Vietnamese concerts target foreign markets

After continuously selling out concerts domestically, recently many artists and producers have turned to exploiting foreign markets and have initially reaped success.

FIRM STEPS

After 2 stops at the Esplanade (Singapore) and the Sydney Opera House (Australia), Ha Anh Tuan will bring the Sketch a Rose concert to the final stop at the Dolby Theater - the venue for the annual Oscar awards - in Los Angeles (USA), scheduled for October 18. Within 24 hours of the official opening (August 1), all 3,000 tickets were quickly sold out. At the 2 previous international stops, the concert tickets were also sold out in a short time. This shows the appeal of Ha Anh Tuan's "brand" as well as the wide potential of the overseas market.

The brothers of the show Say Hi Brothers "stirred up" 7,000 audiences at Planet Hollywood (Las Vegas, USA), late July 2025

PHOTO: VIEON

On September 14, My Linh will also officially perform at Yokohama Landmark Hall (Japan) with the first night of the Asian tour. Titled Xin Chao Nhat Ban , up to now, the program has sold out almost all of the two highest ticket classes. Then on October 11, the pop diva will also come to Korea at Myunghwa Live Hall with the band Anh Em and two guests, My Anh's daughter and male singer Hoang Dung. My Linh is not a strange name to Vietnamese audiences in these two countries, as she has participated in many cultural exchange events, released albums Made in Vietnam , Let Love Sing and Chat with Mozart in the Japanese market. On its side, the organizer Xin Chao Entertainment also has a lot of experience organizing, having brought names such as Hong Nhung, Quang Dung, Van Mai Huong, Ngo Kien Huy... here.

Previously, on July 26-27, the show Anh trai say hi, after a series of concerts that stirred up the domestic market, also came to Las Vegas (USA). Held at the Planet Hollywood theater with a capacity of 7,000 spectators, overcoming initial skepticism, the two shows quickly recorded impressive numbers. Accordingly, after only one day of opening for sale, tickets near the stage and standing areas were quickly sold out despite the relatively expensive ticket prices (ranging from 4 to 65 million VND). At the time close to the date of the show, the "market" for buying and selling tickets was also very active, at times recording resale prices increasing many times. This organization also marked the first time that a grand show, gathering 26 male Vietnamese singers at the same time, was successfully performed.

26 brothers "stirred up" 7,000 audiences at Planet Hollywood (Las Vegas, USA), late July 2025

PHOTO: VIEON

The above echoes come from many reasons, but the most important is that the artists and organizers have understood the market and the needs of the audience. Accordingly, all of those programs do not aim to "export" Vietnamese music but rather the experience of listening to music. For example, with Ha Anh Tuan in the upcoming show, he wants to bring Vietnamese identity to the US through Vietnamese music, Vietnamese language, Vietnamese ao dai as well as inspirational stories. Meanwhile, My Linh is the "symbol" of the 7X, 8X generation, so coming to Xin Chao Tour , the audience will relive the golden age of Vietnamese pop in the 1990s and 2000s. Anh Trai Say Hi creates a different picture when the new generation of artists has contributed eye-catching performances with the ability to sing, dance, and master the stage.

Sharing with Thanh Nien reporters , a number of units and individuals who have organized shows abroad expressed their wish to receive more attention and support from state management agencies in the coming time to have more say in the process of cooperation with foreign partners, to more easily approach and invite sponsors to accompany as well as to have more support from diplomatic agencies, consulates... in carrying out procedures, applying for visas or transportation... Therefore, having sponsorship from state agencies, especially in terms of policy, will be a great support for professionals.

Maybe Americans won't come to the Dolby Theater to hear me sing, because they don't know who I am. But if their friends are Vietnamese born and raised in America, talented and influential people, then my projects will be a "tool" for them to introduce their roots, that my country's music is like this, that Vietnamese is this good.

Singer Ha Anh Tuan

VIETNAMESE IDENTITY OVERSEAS

Ha Anh Tuan said: "With Sketch a rose or any Vietnamese program taking place outside the country, of course the first "leverage" comes from the Vietnamese and overseas Vietnamese living there." General director Cao Trung Hieu of Sketch a rose also frankly said that going to Dolby Theater is risky in that it "brings Vietnamese music to Vietnamese people to listen to in a place that is not Vietnam." However, he believes that "it is the right thing to do, because the Vietnamese community abroad is quite large and they do not have many experiences listening to Vietnamese music, listening to their mother tongue... in these iconic spaces."

Ha Anh Tuan brings the story of Vietnam to 2,600 audiences in Sydney (Australia), September 2024

PHOTO: VIET VISION

Agreeing with the above statement, director - producer Van Trinh, Director of Xin Chao Entertainment, the person behind Xin Chao Tour, shared with Thanh Nien reporter : "For many years, the Vietnamese community in other countries could only meet Vietnamese artists through festival programs and cultural exchanges, but there were few professionally organized music programs in theaters or music stages with a scale of over 500 seats, with quality sound and lighting systems in a live show with a band. After the shows that have been organized (especially in Tokyo), I realized that the demand for music enjoyment of this group is very high and they especially love Vietnamese singers but do not have the opportunity to meet and exchange, so this is a very potential market."

And it cannot be denied that besides the large number of overseas Vietnamese, the success of these events also has a great contribution from loyal domestic audiences, who consider accompanying their favorite artists a special experience. And in the related ecosystem, the performance industry is also supporting other industries, when taking advantage of this opportunity, many logistics and service units... also combine resort and travel experiences... with enjoying concerts.

Van Mai Huong performs in the show Huong - Live in Tokyo in Japan, April 2024

PHOTO: HELLO ENTERTAINMENT

From these experiences, Vietnamese music will gradually have the opportunity to reach out to the world. Ha Anh Tuan said: "Maybe Americans won't come to Dolby Theater to listen to me sing, because they don't know who I am. But if their friends are Vietnamese born and raised in America, talented and influential people, then my projects will be a "tool" for them to introduce their roots, that my country's music is like this, Vietnamese is this good... Combined with the quality of production, performance organization that has been affirmed and the performance venues are symbolic spaces, then we can believe that these are the starting points, from there to deeper dialogue, bringing younger and freer musical languages ​​to approach them. But most importantly, never lose your identity, because foreigners don't need another copy of what they already have. They need something unique to Vietnam."

Need for "Vietnamese - global - aesthetics"

There are many Vietnamese people born, raised and settled abroad. Previously, only the Thuy Nga Paris show served overseas Vietnamese in America, Canada... Lune Production's shows (Xich Thoi Lang Toi , A O show ...) touring around the world mainly served local audiences.

Director Tuan Le

Photo: NVCC

Nowadays, Vietnamese descendants born in 2000 and later are present in large numbers on all continents. If we can reach this new audience, we will have a completely new market for Vietnamese art and culture in the world.

All domestically produced art programs are censored before being released, so bringing them abroad is not a problem. The problem is that the programs must have two elements: aesthetics and language. Language here is how Vietnamese cultural works must reach world audiences, without the need for translation. And aesthetics here must be the concept of "Vietnamese - global - aesthetics".

Director Tuan Le, Director of Lune Production

(Thuy Le recorded )

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/concert-viet-huong-den-thi-truong-nuoc-ngoai-185250906222943303.htm