HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese alternative rock band Ngọt abruptly announced that they would stop performing live to concentrate on their upcoming last album.

Ngọt performed at Monsoon Music Festival 2023. Photo courtesy of Monsoon Music Festival

"Ngọt officially stops performing from today. Thank you very much. It has been a meaningful journey. We will continue to produce Ngọt's final album," the band posted on their Facebook page yesterday. 

Fans were left in shock, wondering if Ngọt had disbanded or not.

Just last year, the band grandly celebrated their 10th anniversary at the Monsoon Music Festival 2023 at Thăng Long Imperial Citadel, Hà Nội with a special 90-minute-setlist performance.

They also released a new EP named Suýt 1 (Almost 1) consisting of five experimental songs this February. 

Established in late 2013, Ngọt currently consists of four members, including Vũ Đinh Trọng Thắng, Nguyễn Hùng Nam Anh, Phan Việt Hoàng and Nguyễn Chí Hùng.

Over the past 10 years, Ngọt has successively released four outstanding albums — Ngọt (Sweet), Ng`bthg, 3, and Gieo (Sowing) and participated in many prominent shows.

Ngọt won two awards, New Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for Em Dạo Này (You Recently) at the Cống Hiến (Devotion) Awards 2018.

The band was honoured in the list of 30 Under 30 Vietnam, as voted by Forbes in 2020.

Thắng, the composer and lead singer, was nominated as the Musician of the Year at the Cống Hiến (Devotion) Awards 2020.

Indie music — which is created without the interference of record labels or their promotional campaigns — has introduced fresh sounds to the Vietnamese contemporary music landscape recently.

Ngọt, a young indie band, brought a breath of fresh air that is now profoundly ingrained in the youth subculture, becoming one of the top trendsetters in Việt Nam's music scene. — VNS