Singer Amee performs at the Cống Hiến (Devotion) Awards 2023. VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Giang

HÀ NỘI — Outstanding artists and athletes were honoured at the Cống Hiến (Devotion) Awards 2023, an annual event sponsored by the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s newspaper Thể Thao & Văn Hóa (Sport and Culture).

This year for the first time, the event featured new categories for sports in addition to music. 

Singer Hoàng Thùy Linh (left) won three major Devotion awards. VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Giang

Among the nine music categories, singer Hoàng Thùy Linh won three prizes, best music video, best female singer and album of the year.

The See Tình singer thanked her friend and family as well as fans, for helping her win the top prizes.

"Thank you for everyone's encouragement, helping me to stay optimistic every step of the way," she said.

"I think I was lucky tonight. Everyone here has worked hard. I really don't think I'm better than any other nominees but just luckier.”

MONO (real name Nguyễn Việt Hoàng) was named as new artist of the year, while the awards for male singer, producer and musician of the year went to Tùng Dương, DTAP, and Khắc Hưng, respectively. The song of the year was Bên Trên Tầng Lầu composed and performed by Tăng Duy Tân, while the show of the year was Tri Âm by singer Mỹ Tâm.

"This year’s Devotion Awards have showcased a vibrant music market, especially young music. It is a welcome and promising signal for the future of popular music in the country," singer, producer and musician Hưng said.

In addition to young artists such as Tăng Duy Tân and Mono, the awards also named senior ones like Mỹ Tâm and Tùng Dương. According to journalist Hà Sơn from vietnamnet.vn, it is a good sign that not only young artists have launched many viral products, but older ones have also been constantly creating, asserting and renewing themselves.

In the sport categories, football player Khuất Văn Khang won young athlete of the year, while Nguyễn Thị Oanh, a female track-and-field athlete, was honoured as the sport's figure of the year. The two awards were based on votes by fans.

Footballer Khuất Văn Khang seized the award for the young athlete of the year. VNA/VNS Photo Hòa Nguyễn

As one of the first athletes honoured at Devotion Awards, Khang expressed his gratitude to the organisers and the audience: "I feel very honoured to be here. The Devotion award gives a lot of encouragement to me to try my best in the future," he said.

General Director of Vietnam News Agency Vũ Việt Trang (left) presents the ‘Sports Achievement of the Year' award to a representative of the national female football team. VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Giang

The last award ‘Sports Achievement of the Year’, which recognised breakthrough by an individual or a team in professional fields, went to the national female football team who won a berth in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. The winner was selected by a council under the organising committee.

Lê Xuân Thành, Editor-in-Chief of Thể Thao & Văn Hóa, speaks at the awards ceremony. VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Giang

Lê Xuân Thành, Editor-in-Chief of Thể Thao & Văn Hóa, said: "These are the most beautiful moments in the nearly two-decade history of the Dedication Awards and also very rare moments in the country's culture and sporting industry.

“It was the moment when the most prominent artists in Việt Nam’s popular music scene along with the best athletes in 2022 were present and honoured on the same stage and in the same art programme.

“It is hard to describe the beauty of sports in 11 nominations in three categories of the Sports Devotion Awards. Along with that, 45 nominations in  nine categories of Music Devotion Awards not only show the fresh beauty of the most talented Vietnamese young male and female artists in the past year, but also the strength of music in inspiring the public, not only in the country but also around the world. Music has contributed to the ‘soft power’ of Vietnamese culture.”

The Devotion Awards were first launched in 2005 to promote Vietnamese music and honour artists who have made significant contributions to the industry. VNS