Singer-songwriter Mai Khoi will perform a solo concert at Hà Nội’s Heritage Space on Saturday.

Singer-songwriter Mai Khoi

Mai Khoi will sing 13 songs she wrote in different genres, such as folk blues, funky jazz and Latin pop. She will be accompanied by guitarist Linh Nguyen.

Songs such as March 31, You’ve Been A Bad Boy, Adam Was No Sinner and I’m A Woman in My Way, as well as Elder Sister and Young Sister and Tieng Long Toi (From My Heart), are based on the singer’s experiences and are inspired by her trips outside Vietnam.

The songs From My Heart and Elder Sister and Young Sister are the most impressive, according to Mai Khoi.

She wrote From My Heart after performing at a weekend fair in a park in Australia.

“At the fair, I sang Vietnamese songs in Vietnamese, not in English or French, and people stayed to listen,” Mai Khoi said.

“I saw people concentrating on my performance. They didn’t understand Vietnamese, but I thought they could feel the songs and understand their meaning through the rhythm and melody,” the singer said.

Elder Sister and Young Sister is based on a dream of two girls who wish for a world full of love, without jealousy and sex discrimination.

“There are many unrealised dreams in the song Elder Sister and Young Sister, which I know will raise controversy,” she said.

Mai Khoi’s concert will begin at 8pm at the Heritage Space.

Her song Vietnam won Song of the Year at the Bai Hat Viet annual television show in 2010.

VNS