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| Hot chocolate: Singer Doan Trang holds an irreplaceable position in audiences' hearts. — File Photo |
From her early years in singing, during her 20s, Vietnamese pop and Latin-influenced singer Doan Trang won listeners' acclaim with the song Khi Toi 20 (My 20s). Now in her 30s, Trang has sung the song again, but in English.
Trang is marking her decade of professional singing by creating something new and surprising for her audience. All of her hit songs have now been transcribed into English and performed with a Latin style.
Everyone says that Trang, the girl who loves to wear an ao dai (traditional long dress) with jeans and was given the name "Chocolate" because of the colour of her skin, wants to try her luck beyond the country's borders.
But Trang says that what she has done in her latest album, the Unmakeup, is a gift for local audiences.
When she participated in the Hattori Memorial Music Festival in Osaka in 2006, Trang won approval from foreign audiences there.
After the recent scandal in the media about Trang's miniskirt that she wore during a social outing, she wants more than ever to prove her real talent to the public.
Though there have been other singers with a Latin style, Trang, who graduated from the English Department of HCM City University of Foreign Languages and Technologies and the city's Music Conservatory, believes the new album and her renditions of songs will fire up audiences.
Several songs that have made her a well-known quantity composed by musicians Vo Thien Thanh, Quoc Bao and Luu Thien Huong are part of the album.
The slender singer started the project more than three years ago when she recorded her first English album in Germany with her team.
"It was the first time I had the pleasure to work with the all-German Band and with a talented sound engineer Sebastian in the famous city of Weimar," Trang recalled.
During the time in Germany, Trang had to get up at seven in the morning and work until 10pm every night.
Trang's manager, Cao Trung Hieu, her youngest brother, the person who always offers new ideas and consults on her singing style, named the album the Unmakeup.
"Don't misunderstand. This doesn't mean that I don't have my face made up or I am not well dressed while singing. What my youngest brother means is that we can find simplicity in each work of the album," she explained.
The entire album was made unplugged: no wires, strings, no electrical connections. It is simple and plain yet pleasurable and intricate once its core structure is dissected and explored.
Trang wrote one of the 10 songs, Cinderella, and performed with foreign musicians Roland Buettgen, Rainer Peter, Thomas Lieven and Vincent Nguyen. Though Trang sings of a fairy tale in her song, she gives it fire with a Latino music and singing style.
"I feel that my music and foreign language is mature when I work with a team of professional musicians," she said.
The fan of pop singers Shakira and Jennifer Lopez has released several albums, including Bon Mua Tinh Yeu (All Season Love), Chocolate, Socodance, Am Ban (The Negative) and Da Khuc (Serenade)
Trang is currently recording an album with songs combining modern and traditional styles, which will be issued in a few months.
Chocolate was born during a time when she was taking part in several musical competitions as a girl, which gave her more confidence to perform on the stage.
During her time in primary, secondary and high school as well as university, she was a key amateur singer at the schools.
At the age of 23, in 2001, she began her professional career after getting a second prize from HCM City Television's singing contest.
Friends say it's Trang's creativity and character that have brought her success and a stable position in Vietnamese show business.
Trang says she's happy with what she has achieved. Though she has never been listed among the top singers of the country, she is distinguished from others by her unique style.
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