching Bach Yen, Khanh Ly, Khanh Ha, and Julie Quang perform in such shows in the past.  This time it was none other than Thanh Ha.  And I couldn't have been more delighted.

Thanh Ha has been an icon and one of the top performers among overseas Vietnamese singers for the past 20 years.  Almost overnight, she had become a singing sensation in 1994 with the release of her first solo studio album, Mot Doi Xin Nho Mai (Remembering for a Lifetime), released by Diem Xua Productions.  Since then, she has recorded many more albums, appeared on numerous videos for Thuy Nga Paris and Asia Productions, and has performed all over the world.  It is of no surprise she would have a large following of fans today.

The setting for Thanh Ha's one woman show was at a small, intimate club called Lac Cam in Westminster, California, right in the heart of Little Saigon on this past January 1st.  When she first got on stage, her speaking voice was a bit hoarse.  She had confessed that she had been touring quite extensively during this holiday season and had caught a cold.  But when she began to sing, her voice was as powerful and clear as ever.  One song right after another from Hoi Nguoi Tinh (Oh Lover), The Power of Love, Nao Biet Nao Hay (Qui Sais), Tinh Khuc Thu Nhat (The First Composition), Mua Tren Bien Vang (Je Ne Pourrais Jamais T'oublier) to Nua Hon Thuong Dau (Half a Lifetime of Heartbreak), she mesmerized the audience with her soulful, rich singing voice.  Thanh Ha looked as gorgeous as ever.  It seems as if time has stood still for this veteran performer.

The packed audience at this small venue all stayed, as no one left until Thanh Ha sang her very last note of the night.  That just goes to show how amazing she is as an entertainer.  The next time she performs in town again, I'll be sure to be there to watch her again.  Although she had performed a total of 15 songs that night at least, I still didn't get enough of Thanh Ha.  And neither did the rest of the audience.  They along with myself will all come back to see her perform again, I'm sure.

Thanh Ha, Thien Phu and the rest of our friends on January 1, 2015 at Lac Cam.

Amerasian Singers on Pinterest

We cordially invite you to check out and follow our board on Pinterest, entitled Amerasian Singers. Up next will be our Facebook page.  Thank you for your viewership.  We really appreciate the mail we've been receiving.  On one letter, someone said that our website gave him a sense of pride.  That meant a lot.  This was the reason why I set up this site in the first place.

Thanh Ha on Amerasian Singers

Lilian

While Thanh Ha and Phi Nhung were still in Vietnam back in the 1980s, Lilian was already doing her own thing here in the States, wowing audiences with her incredible voice at her live performances. The first time I ever saw Lilian perform on stage was way back in 1987 at a Vietnamese nightclub in in Orange County called Club Rex.  I was only about 14 at the time, and somehow was snuck in by my older cousins through a back entrance.  Once I got in and was able to see the line-up of live musical performers, I was completely impressed by one singer in particular, Lilian.  I just couldn't get over just how much energy Lilian had as a live performer.  It was during the time when Euro New Wave and Italo Disco music was really popular.  Lilian sang songs like You're My Love, You're My Life, Heartflash Tonight, Heaven and Hell, and Say You'll Never perfectly, some she sang even better than the original artists.  She definitely stood out from the rest of the Vietnamese performers for several reasons like her high energy style of performing, her gestures and dance moves that were typical of a Westerner unlike most other Vietnamese singers at the time, and the most obvious distinguishing factor about Lilian, how she didn't look at all Vietnamese due to her mixed background as an Amerasian.

After that first night seeing Lilian perform live at Club Rex, I searched everywhere hoping to buy Lilian's cassettes without much luck.  Some of the Vietnamese music stores I went to didn't even know who she was.  Finally, I think it was either at Bich Thu Van in Phuoc Loc Tho (Asian Garden Mall) or at Tu Quynh on Bolsa and Brookhurst in Westminster where I found a few compilation cassettes consisting of various other Vietnamese recording artists that had featured Lilian with only a song or two.  The quality in the production of these cassettes were pretty much forgettable.  I remember two tracks Lilian had recorded in particular that I had found to be really enjoyable to listen to; a cover she had done of CC Catch's Heaven and Hell, which was a track where Lilian had made a guest appearance on an album of a French-Vietnamese singer named Yen Huong, and another Euro New Wave cover of CC Catch's that she recorded with the worst title imaginable, You Shot a Whole in My Soul.  I was already hooked on Lilian from that first time I saw her perform live.  I just couldn't wait for her to come out with more recorded songs, preferably an album of her own, one of these days.

In 1993, my good friend, hairstylist and make-up artist, Perry Zeild, invited me to accompany him and singer Kieu Nga at a shooting of a music video production at the Ritz Nightclub in Anaheim. When I walked in, I saw this beautiful tall girl.  I asked Perry if that was a singer that used to sing at Club Rex by the name of Lilian.  Perry said yes.  I couldn't believe it.  It had been years since I had been to any Vietnamese nightclub and I hadn't heard or seen anything of Lilian's out in the market. That was when I found out through Perry that Lilian had been performing regularly at the Ritz all these years after Club Rex had closed down.  I remember asking Perry if he knew whether Lilian was Amerasian or not.  He gave me a puzzled look while he shook his head and said, "I can't believe you of all people can't tell that she's a halfie."  By the way, that was when Lilian shot the music video to Finally for Shotguns Productions.

Lilian would be formally introduced to the Vietnamese general audience the following year when she signed with Sao Dem Productions that would produce many of her solo studio albums throughout the 1990s.  I then started going to Ritz quite often just to watch Lilian perform.  I really loved watching her, especially whenever she would sing What's Up?  It wouldn't be for another couple of years when I finally got to know her through a mutual friend, singer Cathy Dung.  And then another few more years before I would get to work with her on several shows, as well as singing alongside her on a few occasions at the Can Club and the Majestic.  All I can say about Lilian is she is just one awesome person.  We've known each other now for nearly 20 years, and I've never once had a disagreement with her.  That's really saying something for anyone who has known me for that long.  Lilian has been like a big sister to me.  I'm not sure if she is 5 or 6 years older than myself.  But what does it matter?  She still looks great after all these years.  I truly cherish our friendship.  And I hope that we will be able to work together again in the near future.  Lilian is just the best!

Thanh Ha

My Friendship with Thanh Ha

Thanh Ha is perhaps the most successful Amerasian singer out there.  I remember the first time I met this beautiful girl was in 1994.  At the time she was singing at a club called the Can Club in Garden Grove.  I was really surprised to see this blonde girl sing in Vietnamese.  To me, she looked like Michelle Pfeiffer.  The funny thing was neither one of us knew we were Vietnamese upon meeting one another.  I remember the song she sang that night was "Autumn Leaves".  I came up and did a French song called, "Adieu, Sois Hereuse".  We talked for a bit and didn't really become close friends until years later.  I guess you can say that right then and there I knew she was going to make it big. 

It wasn't until 2008, when we ran into each other again at a restaurant in Newport Beach, Kitayama.  I was working as a bartender there at the time.  She walked in with a group of friends and we instantly recognized each other.  I was about fifty pounds overweight then.  She looked at me and said, "Thien Phu?"  I said, "Yes, I know I got fat."  She said, "No, you look great."  We exchanged phone numbers and for a while, we were rather close friends.  Everywhere we went together, people would think we were brother and sister.  Thanh Ha is actually three years older than myself.  She's part-German.  I'm part-Swedish.  For some reason, people would often ask if I was her older brother.  Well, maybe that has to do with the fact that she looked younger than I did when I was experiencing the weight gain.  But things have changed since then.  Although she still looks great, I think since I've lost the weight, I don't look as old anymore. 

During the course of our friendship, I must say something about Thanh Ha.  And that is, she's definitely a professional.  She's pretty much a no-nonsense kind of girl.  She says it like it is.  Whenever she hear me sing on stage, she'd tell me what were my faults and if I did well, she'd say so.  Never is she the type that would sugar coat anything.  I like that about her.  Thanh Ha is also very family-oriented.  One thing she has always told me, whenever I've gone through bad times is, "Think about your mom first, before you decide anything." 

Unfortunately, we don't keep in contact that much these days.  After we had some misunderstanding after a show she had invited me to in San Jose, our friendship sort of drifted.  Since then, we've only seen each other again once.  We've talked on the telephone, of course.  And I still consider her as a close friend.  She will always be like a sister to me, regardless.  One thing I must appreciate about our friendship is that regardless of whatever happened, I have never heard her say one bad thing about me and the same vice-versa.  Afterall, we are adults. That's really all I can say about Thanh Ha.  I love her very much and I'm glad to see that she's still very active in the singing business.  I do know that someday we'll be friends again.

Thanh Ha Link(s):

Thanh Ha on Facebook