Jenny Trang

Jenny Trang (1967-    ) is an overseas Vietnamese singer of African-American and Vietnamese descent.

Born on June 6, 1967 in Saigon, South Vietnam to an African-American military serviceman father and a Vietnamese mother, Jenny Trang is the eldest in a family of five children.  In 1973, her American father returned to his homeland upon the U.S. withdrawal of troops in South Vietnam.  After the Fall of Saigon, her mother and her three youngest siblings left Vietnam to resettle in West Germany while Jenny and one younger sister were left in the care of her maternal grandparents in Ho Chi Minh City.  Although Jenny had grown up in a sheltered and rather well to do family, she was not spared from discrimination that the general population of Vietnam had toward Amerasian children from the Vietnam War.  Like many other Amerasians, Jenny experienced endless teasing and name calling from other kids at school just for looking different.  During these difficult years, she found solace through music.

As a child, Jenny loved listening to music and singing along to it.  Her incessant singing earned her quite a bit of notoriety in her neighborhood as she was dubbed as Carol Kim II due to her similar pigmentation to the famous singer and having an unusually powerful, soulful voice at such a young age.  When Jenny was a teenager, she began singing with a local band.  By the time she was 18, Jenny Trang was no longer an aspiring singer but had now turned into an established professional singer performing nightly at such major venues around Saigon like Phuong Hong, which was the cabaret owned by singer Phuong Hong Que, Maxim's, Palace and Dam Sen.  Her electrifying singing voice coupled with her statuesque figure made her extremely popular in Saigon's nightlife cabaret circuit.

In 1992, Jenny Trang, her then husband, fellow entertainer Thanh Le whom she had married shortly prior to her exit from Vietnam, all arrived in the United States under the Amerasian Homecoming Act where they would began their new lives as Americans.  Her younger sister, Hoang, resettled in Boston, Massachusetts while Jenny and Thanh Le wounded up in Orange County, California, home of the largest Vietnamese community in the United States known as Little Saigon.  Immediately, Jenny Trang and Thanh Le resumed their careers as performers in the Vietnamese community with the formation of their band called Horizons playing for mainly weddings and parties.  An introduction by longtime friend and mentor, singer Chung Tu Luu, would soon follow resulting in a recording contract for Jenny Trang with Hai Au Productions.  In 1993, Hai Au Productions released 4 songs from Jenny's very first studio recording on an album entitled as Niêm Đau Chôn Dấu which also featured two other up and coming Amerasian singers, Randy and the late Luu Quoc Viet.  Although sales of this album were dismal, it gave Jenny Trang just enough exposure in the overseas Vietnamese music industry and caught the attention of the owner of Mây Productions.  During the beginning of the following year, Jenny Trang appeared on volume 7 of the popular live show music video series, Hollywood Night, which is produced by Mây Productions.  Her performance of Kiếp Con Lai, a moving song written by Trinh Phuc Viet Toan about the plight of Amerasians from the Vietnam War, was perhaps one of the most poignant performances in the history of overseas Vietnamese music video production.  Viewer audiences were moved to tears which coincided with Jenny Trang's heartfelt delivery of the sad lyrics to the song.
 

Jenny Trang on Hollywood Night 7
performing her signature song, Kiếp Con Lai 

The overwhelming responses from viewer audiences on her performance of Kiếp Con Lai coupled with the dismantling of her marriage to Thanh Le prompted Jenny Trang to produce her own studio album of the same name two years later which would feature a re-recorded version of the title track along with a selection of sad songs about heartbreak and lost love. Among Jenny Trang's solo tracks recorded for the album include Điên written by Y Vu, a remake of singer Kim Anh's signature song, Anh Ở Đâu, and Bão Tình written by Khuc Lan.  Released under the music label, Bien Productions, Kiếp Con Lai the album, also featured special guest appearances by other artists such as Hoang Liem, Diem Lien and Duy Quang, each having contributed solo tracks on this first self-produced project by Jenny Trang.  On November of 1996 to commemorate the release of Kiếp Con Lai the album, Jenny Trang held a highly successful one-night engagement at the prestigious Majestic Nightclub in Huntington Beach, California where she performed in front of a sold out crowd.

As Jenny Trang's popularity grew, the busier her performing schedule became.  For many years during the 1990s, Jenny Trang toured extensively performing at live shows for Vietnamese communities in various major cities throughout the United States.  When she wasn't performing out of town, she could been seen as a regular headliner at local Vietnamese cabarets around Orange County such as The Can Club and Tao Nhan Cafe.  Impressed with the critical praises and profitable sales of Kiếp Con Lai the album, the owners of the Bien Productions music label had plans of a duet album for Jenny Trang with singer Tuan Ngoc.  That along with other plans for a European concert tour were abruptly put to a halt during the summer of 1998 as Jenny Trang left many of her fans shocked when she decided to retire from the music business and start a family of her own.    

In 2009 after a hiatus that lasted for more than a decade, Jenny Trang made a brief return to her career in music.  She accepted an invitation from the Gia Dinh My Viet organization to go on tour in various states performing at live shows to raise funds for Amerasians and their families still living in Vietnam.  On this tour, Jenny Trang shared the stage with several other well-known Amerasian singers such as Randy, Lilian, Ngoc Anh and Van Anh.  In the spring of 2010, Jenny Trang and Randy headlined at the swanky Tieng Xua Cabaret in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  

Married to John McQuerry, an Anglo-American who speaks perfect Vietnamese, since 1998, she now goes by the name, Jenny McQuerry, and is a mother of three lovely daughters.  She makes her home in Chandler, Arizona where she is part-owner of a manicure salon.  

Trinh Nam Son

Trinh Nam Son (1956-    ) is a famous overseas Vietnamese singer and songwriter.

Although born in Saigon, South Vietnam, Trinh Nam Son considers Da Lat as his hometown since his family had resettled there when he was just two years old.  From early on, he had developed a keen interest in music which would eventually evolve into a life long obsession.  Years prior to reaching his teenage years, Trinh Nam Son had already learned and mastered playing the guitar.  Upon the Fall of Saigon in 1975, he and his family left their native Vietnam for the United States.

As with a lot of newly arrived immigrants to the United States, Trinh Nam Son had struggled with a language barrier during the first several years in his newly adopted homeland.  In order to make ends meet, he took all sorts of odd jobs ranging from dishwasher at a restaurant to attendant at a car wash.  He even took on a job working on an Alaskan fishing boat which had required him to be away out at sea for 6 months at a time.  After a year working off the shores of Alaska, Trinh Nam Son realized he could no longer take the brutal, freezing cold weather and decided to relocate to Southern California during the winter of 1976.  He immediately enrolled himself at a community college for the coming spring semester and found work as a guitarist with a local Asian band based out of the Los Angeles Chinatown community.  After graduating from the prestigious Dick Grove School of Music in Hollywood, California in 1986, he began writing and composing songs.

The next several years in his career as a fledgling musician would be filled with would be filled with rejection after rejection by various different music labels.  Undaunted, Trinh Nam Son relentlessly continued on in pursuit of his dreams.  In 1990, Trinh Nam Son was finally able to see his lifelong dreams come to fruition with the release of Dĩ Vãng, an album comprised of 9 songs he had written and composed, four of which were recorded with his own vocals while the remaining five were recorded with vocals from various artists such as Nhu Mai, Y Nhi, Minh Xuan and Minh Phuc.  The title track would also feature Trinh Nam Son on lead guitar, piano and saxophone.  A music video would be made for his song, Dĩ Vãng, co-starring model/actress Thanh Hang, who had also been featured on the cover of his debut album.  Immediately following the summer world premiere of his video featured on Asia Entertainment's very first video production, Tình YêuTuổi Trẻ (Young Love),  
Trinh Nam Son turned into an overnight Vietnamese pop music sensation.  In addition to the title track, Trinh Nam Son had also scored major hits with two other songs featured on his debut album, Quên Đi Tình Yêu Cũ and Tình Vào Thu.  


Released in 1991, Về Đây Em, was Trinh Nam Son's follow up on the success of his debut album, Dĩ Vãng.  The title track of this album would become his most well-received written and composed song with overseas Vietnamese audiences worldwide.   A top selling duet album recorded with singer Ngoc Lan for the Mây Productions label, Chờ Nhau Kiếp Nào, was also released right around the same time.  During the spring of 1991, Trinh Nam Son accepted an invitation by Thuy Nga Productions to travel to France for the filming of volume 15 of the Paris By Night live show music video series where he would perform two of his hit songs, Về Đây Em and Nuối Tiếc, a duet with singer Ai Van.  During the winter season of 1991, Trinh Nam Son finished out what had proven to be a stellar year in his music career with the release of another solo studio album, Con Đường Màu Xanh.  Although the title track to this third album comprised of Trinh Nam Son's compositions failed to match the caliber in popularity among overseas Vietnamese audiences with only a lukewarm reception unlike his previous major hits, Dĩ Vãng and Về Đây Em, to his amazement the song would eventually become his biggest hit with audiences in Vietnam.  

His unique vocal style coupled with his distinguished presence made Trinh Nam Son one of the most popular overseas Vietnamese music video performers during the 1990s.  He also appeared on music videos produced by Khanh Ha Productions and the popular live show series, Hollywood Night, produced by Mây Productions, the most memorable performance being a duet with singer Ngoc Lan of his song, Nhớ (Remember).  Through the years, Trinh Nam Son has made several re-recordings and remakes on video of his most popular hit songs.  In 1995 on volume 7 of Asia Entertainment's live show, Đêm Sài Gòn 6: Tác Giả & Tác Phẩm, he performed a remake live video of his first hit song, Dĩ Vãng.  In 2014 on volume 74 of Asia Entertainment's live show, Những Giọng Ca Huyền Thoại - The Best Duets of All Time, he performed a duet remake of Nuối Tiếc with singer Thuy Tien.  Trinh Nam Son has also re-recorded this song as duets with other singers such as Ngoc Bich, Kieu Nga and Phuong Thanh.  Also in 2014, on volume 75 of Asia Entertainment's live show, Journey to a Dream - Hành Trình Một Giấc Mơ, he performed as a trio with singers Lam Thuy Van and Thanh Truc a medley of his songs, Về Đây Em and Mây và Dòng Sông.

Throughout his career, Trinh Nam Son has recorded a number of well received studio albums.  Among them include Đêm (1992) released by Khanh Ha Productions, Niềm Nhớ Cuối Cùng (1992) a bestseller duet album with singer Julie Quang released by Mai Productions and Một Chút Ân Tình (1996).  In addition, Trinh Nam Son has also released several compilation albums of his greatest hits including The Best of 90 (1992) and Selections 2 (1992), both under the Khanh Ha Productions label.  Aside from the songs he had written and composed, Trinh Nam Son has recorded many songs written by other famous Vietnamese composers such as Em Đi written by Duc Huy, Giọt Mưa Trên Lá written by Pham Duy, Bài Không Tên Số 2 written by Vu Thanh An and Rồi Mai Tôi Đưa Em written by Truong Sa.

Trinh Nam Son and Thanh Lam in concert
(11/2012 Hanoi, Vietnam)

On November of 2012 Trinh Nam Son went on his very first concert tour of Vietnam.  He along with overseas Vietnamese singer Khanh Ha and popular singers of present day Vietnam including Hong Nhung, My Linh, Thanh Lam, Le Hieu and Nam Khanh performed three concerts for packed houses in Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.  In January of 2015, he returned to Vietnam on another successful concert tour performing alongside overseas Vietnamese singers Thuy Tien and Le Thu.  

Trinh Nam Son and Le Thu in concert
(1/10/15 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

Long divorced from his first marriage, Trinh Nam Son is a father of a grown daughter who now works in the field of journalism in the United States.  He is currently in a long term relationship with Giang Tien, who had co-produced his 2015 concert tour in Vietnam.  

Thuy Hang

Thuy Hang (1980-    ) is a famous overseas Vietnamese singer who had risen to stardom with her appearances on the Hollywood Night live show music video series produced by Mây Productions during the 1990s.  She was mostly known for her interpretations of more traditional popular Vietnamese music.

Born in Chicago, Illinois to an Anglo-American mother and Vietnamese father, Thuy Hang was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana from the age of 2.  She grew up in a household of 6 children.  At the age of 9, her parents divorced and she along with her siblings were then raised by her father.  Despite being born and raised in the United States, Thuy Hang's father made sure that the Vietnamese language and culture would be passed to all of his children.  From an early age, Thuy Hang had expressed an interest in singing.  With the encouragement of her father, she developed a keen interest in Vietnamese music and learned to sing Vietnamese songs.  At the age of 13, Thuy Hang took first prize at a singing contest held at the Vietnamese New Year's Festival in New Orleans.  In 1995, her father submitted karaoke recordings of two songs by Thuy Hang, Lòng Mẹ written by  Y Van and Unchained Melody, a Righteous Brothers classic written by Hy Zaret, through a mutual friend to Trần Đình Thăng, the owner of Mây Productions.  To his delight, he was contacted by Trần Đình Thăng shortly thereafter with a contract offer for Thuy Hang to his label. 

When Thuy Hang first appeared on volume 14 of the Hollywood Night live show music video series, her performance of Lòng Mẹ earned overwhelmingly positive responses from viewer audiences.  The amount of fan mail received led Thuy Hang to appear on volume 15 of Hollywood Night performing the title track, Mười Năm Áo Tím written by Nguyen Anh.  Under the Mây Productions label, she recorded a total of 6 solo studio albums, Mười Năm Áo Tím (1996), Mùa Thu Nhớ Ai (1997), Tình Thiên Thu (1998), Tình Buồn Trong Mưa (1998), Giờ Này Anh Ở Đâu (1999) and Tình Xót Xa (2000).  Her popularity with more traditional Vietnamese popular music put her in the ranks of Nhu Quynh and Phi Nhung.  She toured extensively during the 5 years under contract with Mây Productions performing at live shows for overseas Vietnamese audiences all over the United States and abroad.  It has been said that if Ngoc Lan had been dubbed as Queen of the Hollywood Night video series, then Thuy Hang was definitely known as the Darling of the Hollywood Night video series.  

At the height of her popularity, Thuy Hang decided to leave the music industry to concentrate on her studies.  Without any formal announcement of retirement, many of her fans were left puzzled.  Her last recorded solo studio album to date, Hoa Mẫu Đơn (2003), was released by the label Dạ Lan.  In 2007 she embarked on a successful concert tour of Australia, her last concert tour to date .  However, false rumors began circulating the following year that Thuy Hang had passed away.  What had prompted such false rumors are still unclear.  However, several of her devoted fans have since come forward with postings on various websites including YouTube with updates about her current whereabouts and disprove such rumors .  

Thuy Hang still lives in New Orleans, Louisiana today and is married with two children.  She currently works as a dentist and goes by the professional name, Dr. Thuy-Hang Wiesner.  

Link(s):

• 50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time
• 10 Viet Celebs Who Don't Look Vietnamese

Nhu Mai

Nhu Mai (1960-    ) is a popular overseas Vietnamese singer who began her career during the early 1980s after resettling in the United States.  She along with Ngoc Lan and Kieu Nga were the three primary divas who dominated the overseas Vietnamese music industry for much of the 1980s and well into the 1990s.

At the age of 20, Nhu Mai had made the courageous decision to flee from the communist regime in her native Vietnam by boat in search of freedom.  As fate would have it, the boat landed safely on Christmas Day of 1980 at a refugee camp in Thailand and she would arrive to the United States on Independence Day of 1981.  Once resettled in Orange County, Southern California, Nhu Mai began singing with a local Vietnamese band at parties and weddings.  Prior to that, Nhu Mai had never sung professionally back in her native homeland and her only experience with performing live on stage was singing for her local church choir.  On one night sometime in 1983, she along with several of her friends decided to stop by Lang Van, which was then a popular Vietnamese cabaret located in Santa Ana.  During open mic, per her friends' request Nhu Mai went on stage and sang a song.  Her amazing performance of Thuyền Viễn Xứ written by Pham Duy that night took everybody in the audience by complete surprise.  Tung Giang, who was leader of the accompanying band, along with Lan, the owner of the cabaret were so deeply enchanted with her singing voice that Nhu Mai was offered a job as a regular performer on weekends three nights a week there on the spot.  That same year, Nhu Mai recorded her debut solo studio album, Mộng Ban Đầu, for Thanh Lan, then the the most prolific overseas Vietnamese music production label and officially launched her career.  

The exposure Nhu Mai had received from the impressive sales of her debut album would lead her to numerous collaborations with other major overseas Vietnamese music production labels such as Lang Van, Da Lan, Giang Ngoc, Tung Giang Entertainment, Doi Magazine, Nguoi Dep Binh Duong, Phuong Hoang and Asia Entertainment.  Within a short period of time thereafter, Nhu Mai was in high demand as one of the most marketable names in the overseas Vietnamese music industry.  She headlined at major Vietnamese cabarets in Orange County, Calfornia such as Au Baccara and Diamond and recorded several more studio albums for various music production labels during the 1980s, most notable were Em Đi Qua Chuyến Đò (1987) released by Doi Magazine and Tình Hận (1988) released by Lang Van.  She has also recorded duets and medleys with numerous other artists such as Ngoc Lan, Kieu Nga, Anh Dung, Vu Khanh, Cong Thanh & Lynn, Elvis Phuong, Duy Quang, Kim Anh, Thai Thao, Carol Kim, Tuan Vu and Julie Quang.  

In 1986 upon the invitation of musician Quoc Si, Nhu Mai became the lead singer of The Magic.  Their professional relationship would develop into an intimate relationship through the years.  For the remainder of the 1980s Nhu Mai & the Magic were one of the most successful overseas Vietnamese acts with performances at live shows all over the world.  Among her most well received signature songs recorded include Tuổi 13 written by Ngo Thuy Mien, Biết Đâu Nguồn Cội written by Trinh Cong Son, Em Đi Rồi written by Lam Phuong, Gái Xuân written by Tu Vu, Bài không tên số 8 written by Vu Thanh An, Cô Ðơn written by Nguyen Anh 9 and Giấc Mơ Mùa Thu written by Vo Thien Thanh. In 1989, Nhu Mai & the Magic finished out the decade with a highly successful European tour alongside a gala of other overseas Vietnamese performers including Duy Quang, Ngoc Lan, legendary chanteuse Thai Thanh and Kim Ngan.  

Nhu Mai began the Nineties decade with another solo studio album, Như Giọt Sầu Rơi (1990), released by Nguoi Dep Binh Duong.  That same year she also made a memorable appearance on Asia Entertainment's very first video production, Tình Yêu Tuổi Trẻ (Young Love), in a duet performance with singer Thuy Vi of the song, Chỉ Là Giấc Mơ.  In 1991 Nhu Mai & the Magic Band made their very first appearance for Thuy Nga on volume 12 of the popular live show music video series, Paris By Night, performing a ChaChaCha medley of cover songs together with Lynda Trang Dai.  Nhu Mai & The Magic Band would appear on three more volumes of Paris By Night with similar performances of medleys.  From 1992 until 1994, Nhu Mai would appear on three more volumes of Paris By Night without the accompaniment of The Magic singing the following songs, Gọi Giấc Mơ Xưa written by Le Hoang Long, Nhớ Người Thương Binh written by Pham Duy and Giáng Ngọc written by Ngo Thuy Mien, respectively.  In 1994, Nhu Mai went on one of her most successful concert tours in Australia performing with Lynda Trang Dai, Don Ho, Thanh Tuyen, Thai Chau and Randy.  Aside from their busy touring and recording schedules, Nhu Mai & the Magic had formed two music production labels of their own, Mat Biec Productions headed by Quoc Si and Nhu Mai Productions headed by Nhu Mai, during the early 1990s.  Under her own production label, Nhu Mai released a series of well received solo studio albums which included several gospel albums and albums recorded with various other artists such as Don Ho, Ngoc Lan, Ngoc Minh, Khanh Ly, Viet Dzung and Thanh Lan.  

During the 1990s, Nhu Mai & the Magic would experience several challenges which would lead to changes in personnel.  In the winter of 1992, keyboardist/vocalist Duy Tuong underwent surgery for a bone marrow transplant after being stricken with leukemia and had to take some time off for his recovery.  This would be followed by the untimely passing of their drummer, known affectionately as Tuan Hy, several years later.  Toward the end of the 1990s, Nhu Mai and Quoc Si ended their long-term personal, as well as professional relationship.  

Out on her own, Nhu Mai changed the name of her production label from Nhu Mai Productions to Nhu Mai Entertainment with the releases of studio albums, Cơn Mưa Chiều Chủ Nhật (1998) and Tình Phai (2000).  In 2003, she appeared on Asia Entertainment's live show music video series, Mùa Hè Rực Rỡ 2003, as a part of an ensemble performing a medley of songs penned by Nhat Truong alongside Nhat Truong, himself, My Lan and Ha Lan.  Now settled into married life, Nhu Mai has purposely slowed down her career in music during recent years, but still performs at live shows occasionally.  She currently makes her home in West Anaheim, California.