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Phi Nhung
http://flickr.com/photos/php/24268287/
Phi Nhung's Cinderella's career is truly a tale of will and perseverance
overcoming life's many obstacles and hardships. Growing up in Pleiku, Vietnam
and being an Amerasian and a child of a single parent, Phi Nhung has had to
endure much ridicules and humiliations in her childhood.
While many of her contemporaries enjoyed carefree teenage years, Phi Nhung had
to be independent very early in her life. She lost her mother when she was
eleven and had to quit school after her 6th grade to work as a seamstress to
support her five siblings while living with her maternal grandparents.
In October 1989, Phi Nhung came to the United States through the Amerasian
Resettlement Program and lived with her aunt in Tampa Florida. Being a very
independent person, she soon moved out to live on her own, working as a
seamstress and a waitress in a local restaurant.
Phi Nhung never let these obstacles impede her dream to become a singer. While
she had no role model in the field while she was growing up, Phi Nhung shared
that she has had to learn at a very early age, the many lullabies and folk songs
to sing her younger sisters and brothers to sleep. Consequently, she built quite
a repertoire of songs in this genre and at the same time, she was able to hone
her singing skills.
Phi Nhung met Trizzie Phuong Trinh while she was on a tour in Florida and the
singer quickly discovered the budding talents in Phi Nhung as well as her hard
work ethics and potential. Trizzie adopted Phi Nhung as her sister and convinced
her to go to California to try her hands at singing. Although this was her
dream, Phi Nhung lacked the confidence to make such a bold move, so she really
didn't make the decision until much later. She finally moved to Little Saigon in
Orange County in 1993.
After a dissapointing first gig, she nearly decided to go back to Florida. It
was Huong Lan who finally convinced her to stay and not give up. It helped that
Huong Lan is Phi Nhung's childhood idol. Through her connections with many
veteran performers in the industry, Phi Nhung were able to work as an
independent artist recording many CDs and videos with smaller labels. She has
also sung in many stages throughout Europe and the United States.
In recent years, Phi Nhung has won the hearts of many music lovers and has built
quite a following for herself. Yet, this diminutive singer remained shy and soft
spoken as she emerges in to the spotlight of stardom. According to Phi Nhung,
her appearance in Hollywood Video 15 where she sang Sông Quê for Mây
Productions marked the turning point of her career. Other production companies
such as Tinh, Van Son, Asia and Thuy Nga are beginning to take notice in this
talented and lovable singer.
In a recent interview, Phi Nhung innocently shared of an experience during a
recent concert where an audience member asked her to "ngâcm sáu câu".
She proceeded to sing and later was given $200. She shyly asked whether the
young audience members would like her to "ca ca?i lu+o+ng", a question
which received a rousing positive response. Phi Nhung obliged and the house
almost went down with ovations. Phi Nhung shared that her love for this
classical genre is never overshadowed for her love of pop music. She maintains
that she will continue to mix the two to bring this kinds of music to her
younger fans.
After nine years living abroad, Phi Nhung has gone back to visit Vietnam twice.
She returned to Pleiku where she still has many relatives to visit her mom's and
maternal grandfather's grave. Although she currently has many suitors, Phi Nhung
is focusing all her efforts in honing her singing skills while working on her
career, so she is not really thinking about family and marriage. |
FOODOFVIETNAM.COM