VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese-American singer Khanh Ly will stage her first live show in HCM City this Friday, after leaving Viet Nam 41 years ago to settle in the US.

Anti-war songs: Vietnamese-American singer Khanh Ly will perform in HCM City this Friday, after leaving Viet Nam 41 years ago to settle in the US. (khanhly.com)

Khanh Ly will perform with singers Y Lan, also a Vietnamese-American living in the US. Other singers from Viet Nam’s pop stars Hong Nhung and Ho Ngoc Ha and Quang Dung will also join the legendary singer in her show.

Around 2,000 people are expected to attend the Khanh Ly – Live Concert in Saigon, to take place at the 7th Military Zone Gymnasium.

She will perform 30 songs by famous composers, including Pham Duy, Lam Phuong, Vu Thanh An, Nguyen Anh 9 and Anh Bang.

The 70-year-old, whose career is closely connected with anti-war songs by the late songwriter Trinh Cong Son, will sing her greatest hits from the composer’s best albums.

“We invited an orchestra of 20 musicians to support Khanh Ly on stage. We wanted the show to mark her return in the city after four decades,” said musician Nguyen Quang, the show’s art director.

Khanh Ly, whose real name is Nguyen Thi Le Mai, was born into a traditional family in 1945 in Ha Noi. She began her singing career when she was nine years old.

In 1956, she moved with her family to the South and won her first prize in a children’s singing contest with a song by Pham Duy, one of the country’s most outstanding composers in contemporary music.

In 1964, she met Trinh Cong Son in Da Lat and they quickly became a couple in the music world. Three years later, she started singing his songs in Sai Gon, leaving a strong impression on young audiences.

Khanh Ly and Trinh Cong Son performed together for students at several venues in the city, including Van Khoa University, to spread his anti-war lyrics on the famous album Da Vang (Yellow Skin).

In 1970, Khanh Ly performed at the Osaka Fair in Japan following an invitation by the Nippon Columbia recording company. She also recorded an album in both Vietnamese and Japanese, featuring Trinh Cong Son’s songs like Diem Xua (Old Fame) and Ca Dao Me (Mother’s Folk Songs)

Diem Xua (Utsukushii Mukashi in Japanese), was listed among the country’s top 10 favourite love songs.   

Since 2012, Khanh Ly has performed in Ha Noi, Da Nang and Hue and the provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai.

Her show, Khanh Ly-Live Concert in Saigon, will open at 8pm, December 2, at the 7th Military Zone Gymnasium at 220 Hoang Van Thu Street in Tan Binh District. 

VNS