Looking All-American and Singing for All-Vietnamese

Anyone who is either old enough to have lived through the Vietnam War or is from Vietnam would be familiar with the term, Amerasian.  Of course, I'm referring to Vietnam War babies of racially mixed parentage.  In Vietnamese, the given term is con lai, which literally means "half breed child".  There are about 60,000 Amerasians from the Vietnam War.  I'm an Amerasian, myself. 

Whenever the subject of Amerasians is touched upon, automatically a sad image of abandoned, mistreated children of American GIs that were left behind in Vietnam comes about and how they had to face the hardships of growing up fatherless, in some cases even motherless, as well, in a homogeneous oppressive society where they were often the targeted victims of racism and social injustice.  We've all heard the countless horror stories told by the Amerasians and their experiences in Vietnam.  The American mainstream mass media has also done its fair share to bring light to these atrocities.  From the American mainstream's standpoint, some were deeply affected when they first became aware of the difficult circumstances that these children of American servicemen had to face in Vietnam when, as a matter of fact, they are Americans by law.  I doubt that the intentions behind the media covering this issue were to seek pity for Amerasians, but in the end the outcome was just that. The responses from viewers and/or readers of such articles and features on Amerasians varied from "I am so sorry for what they've been through" to "Shame on those racist Vietnamese!  Why should them yellow folks be racist to Amerasians, yet come to America expecting equality?" and of course,  "I just saw my daughter for the first time on that television program."  These were the letters I had read, forwarded, and replied to when I was a volunteer worker at Amerasian Services Organization.  Occasionally, we even received hate mail from both mainstream America, as well as the Vietnamese-American community.  A few mainstream American viewers found these mass media features as ammunition to further their hatred toward the Vietnamese race for being racist toward Amerasians.  And several Vietnamese-Americans even responded with their disapproval of how the Vietnamese race had been portrayed unfairly and erroneously for being racists.  As one Vietnamese-American viewer had put it, "Vietnamese people are not racist.  That is not in our culture.  We just don't like how all these children had mothers that were prostitutes who had babies with American GIs, especially with Black American men."  Some letters were just downright vicious and written in extreme poor taste. While others I had to just laugh off,  and consider them as humorous. 

Was the purpose of these Amerasians coming forward and sharing their stories to seek pity?  Absolutely not.  I do know about the racism that Amerasians faced in Vietnamese society.  I have seen the struggles some of my fellow Amerasians have had to go through, and I've listened to many of them share with me their own personal stories.  Luckily, I hadn't experienced the same hardships that many of my fellow Amerasian friends had to endure in Vietnam, since I was fortunate enough to have been able to leave Vietnam shortly after the Fall of Saigon and my mother and I had resettled abroad while I was still at a very young age.  But because I am also Amerasian, I certainly can empathize when I hear other Amerasians share their stories.   I am easily moved by them.  With each Amerasian's story that has been told to me, I can't help but think to myself, "That could have been me."  It's a reminder for me of how blessed I have been for having had the opportunity to come live in America at a young enough age so that it was still possible for me to acquire my command of the English language and speak English like a native.  For some unexplained reason, whenever I come across another fellow Amerasian, I sense a connection as if they were all my siblings.  I can't explain it.  But it's like we are kindred spirits, I suppose.  But I've noticed this with others, as well, and not just myself.  For some umysterious reason, Amerasians upon meeting one another for the first time instantaneously will develop a bond, as if we had known each other our entire lives.  Why is there this innate bond among us Amerasians?  

Lilian - Pioneer Amerasian Singer
 of the Overseas Music Industry

When I entered the singing profession in the Vietnamese community, a slew of other Amerasian singers also started to appear onto the scene.  Growing up, there was one Amerasian singer who had made her mark by the name of Lilian.  I remember the first time I saw Lilian perform was at a club in Orange County called Club Rex along with another Amerasian singer named Kathy Dung.  I was then just seventeen years old.  The way that these two girls looked on stage made them stand out from the rest of the Vietnamese singers that night.  Lilian's explosive voice and high energy performance brought the house down.  When I came by to say hi to the both of them, a simple hello led to a warm hug which only further supports my theory of this mysterious bond we Amerasians have for one another.  Years later, I would become close friends with both of these Amerasian singers.  As far as Amerasian singers go, Lilian and Kathy Dung should be given credit as the pioneers of Amerasian singers in the overseas Vietnamese music industry.  I had heard of two other Amerasian singers that had made their mark back in Vietnam.  The first being a singer named Kim Anh who had achieved national fame in the 1980s but was shot to death by her jealous husband at the peak of her career.  The other was Phuong Thao who continued to live in Vietnam for many years passing up the chance to come live in the United States under the Amerasian Homecoming Act.  In recent years, she would change her mind and relocated to the United States, but has since hardly participated much in her music career. 

Jenny Trang and Thien Phu

This slew of Amerasian singers I was talking about who first came onto the scene in the overseas Vietnamese music industry during the 1990s included Randy, Phi Nhung, Thanh Ha, Luu Quoc Viet, Hoang Dung, Ngoc Anh, Dai Trang, Danny Tuan, Lam Minh, Thuy Hang, Y Linh, Jenny Trang, and myself, Thien Phu.  Having worked with, thus becoming friends with this group of talented Amerasian singers was like gaining a whole new family of brothers and sisters.  Through these fellow Amerasian singers, I've learned more about the hardships they each faced having grown up in Vietnam being racially mixed.

The first close friendship I was able to form with another Amerasian singer was with Jenny Trang.  Most people might recognize Jenny Trang for her portrayal of Amerasians in her song, Kiep Con Lai, for May Productions.  Though Jenny's father was an African-American servicemen, I never really saw much of a difference between us.  We spent so much time travelling around the United States together, performing at shows, sharing hotel rooms, we were very much like brother and sister.  Jenny was blessed with an incredible, electrifying voice.  On every show that we had performed together, Jenny would have the ability to mesmerize the audience with her powerful stage presence

Thien Phu and the Late Luu Quoc Viet

and husky singing voice.  I really thought she was on her way to superstardom.  But in the middle of it all, Jenny, sometime in the late 1990s after releasing her first solo album, decided to settle down and get married to an Anglo-American fellow by the name of John.  Today, she is still happily married to John, who speaks Vietnamese just as well as any native speaker, and is the mother of three beautiful young daughters. 

Through Jenny Trang, I became good friends with another Amerasian singer, Dai Trang.  It's rather hard to believe, but Dai Trang and I have maintained our friendship for more than twenty years now.  Not only am I close with Dai Trang, but I also consider her husband, Chau, as an adoptive older brother.  Out of all my Amerasian friends, I must say that Dai Trang is the most driven.  Throughout the course of our friendship, Dai Trang has managed to have a successful singing career, become a wife and mother, earn an MBA degree at UC Irvine, and also become a successful businesswoman running several different businesses with her husband.  As I've always said, it's hard to keep up with Dai Trang.  She's always running, while the rest of us are walking.

Thanh Ha

Dai Trang

Randy

There are two Amerasian singers that I must give credit to for helping me regain interest in singing.  Because of some personal matters, I had purposely put my career on hold and went on a seven years long hiatus from 2001-2008.  When I attended the funeral of a good friend, fellow Amerasian singer, Luu Quoc Viet, in 2008, I ran into Randy.  During this brief reunion for the two of us, Randy invited me to perform on a show in Oklahoma City, some benefit for Amerasians.  This would be the first time I would walk on stage in seven years.  Thanks to Randy, I was again bitten by the singing bug.  Right around this time, I would also be reunited with another Amerasian singer friend, Thanh Ha.  One thing I've always liked about my friend, Thanh Ha, is that she always tells it like it is.  While everyone else wouldn't have the heart to tell me I had gained too much weight, Thanh Ha sat me down once and said, "Listen to me, Thien Phu, if you really want to go back into singing, since you still can sing, the first thing you must do is lose weight."  When Thanh Ha and I first were reunited after so many years, I weighed at 236 pounds.  I know I had put on weight.  But I didn't realize the severity of it, until someone had to tell me.  Thanh Ha helped push me with the determination I needed to lose all that weight.  We became even closer than before.  But after a period of a couple years, our lives caused a distance in our friendship.  No matter what, I still consider her a good friend to this day.  The image I have of Thanh Ha will always remain as a beautiful Amerasian girl who at one point was like a sister to me. 

I can honestly say I've been fortunate not to have faced such discrimination being an Amerasian singer for Vietnamese audiences.  The singing profession has allowed to meet many incredible people, in particular other Amerasians.  While I'm aware that discrimination toward Amerasians from both Vietnamese, as well as from mainstream Americans do exist, I'm a bit puzzled as to why there is such discrimination especially from Vietnamese.  After all, before there were us Amerasians, there were Eurasians from the French colonial era.  I've met and worked with quite a few during all my years as a Vietnamese singer.  Among these Eurasians from the French colonial era, there have been Luu Hong, Dung Thanh Lam, the late Cai Luong performer and film actor, Jeannie Mai, my late aunt, Pauline Ngoc, Marie Louise, Christiane Le and Julie Quang, whose father was a French national of Indian origin.  So when you think about it, Vietnamese people are not that homogenous as a race.  There have been interracial Vietnamese people for centuries.  What's so new and shocking with Amerasians?  We clearly are in existence.  Get used to it, because we're not going anywhere anytime soon. 

Thien Phu Biography Part Two by Anonymous Contributing Author and Myself

With the encouragement from several Vietnamese singers he had befriended, particularly Julie (Julie Quang) and the late Anh Tu, Thien Phu decided to record his first CD sometime in the mid 1990s. What would take a total of almost 2 years to produce in which Thien Phu had collaborated with some of the biggest names among Vietnamese musicians including the late legendary, Tung Giang, Alan Nguyen and Sy Dan would finally be released under the label, Bien Tinh Productions, in the spring of 1998, entitled Tiec Nho (Missing). This album would also feature tracks recorded by 3 other contributing fellow artists:  Julie, Anh Tu, and Thai Thao. This debut album for Thien Phu sold quite well within the overseas Vietnamese communities worldwide. Part of its success had to do with the heavy rotation of airplay that had been given to several of the tracks Thien Phu had recorded on the album, in particular a cover of a Jacques Brel penned, timeless classic, Ne Me Quitte Pas.  Pham Long, a well known radio personality for Little Saigon Radio Broadcasting Network, had taken an instant liking to Thien Phu's version of the song, in which Thien Phu had recorded in both the original lyrics in French, as well as the translated Vietnamese lyrics written by the late legendary Vietnamese composer, Pham Duy. Soon after, other Vietnamese language radio programs would also began giving airplay for Thien Phu's recorded songs from this debut album. The airplay would reach Vietnamese audiences in the 3 major regions with the highest Vietnamese populations of the United States; Orange County in Southern California, San Jose in Northern California, and Houston, Texas, giving Thien Phu a much wider exposure to the Vietnamese music scene. That along with a series of radio interviews and several appearances on Vietnamese language produced television shows to further promote the album greatly enhanced Thien Phu's popularity as a singer. Among other tracks on the album included covers of French popular songs such as Aline, Magic Boulevard, both of which were recorded by Thien Phu and the Edith Piaf signature classic, La Vie En Rose, recorded by Julie (formerly known as Julie Quang) in an upbeat, modified new up-tempo arrangement by Sy Dan.

After the release of Tiec Nho, Thien Phu embarked on a busy touring schedule performing at live shows for Vietnamese audiences throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Europe and Australia. The success of this debut album was what prompted Bien Tinh Productions to put together a sold-out show held at the Majestic Nightclub in Orange County to formally introduce Thien Phu to the Vietnamese audience of the Little Saigon community. It was during the night of that performance when Thien Phu first accepted the invitation from New York Night Productions to make his debut appearance on music video.

As a follow up after his debut album, Bien Tinh Productions had planned a duet album with Thanh Ha for Thien Phu. For a recording artist recently introduced onto the Vietnamese pop music scene such as Thien Phu, to be paired up with another artist of Thanh Ha's caliber at the time would be a highly anticipated opportunity. However, due to scheduling conflicts, the project was ultimately cancelled. This was a major setback for Thien Phu. On an interview for VOV Radio on 96.7FM, Thien Phu said, "I was really looking forward to working with Thanh Ha. Think about it, a duet album featuring two Amerasian singers together. But I understand that she was under contract with Thuy Nga at the time and couldn't commit to another production label. It would have been a great experience since not only was [Thanh Ha] one of my favorite singers, she was also my friend."

Several offers from various Vietnamese labels would pour in for Thien Phu to make his next album toward the end of 1998. But Thien Phu had turned each one of them down because he had wanted complete artistic control. During this time, Thien Phu was mourning the loss of one of his closest friends, singer and owner of Empire Nightclub in Dallas, Texas, Michelle Diem My, who had died mysteriously in a fire during the summer of 1998.

"Losing Michelle [Diem My] was like losing a sister. We were so close, like brother and sister. Everywhere she and I travelled to together to do our live shows, because we were so close, we often shared the same bed. It was shocking to lose such a good friend that unexpectedly.

"I remember the day I received the chilling news that she had just died. I was in Vietnam on a trip with singer Julie Quang and Bébé Hoang Anh, Viet Dzung's wife. Michelle had originally planned to go with us on this trip. But just three days before we were all supposed to meet up in Los Angeles to board the plane together, she called me on the telephone to say she wouldn't be able to make the trip. And then the next thing I knew, early one morning while in Vietnam we receive a telegram from Viet Dzung saying Michelle had just been killed in a fire", said Thien Phu.

"I couldn't believe it. I thought, this must have been some joke. But when Bebe looked at me and said that since Michelle was Viet Dzung's cousin, he of all people would know and that this was no joke, I just started to cry helplessly."

In mourning over the untimely death of one of his closest friends, Thien Phu managed to turn the devastation into inspiration for his next studio album, Ngay Em Di, literally translated to "The Day You Left". Thien Phu's second album would be released in the fall of the following year to round out the decade. Like his debut album, the release of Ngay Em Di would also be followed by a sold out show held at the Majestic, hosted by Viet Dzung.

Unlike the previous album with all the backings from Bien Tinh Productions, Thien Phu's sophomore effort was a project he decided to produce and release himself. Sales of Thien Phu's second album failed to match the success of the previous debut album. Nevertheless, he would continue to tour extensively for the next couple of years.

The beginning of the new millennium for Thien Phu was met with a series of tragedies in his personal life. In 2000, Thien Phu experienced the death of his grandmother, Marie Nguyen, to whom he was rather close to.

"My grandmother was very influential in my life. She was very strong. When I think about it, it was probably she who had given me the encouragement and mental support that I needed to become an entertainer," he said.

Marie Nguyen, Thien Phu's grandmother, had been a well respected businesswoman from Saigon, South Vietnam. She had been owner of the famous Au Ma Cabane Cabaret Nightclub in Saigon that featured nightly live entertainment from some of the biggest names among Vietnamese singers. Among the list of regular performers at Au Ma Cabane were Thai Thanh, Thanh Lan, Jo Marcel, Duy Quang, Giao Linh and the late Jeannie Mai, who was also Thien Phu's aunt at one point by marriage. In a sense, it can be said that Thien Phu had come from a showbiz family.

Following the death of his grandmother, Thien Phu was met with yet another blow the following year with the passing of one of his idols, singer Ngoc Lan. But another tragedy would be in store for Thien Phu, less than 2 years after when singer Anh Tu suddenly passed away on December of 2003. Anh Tu had been one of the most influential people in Thien Phu's life, as well as in his career. It was all too much for Thien Phu to take, and consequentially prompted his decision to leave the singing business.

"I really don't deal well with death, I've noticed. Some people can do it. But for me, I can't just pick up the pieces after the loss of someone dear to me and just move on like nothing has ever happened. When Anh Tu passed, I felt as if I was all alone in the world. For so long, I had relied heavily on his guidance with my singing career. Since his passing, I felt like nobody was there to critique me each time I got on stage. It was if I no longer had a purpose to sing," said Thien Phu.

Thien Phu then decided to leave his singing career and focused into returning to college. He found work as a bartender at a high end sushi restaurant in Newport Beach while he successfully completed his studies earning a degree in English at Cal State Lon Beach. Although he was content with his life away from the spotlight as a singer, momentarily Thien Phu would find himself reminiscing of his past in the field of entertainment. There was definitely something missing in his life.

After a 7 years hiatus, Thien Phu would make his return to the stage. This came about after meeting up with a former colleague, singer Randy, while Thien Phu attended the funeral of another colleague and old friend, singer Luu Quoc Viet, in the spring of 2008. After an exchange of phone numbers, Randy telephoned Thien Phu with an invitation to perform at a sold out show for Amerasians in Oklahoma City. A series of other live performances would quickly follow including a successful engagement in Paris, France during the summer of 2009. And Thien Phu, once again, had been caught with the singing buzz.

Recently, Thien Phu has completed shooting a pair of music videos for Viet Star Productions. He is currently also working on a new solo album that should be out later in 2014.

"It's great to be back after so many years away from the spotlight. I've realized one thing, and that is... I really love to sing. It's such a rush how I get to wear beautiful clothes and perform on stage for people everywhere. I just love it. Come to think of it, there's nothing else I'd rather do than sing. Without it, I'd probably be dead."