Tuan Anh

Tuan Anh (1948-    ) is a Vietnamese-American singer and entertainer.  He first rose to prominence in the overseas Vietnamese community of the United States in the early 1980s.  Among his many distinguishing trademarks include his powerful voice, quick-witted comedic persona and signature style of dress, which has often been referred to as either being "flashy", "flamboyant", "provocative" to even "offensive" by some.  Regardless of such controversial attributes associated with Tuan Anh, he has managed to have a highly successful career as an entertainer for Vietnamese audiences all over the world for over three decades.

Prior to resettling in the United States in 1979, Tuan Anh had come from an affluent family in South Vietnam.  Born on November 25, 1948, Tuan Anh grew up in Saigon and graduated from the prestigious Petrus Ky High School.  After graduating from high school,  Tuan Anh attended the University of Saigon, School of Science.  Once resettled in the United States at the age of 30, Tuan Anh finally began to pursue his dream of a career as a professional Vietnamese singer.  In a short period of time of less than two years, Tuan Anh's popularity with overseas Vietnamese audiences led him to perform at live shows for Vietnamese communities across the United States.   Performances for overseas Vietnamese communities in several cities in Canada would follow, along with shows in Europe and Australia.

During his early years as a professional Vietnamese singer, Tuan Anh quickly achieved notoriety largely due to his distinct appearance on stage as many members from his audience had taken his persona for shock value.  The media within overseas Vietnamese communities initially had dubbed him as the "Vietnamese Boy George", which at first had been viewed as negative press, but instead resulted in his favor as his popularity would increase dramatically which coincided with the amount of publicity generated from the media.  Tuan Anh's enduring career and sustained popularity through the years eventually has earned him the much deserved respect from Vietnamese audiences worldwide as a serious performance artist.  As a live performer, Tuan Anh was one of the biggest headliners at Vietnamese cabarets and nightclubs in Orange County, California such as Tu Do, Caravelle, Ritz and Queen Bee.  While on tour at various major cities for Vietnamese communities all over the world, he has been one of the biggest crowd pleasers among Vietnamese singers.  Show after show, fans would line up to request Tuan Anh to perform a list of songs that have become known as his signature songs like Kiep Dam Me, written by Duy Quang, Khuc Thuy Du, written by Viet Dzung, Trai Tim Nguc Tu, written by Duc Huy and Chiec Ao Ba Ba, written by Nhat Truong.  Among his most popular songs sung in English include The Power of Love, I Who Have Nothing and Unchain My Heart.  Tuan Anh became the first superstar among overseas Vietnamese male artists whose celebrity status reached ranks that were comparable to such big names of legendary performers since prior to 1975 such as Elvis Phuong, Che Linh and Duy Quang.  His wide diversity as a vocalist surpasses that of most other Vietnamese singers, as Tuan Anh has the astounding ability to perform in all sorts of different genres of music, ranging from traditional Vietnamese popular music to more modernized Vietnamese ballads and even Euro New Wave and dance music.  In addition to his native language of Vietnamese, Tuan Anh sings in French, English and even Chinese.  As one of the most bankable headliners at Vietnamese live concert shows worldwide, in addition to his singing Tuan Anh continues to wow audiences on stage with his comedic antics and professional showmanship.  One of his most memorable performances during the 1980s was at the Anaheim Convention Center in 1988 during a highly publicized, sold out live concert event which featured Taiwanese film and television actor Chin Han, known as Tan Han by his Vietnamese fans, as the main headliner.  The show was hosted by emcee Viet Thao and also included a gala of some of the top performers among Vietnamese singers during the time such as Lynda Trang Dai, Carol Kim, Kim Anh, Phuong Hoai Tam, Tuan Dat and Lucia Kim Chi.  Despite Chin Han's much anticipated appearance at the concert given how the popularity of Taiwanese and Hong Kong dramas during the 1980s with Vietnamese fans was at its peak, the performer who ended up stealing the show that night was none other than Tuan Anh.  The sold out audience of nearly 10,000 in attendance simply went wild when he performed a cover of legendary composer Ngo Thuy Mien's classic, Tuoi 13, in which Tuan Anh delivered flawlessly in the falsetto register matching that of Thai Thanh's soprano range.

Tuan Anh greeting fans at a live show

During the 1990s with the onset wave of massive popularity in music video live shows released by several major production labels such as Thuy Nga Paris, Asia Productions, Van Son Entertainment and Mây Productions in the overseas Vietnamese music industry, in order for Vietnamese singers to either reach or sustain top billing status an unofficial requirement was to appear on these video productions as frequently as possible.  The tremendous exposure gained from appearances on Thuy Nga's wildly popular Paris By Night series during this decade created a slew of new superstars among Vietnamese entertainers such as Don Ho, Ai Van, Nguyen Hung, Thanh Ha, Luu Bich, Manh Quynh, The Son, Thien Kim, Nguyen Ngoc Ngan and Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen.  Asia Productions were right behind Thuy Nga as a starmaker powerhouse with a list of new crop that included Nhu Quynh, Lam Nhat Tien, Lam Thuy Van, Trish Thuy Trang and Shayla.  Van Son Entertainment first introduced Hoai Linh, Tu Quyen, Truong Vu and Tam Doan onto the scene.  May Productions, to a lesser degree, helped launch the careers of Thuy Hang, Phi Nhung, Philip Huy and Diem Lien with their debut music video appearances on the Hollywood Night series.  Top performers from the 1980s and decades prior that were able to sustain their star power into the 1990s did so with such video appearances like Khanh Ha, Elvis Phuong, Lynda Trang Dai, Huong Lan, Ngoc Lan, Y Lan, Khanh Ly, Thanh Lan, Thanh Tuyen, Tuan Ngoc, Thai Chau and Che Linh.  It should be noted that Tuan Anh was the only performer who had sustained his star power and appeal with audiences without much exposure from music videos.  His only appearance on music videos produced by one of the four major labels of the 1990s was on volume 1 of Asia Productions' Dem Saigon series with his performance of his signature song, Trai Tim Nguc Tu.  This star power of his remained throughout the 1990s, 2000s and continues to this day.

Tuan Anh records mostly for his own label, Tuan Anh Productions, that has been in operation since the early 1980s.

Link(s):

Tuan Anh on Facebook