VietNamNet Bridge – The Song of the Month award went to Con Sau (The Caterpillar) composed by Duong Duc Tam in August's Bai Hat Viet (Vietnamese Song) programme.

This is the first time Tam has participated in the televised song writing programme. "In this song, I describe a caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly, which requires lot of time and effort. I want to send a message to listeners: try your best and do not sleep on your victory," he said.

Cay Bang (Terminalia Catappa), composed by rappers Vo Viet Phuong and Nguyen Duc Cuong, received the Audience Choice award for the most impressive song.

To Minh Duc, who sang Nghe (Hearing) by Dinh Kai, received the award for the most successful performance, while composer Son Hai won the award for best instrumental performance with Vo Boc (The Cover) by Luu Thien Huong.

* Contestants sing for berth in national contest final

Three contestants face off in the final selection round in their category of the Sao Mai singing at the Thua Thien –Hue culture and information centre.

To Loan, Thang Loi and Khanh Ly were selected after their performances in the chamber music section on Sunday.

This year, 27 finalists competed in three musical categories: chamber, folk and light.

The remaining contestants in the folk and light categories are set to perform again on August 21 and August 28, respectively. The three top contestants in each category will sing two songs, one self-selected and the other chosen by the jury, in the final round on September 4.

Sao Mai – a national singing contest, held by the Viet Nam Television every two years, has introduced dozens of new talents and reinvigorated Vietnamese music.

* Hue to relocate residents from heritage site to apartments

Authorities in Hue have approved a project to build five apartment blocs in the north of the city for relocating residents who have occupied space in the royal citadel.

Construction of the apartment blocs, with four storeys each, will begin at the end of this year on a11,430 sq.m site. The project will have 161 apartments for residents who will have to move from houses they've built on the citadel's walls and along the canals.

The project's investment of VND99.1 billion (US$4.8 million) will be drawn from the State budget.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News