EP stirs up Vietnamese music

In recent years, making extended play (EP) has become the top choice for many singers.

Compared to MV (music video) or single (single), EP (extended play) easily tells a complete musical story, clearly showing the singer's image, style, and personal color. With EP, singers can easily master product ideas, quickly mature, and better orient their career path.

Within reach and reasonable

Singers choosing to release EPs instead of albums is a reasonable and appropriate move in the current context. "Finding enough good songs for an album is sometimes impossible" - singer Phuong Thanh explained.

Investing billions in MV is considered a risk in today's music market. There was a time when many singers invested heavily in MV. However, the trend of making billion-dollar MVs is gradually changing because many singers "fall off the horse". Because the audience needs real quality, a combination of music and image, not just beautiful images.

A successful MV must have a harmonious combination of image and music quality. This is the general formula, but achieving that harmony is not easy. MVs such as "The Magic Lamp" (Ho Ngoc Ha), "Tending Flowers" (Mono - Nguyen Viet Hoang)... are products with investment, careful image refinement, and clear ideas.

EP is an extended play, containing more songs than a single but shorter than an album. While an average album has about 10 songs, an EP usually has only 3 to 6 songs. Because the total duration is under 30 minutes, EP helps singers save money and effort compared to making a complete album. Listeners also do not spend much time enjoying it but can still fully receive the story or message that the singer sends.

After participating in "Anh trai vu ngan cong gai", Binz officially returned to the music scene with the MV "Duyen kiep cam ca" and the EP "Keep cam ca". This EP includes 5 songs: "Hon lo sa vao", "Chua yeu lan nao", "Dance hall night", "Duyen kiep cam ca", "Ruou doc", inspired by the familiar bolero material.

Ho Ngoc Ha at the launch of her new EP “Close your eyes, turn on the music, turn off your phone”. Photo: THANH LUAN

Many impressive products

If the combination of rap and bolero created curiosity, then the fact that Binz, Xuan Dan and Triple D collaborated on an EP surprised the audience even more.

Over the years, Binz has mostly collaborated with music producer Touliver when performing his brainchildren, and most of them have become hits (widely popular). Binz's collaboration with the "boss" of folk music Triple D in bolero remakes is something to look forward to in the EP "Keep Cam Ca". Not to mention, recently, Triple D has mostly retired to DJ work and has been quite picky about collaborating with other artists to make music.

Ho Ngoc Ha's new EP "Close your eyes, turn on the music, turn off the phone" includes the songs: "Dawn", "Magic Lamp" and "Close your eyes, turn on the music, turn off the phone" reached the top 1 of iTunes Vietnam after 18 hours of release. The common point of the songs in this EP is catchy, trendy music that easily makes listeners dance to it.

Ho Ngoc Ha believes that with the EP "Close your eyes, turn on the music, turn off the phone", she has completely "transformed" compared to herself in previous products. Audiences will no longer hear sad songs about love. Instead, she focuses on exploiting the positive aspects.

Meanwhile, after the hit "Lucki", female rapper Liu Grace has just returned to the music scene with her debut EP "Bobby", bringing a unique musical color to the Vietnamese music market.

Previously, many new singers "entering" the Vietnamese music scene also chose to release EPs to clearly introduce their musical style and personality. Notable among them are "Love yourself" by Felix (real name Nguyen Trong Tien Quang), "Adjust" by Thoai Nghi, "06001706" by Linh Nhi, "Dep" by Mono, "Sweet N Sour" by Charles (Huynh Phuong Duy), "Tha tim" by Dat G, "Chu" by Linh Ka, "Duyet" by Hoang Yen Chibi...

Singer Luu Huong Giang also made an impressive comeback with the EP "Losing you, I found myself again", Bao Anh warmed up her name with the narrative EP "Don't know whether to be happy or sad", Binz "transformed" from a cool urban playboy to a deep and mischievous guy of the 1970s in the EP "Dan xinh in love"...

Nowadays, music production teams tend to measure audience tastes through a few minimalist products, then add MVs if they are well received. This is also a safe choice for singers.

According to musician Khac Hung, the vibrant and diverse music scene poses many opportunities as well as challenges for singers. To stand firm and gain a reputation, singers must have a style that stands out in that colorful picture. EP products are a suitable choice for them to be able to sketch a relatively complete portrait of themselves or unleash their personal ego without spending too much money.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/ep-khuay-dong-nhac-viet-196241201212253221.htm