HÀ NỘI  All of the seats at the PH Live Theatre in Las Vegas, US, were filled during the recent two-night run of Anh Trai Say Hi (Say Hi with Bros), one of Việt Nam’s most talked-about music shows in the past several months.

Twenty-six artists of the show 'Anh Trai Say Hi' (Say Hi with Bros) pose for a photo on the stage of the PH Live Theatre in Las Vegas. Photos courtesy of VieON

Held on July 26 and 27, the concerts attracted 14,000 attendees. Fans experienced live performances by 26 artists, slightly fewer than the usual 30, but excitement remained high as hits like Catch Me If You Can, Chân Thành (Sincerity), Sóng Vỗ Vỡ Bờ (Waves Breaking on the Shore), I'm Thinking About You, Walk, Hào Quang (Glory) and Sao Hạng A (A-list Celebrity) reverberated through the venue.

Singer Hieuthuhai shared an emotional highlight from the show. 

"Today, singing the newest songs written by our crew in Vietnamese, right here in Las Vegas, in an auditorium where everyone sang along together – that was the most special moment of my year. A moment of pride for the Vietnamese language and for Vietnamese people,” he said.

Fellow singer Rhyder remarked that the scale of the event was 20 times larger than a previous performance he gave in Las Vegas.

All of the seats at the PH Live Theatre in Las Vegas, US, were filled during the recent two-night run of 'Anh Trai Say Hi' .

The concert marked a significant shift for Vietnamese music abroad. While past overseas performances were typically community-based and smaller in scale, Anh Trai Say Hi made a splash in a mainstream entertainment hub with a show that was independently produced, professionally promoted and distributed by a Vietnamese team.

Although PH Live isn’t as spacious as venues previously used for the same concert in HCM City or Hà Nội, the production invested in high-quality staging, sound systems and lighting to meet global standards.

Media analyst Hồng Quang Minh commented: “Bringing the show to Las Vegas was a calculated move. Performing at a well-known venue like PH Live reflects a new level of ambition for Vietnamese music – not just to serve overseas Vietnamese communities, but to compete internationally with a professional product.”

The concert marked a significant shift for Vietnamese music abroad.

The decision to host the show in the US drew scepticism early on. Concerns included steep ticket prices – VIP admission reached US$2,500 – and whether the concert could attract a large enough audience in a foreign country.

According to co-organiser Michael Nguyễn, the team received harsh criticism ahead of the event, with some doubting its legitimacy or predicting low ticket sales. However, early sales data told a different story.

“What many didn’t expect was how smart and bold the younger generation has become. They acted on their excitement by purchasing tickets the moment they went on sale,” he said.

Ticketmaster reported over $1.5 million in ticket sales within the first hour – a record-breaking achievement for Vietnamese showbiz. Minh said that this figure indicates not only strong fan engagement, but also rising confidence in Vietnamese artists who aim to meet international benchmarks.

“The show’s listing on Ticketmaster – a selective global platform – further supports the view that this was not simply a Vietnamese diaspora-focused event, but a competitive entertainment offering,” he said.

Performing at a well-known venue like PH Live reflects a new level of ambition for Vietnamese music – not just to serve overseas Vietnamese communities, but to compete internationally with a professional product.

Support for the show extended beyond the stage. Many fans travelled from across the US to attend the concert, while others organised promotional campaigns, such as hiring trucks to broadcast music, displaying LED screens in public areas and securing billboard advertisements to celebrate the performers.

Industry insiders said they believed that if the organisers had chosen a larger venue, ticket demand would have still matched capacity. VNS