Back in the 1990s, among Vietnamese female singers who sing in the particular genre of music known as, "Nhac Tre", popular music for the younger generation, the three hottest new rising stars were
Thanh Ha,
Tu Quyen and a singer that had left her home in Australia in 1991 to take up permanent residence in Southern California named
Ngoc Hue.
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| Ngoc Hue |
In the Vietnamese community of Australia, Ngoc Hue had already established a name for herself as a singer. Like
Cong Thanh & Lynn, the popular Australian/ Vietnamese married couple and singing duo prior to resettling here in the United States, Ngoc Hue had dreams of furthering her career as an overseas Vietnamese singer in the United States and was well aware of how much of a gamble that was at stake upon making the decision to leave the comforts of Australia's smaller, close-knit Vietnamese community and the challenges of having to start all over in a land faraway. With a total population that barely exceeds 150,000, the Vietnamese community of Australia is one of the most affluent and thriving communities of overseas Vietnamese in the entire world. The largest concentration of Vietnamese-Australians lies within the metropolitan area of Sydney also known as Little Saigon. It is in this community that houses a small yet vibrant Vietnamese entertainment industry where for many years, Ngoc Hue had enjoyed a singing career that consisted of steady work and a status of being one of its key players. An integral part of the Vietnamese community of Australia's performance arts industry included concert events that featured headlining overseas Vietnamese performers from other regions of the world, primarily the United States and France. At these shows, Ngoc Hue would share the stage with these headliners who had traveled to Australia from faraway. She would often spark the attention of some of the biggest names among Vietnamese entertainers that would tour in Australia. It was only a matter of time that Ngoc Hue would eventually make her way across the Pacific Ocean to Southern California, the region with the world's largest overseas Vietnamese population and considered as the unofficial capital of the Vietnamese entertainment industry. In 1991, Ngoc Hue's acceptance of an invitation to tour the United States which would ultimately lead to her decision of relocating here permanently came as of no accident, but as part of a long, anticipated dream of hers that was about to come true.
When she first arrived in the United States, Ngoc Hue was already prepped and poised for stardom. I remember then as a fan of Vietnamese entertainment how she had been welcomed in a manner quite similar to that of a proper Hollywood welcome, complete with the rolling out of the red carpet upon her arrival. Ngoc Hue was blessed with physical beauty, a trademark that is often regarded with equal if not greater weight than one's singing ability in the Vietnamese entertainment industry. Therefor, her pictures were soon enough blasted everywhere from magazine covers to flyers to even calendars. Almost immediately after her arrival, she could be seen doing interviews on television to promote her debut studio album. This would be followed with appearances on video, as she would grace the
Paris By Night stage along with making other appearances for
Nhat Ha Productions. It was evident that Ngoc Hue was definitely on her way. How big of a star she would become could only be determined by the audience along with the choices she would make for her future.
In a business as fickle as show business, no one can predict what lies ahead for the careers of each and every individual artist. Having been in the business, myself, I have learned that what can transform a performer into a star really all depends on a combination of three key factors. All 100% of these three key factors, in my opinion, are essential in turning a singer into a star. Anything short of that just won't do. Of course, one has to have talent. That is a given. And so, I'd say that talent would account for 50% of that formula. The next factor has to do with knowing the right people and having the right connections in order to acquire the proper exposure needed to promote one's self. Out of the two key factors left, I'd say that would account for 30%. Promotion is one very crucial aspect in turning a performer into a star. Think about it, a singer could have the best voice, but if the general audience was never able to hear his or her voice, how could that artist ever get anywhere? But even with the right amount of exposure and promotion needed, still there are no guarantees that an artist would become a star without the third key factor. And that would be luck, which would account for 20% to round out the completion of this equation. I've often wondered what was it that had stood in the way of Ngoc Hue becoming a big star in the ranks of
Luu Bich,
Y Lan, or even her two peers,
Thanh Ha and Tu Quyen. Ngoc Hue had gotten a head start years before the other two when she first came onto the scene back in 1991. Surely, she has the talent, as well as the stage presence, and as I had pointed out from the time when she first arrived here from Australia, she also had the connections with the right people to give her the initial exposure and promotion needed in order to boost her career, . If compared to Thanh Ha, it can be said that Ngoc Hue at first seemed like she had the upper hand given how she is full-blooded Vietnamese versus how Thanh Ha is not only racially mixed but also doesn't look at all Vietnamese, which can definitely be a disadvantage considering how conservative and homogeneous the Vietnamese culture is. I personally haven't experienced that myself, but it is an undeniable fact that many Eurasians and Amerasians have been targets of unjust discrimination in Vietnamese society. But I guess in Thanh Ha's case, the fact that she happens to be so beautiful, her being racially mixed with European blood seemed to have worked to her advantage and perhaps proven to be instrumental through her journey to stardom. In comparison to Tu Quyen, Ngoc Hue also has greater stage presence. Ngoc Hue's features are much more defined and striking whereas Tu Quyen has more of a passive, wholesome girl-next-door look. Yet by 1994, the year in which both Thanh Ha and Tu Quyen would be formally introduced onto the Vietnamese pop music scene, Thanh Ha first with her debut solo studio album recorded for Diem Xua Productions entitled,
Mot Doi Xin Nho Mai (The Power of Love), then Tu Quyen before the end of the year with her debut album backed by Eagle Productions,
Nu Cuoi Xa Vang, Ngoc Hue would be outshined by both of these new rising stars.
Perhaps it was the career choices that Ngoc Hue had made that had prevented her from becoming a superstar. Take for example, when Ngoc Hue had first started out she performed regularly at a nightclub in Orange County called the Can Club, which was also where Thanh Ha and myself had gotten our start. As Thanh Ha's popularity grew, she moved up to become a regular performer at the Diamond Club in Fullerton, then the Ritz and finally the Majestic Club until her busy touring schedule with out of town gigs became so full that she could no longer commit to any local nightclub as a regular weekly performer. When I first saw Tu Quyen perform in Orange County was on a night sponsored by Eagle Productions for her held at the Queen Bee nightclub sometime in the fall season of 1994. A little over a year after that, Tu Quyen would become a contracted regular performer at the Ritz nightclub in the summer of 1996. After a series of video appearances, just like Thanh Ha, Tu Quyen would also venture off to only touring at out of town gigs, which is far more lucrative than performing regularly at any local Orange County Vietnamese nightclub. This is often the case with a lot of Vietnamese singers once they become famous. Ngoc Hue, on the other hand, after releasing album after album and making video appearances on the Paris By Night stage, was still seen performing regularly at the Can Club by 1996. Although she was able to get bookings to perform for live shows across the United States, as well as abroad in Europe and back in her former residence, Australia, her touring schedule was not anywhere near as booked as some of the other popular Vietnamese singers in demand. Thanh Ha's rise to fame was as fast as a speeding bullet. From the moment her solo studio album was released by Diem Xua Productions, she became a hot commodity instantaneously with other Vietnamese music video production companies. Shortly thereafter, she could be seen on music videos produced by Diem Xua, Truong Thanh, and then ultimately as a contracted exclusive performer of Paris By Night produced by
Thuy Nga Productions. Tu Quyen had become the driving force behind Eagle Productions as her impressive record sales permitted the label to release a series of studio albums for the popular singer, while on video she would finally make her way to Paris By Night after several video appearances for
Van Son Entertainment and Tinh Productions. The fact that she was able to win the hearts of Vietnamese audiences with her signature rendition of a song called,
Nu Hong Mong Manh, didn't hurt her career, either. Long before either Thanh Ha or Tu Quyen had made their way onto the Paris By Night stage, Ngoc Hue had already made her Paris By Night video debut on volume 16 with a solo rendition of
Alan Nguyen's
Prisoner and in a duet with
Don Ho,
Hanh Phuc Trong Tim, back
in 1992. After several more times appearing on Paris By Night, Ngoc Hue faded into obscurity. Her career seemed to have hit the ceiling instantaneously and had allowed her to form her own label, Fame Productions. But after a series of mediocre albums and various recordings for other labels, it seemed as if Ngoc Hue's career could only at best remain stagnant from then on, and her production label would come to a close before it had even ever gotten itself off the ground.
I had worked alongside Ngoc Hue on several occasions, but never really got to talk that much with her. Unlike a lot of singers, she seemed a bit more reserved. During the course of several years since I first met Ngoc Hue, our total interactions were limited to just a casual hello and goodbye each time we were in the same room together. Although she was always pleasant, I can't say I knew much about her other than our brief greetings we would give to one another. When it came time for me to produce my album,
Ngay Em Di, I had been given the suggestion by others in the singing business that I should feature a song or two recorded by a singer whose name was more established to go along with my recordings in order for to make the album more marketable. Of course, Ngoc Hue's name had been mentioned as a possible suggestion. I was quite hesitant to ask her for the simple fact that I really didn't know her all that well. One of my biggest fears in life has always been rejection. I'd hate to think of how I would have handled it if Ngoc Hue had turned down my invitation to record a song for my album. And so, I waited and waited, which ultimately delayed the release of
Ngay Em Di.
The moment would finally come when I would muster up the courage to ask Ngoc Hue. We were about to perform together at an engagement at the Crystal Palace Casino in Gardena, California. During rehearsals with the band before the show, Ngoc Hue turned to look at me and gave me a compliment on how I sang
Crazy, a famous tune written by Willie Nelson and originally recorded by Patsy Cline . That was the first time we actually had a conversation that lasted longer than "Hello, how are you?" after five years that I had known her. I thought to myself, I better ask her now since I really don't have another five years to wait to release my next album. So I did. Luckily, she accepted.
While I was at the recording studio with Ngoc Hue, that was when she really earned my respect as an artist. I must say she is definitely a perfectionist. The recording session for Ngoc Hue with just one song,
Pho Xa, took a total of eight hours and countless takes and retakes. It wasn't because she couldn't get into the song. As a matter of fact, I felt that she had already nailed it the first time through. But being the perfectionist that she is, Ngoc Hue had to do it over and over again until her biggest critic, which happens to be none other than herself, was finally satisfied. And that was just with the primary vocals track which took up a good five hours. After that came the two tracks for background vocals that she would handle all by herself that took up the remaining three hours. Now that's impressive. I remember how
Tung Giang who was the recording engineer had grown really tired and sleepy after so many hours of this recording session. Both Ngoc Hue and I had noticed how his eyes had become so droopy, we suggested that he should take a break. I was about to fall asleep myself. But Ngoc Hue really amazed me as she got right back into the sound proof room with the remote control recording device in hand and proceecded to complete the recording of
Pho Xa all by herself. Now that's a trouper.
I couldn't have been happier when I heard the finished product of Ngoc Hue's recording of
Pho Xa, written by Le Quoc Thang, There wasn't a single flaw I could point out with Ngoc Hue's performance of that song. That was why I had chosen it to be the first song on the
Ngay Em Di album. Ngoc Hue was gracious enough to attend and perform at the CD release event I had put together held at the Majestic during November of 1999. After that, we worked with each other on a couple of occasions, but never really got as close to where I can say we were actually friends. I liked her. But to this day, I can't say I know much about Ngoc Hue.
It has been at least six years since I've heard anything about Ngoc Hue, and even longer since the last time I spoke to her. I've asked around and nobody seems to know her whereabouts. Recently I found her on Facebook, but the last time there had been any activity on her account was back in 2010. I came up with the same result searching her name on Youtube.com where the latest posting of Ngoc Hue was of a live performance she had done back in her old hometown of Sydney, Australia in 2010. From what I saw, she looked pretty much the same. Perhaps a little older, but still beautiful as ever. I hope everything is okay in her life. Too often, I've had reason to worry whenever any of my colleagues in the singing business had faded into obscurity. I certainly hope this is not the case with Ngoc Hue. If anyone out there knows, please notify me with either a comment or private message. I'm sure that many of her fans are equally concerned of her whereabouts and hope that she's doing okay.
Link(s):
Ngoc Hue - Pho Xa on YouTube
Update: Ngoc Hue has been found! Sometime in the afternoon yesterday while surfing the net, I stumbled across a thread on the MauTam.net forum which featured Ngoc Hue's latest interview. She's back in town. For a more detailed synopsis of the interview, click on the following link to read my article I had posted here on ThienPhu-VietSinger.BlogSpot.com.
(April 2, 2015)
Link(s):
Update on Ngoc Hue: She's Been Found!
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