Many young artists on the Voice of Vietnam have selected English songs to perform, showing what some musicians consider a lack of national identity among both singers and audiences.
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| Candidates have the right to choose any songs they want, but the fact that so many pick English songs goes to show that modern Vietnamese music is not catching the ears of people |
The selection of English songs may be a way for young people to show their integration into the international music scene, she said, but added that, "Musicians in this country should be aware of their own musical heritage as well as the fact that singing songs not written in Vietnamese can be a task that is difficult and possibly not worth the effort."
"Also, performing songs in English does not necessarily mean that a singer can give an equal treatment to Vietnamese music. I really would not like if the first prize was given to a singer who sang in English because any Vietnamese artists should be aware of their musical background," she said, adding that young people are at risk of losing their own identity. English songs should not be blamed because audiences have a part in artists' choices, she said.
The musician Quoc Trung said, “The problem is that singing English songs are much easier to sing than Vietnamese songs because of the tones in the Vietnamese language. It's much harder to sing in Vietnamese songs with the proper annunciation. This requires good training and accents."
Certain musicians also shared his viewpoint about the trend, saying that Vietnam could turn into a "second Philippines" if singers continue to cover foreign music instead of creating their own identity.
About 36 English songs were performed at the Blind Audition round of Vietnam’s on-going the Voice, including Criminal (Britney Spears), Safe and Sound (Taylor Swift), Falling (Alicia Keys), Rolling in the deep (Adele), Hurt (Christina Aguilera), All by myself and I surrender (Celine Dion). Among these, one of the most impressive performances, according to many listeners, was by Huong Tram, with "I Will Always Love You", Dinh Huong with "Warwick Avenue", Tieu Chau Nhu Quynh, who performed "I Will Survive" and Bao Anh with "Safe and Sound".
