Kenny Thái (1967- ) is a famous Vietnamese-American singer. During the 1990s, he was one of the most popular recording artists in the Vietnamese pop music industry worldwide.
Born on July 5, 1967 into a family of Hoa descent with the surname, Chu, in Vũng Tàu, South Vietnam, Kenny Thái spoke primarily Cantonese in his household during his early childhood. In 1975, he and his family left Vietnam to resettle in the United States. As Kenny Thái quickly adapted to the American culture effortlessly picking up the English language, he also had developed a keen interest in music while growing up. By the time Kenny Thái was a teenager, English had replaced Cantonese as his primary language, while his Vietnamese had seemed to be virtually forgotten. At the age of 20 upon the invitation of nightclub owner, Ngọc Chánh, he became a regular weekly performer at the Ritz, a popular Vietnamese cabaret in Anaheim, California. Due to his limited command of the Vietnamese language at the time, Kenny Thái started out singing mainly covers of Chinese and American popular songs while working at the Ritz. Audience members were captivated with his powerful singing voice and dashing good looks as he serenaded them on a weekly basis covers of popular American love songs like And I Love You So, I Don't Like to Sleep Alone and One More Try. Gradually, he relearned the Vietnamese language and added Vietnamese songs to his repertoire.
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| Tiếc Nuối Ý Lan & Kenny Thái (Ý Entertainment/1994) |
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| 999 Đóa Hồng Kenny Thai & Thanh Ha (Đức Huy Entertainment/1996) |
In the early 1990s, Kenny Thái collaborated as a recording artist with various overseas Vietnamese music labels such as Hải Âu, Tình Nhớ, Tektronic, Đức Huy Entertainment which is owned by singer/songwriter Đức Huy, and Asia Entertainment. He recorded in three different languages: Vietnamese, Mandarin and English. Among the most well received of his recorded songs include Boulevard, Speak Softly Now, 999 Đóa Hồng, Vết Thù Trên Lưng Ngựa Hoang written by Phạm Duy and a duet with Ý Lan, Nuối Tiếc written by Trịnh Nam Sơn. In 1994 Kenny Thái and his wife, singer Ý Nhi, formed their own music labels, Ý Entertainment and Thái Productions which would release a series of successful solo/duet/ensemble studio albums such as Tiếc Nuối (1994), Kenny in Hong Kong 1 (1994), Kenny in Hong Kong 2 (1995) and Kenny International (1996). On music video, Kenny Thái has made appearances for various production studios such as Hải Âu, Asia Entertainment, Washington Night and Thuy Nga Paris. His tremendous popularity had led him to live performances for overseas Vietnamese audiences all over the United States, Canada, Australia, Asia and Europe.
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| Kenny Thai (left), Y Nhi (right), and their two children during the mid 1990s. |
At the beginning of the new millennium, Kenny Thái along with his wife both decided to walk away from the spotlight in order to have more time to focus on the upbringing of their two young children. Like his wife, he has also become a business owner. Despite countless offers from various different record labels and show promoters requesting for his return, he has remained content with his decision of retirement from the music industry and has yet to be persuaded otherwise. Currently, Kenny Thái and Ý Nhi are owners of Save Lots, a retail business located in the city of Garden Grove, California and Saddleback Beauty Academy located in the city of Laguna Hills, California. Happily married since 1990, they currently reside in Irvine with their two children.
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