HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội native songstress Lệ Quyên, whose voice has bewitched audiences for years, will once again seduce fans during her live show tonight at the city’s Friendship Palace. 

Dubbed as “Queen of Vietnamese Bolero Music” due to her roaring  success with slow-tempo songs, the 36-year-old singer will perform the songs by veteran songwriter Lam Phương, which are also featured in her latest album Khúc Tình Xưa (Old Love Songs): Lệ Quyên – Lam Phương that was released on December 24.

A big name in light music in the South of Việt Nam before the country’s unification in 1975, most of Phương’s works are about love. After resettling in the US and France, he continued to compose nostalgic songs about his homeland. His up-and-down love life has also provided abundant inspiration for many of his songs.

In the beginning of last year, his songs were introduced for the first time on the music channel VOV3 of the Voice of Việt Nam radio.

Singer Quyên said she had been lucky to meet the veteran songwriter, who is now partly disabled due to a stroke in 1995, during a tour in the US few years ago.

“He uttered my name right after seeing me at his door. He recognised me although we’d never met before. It was very moving,” recalled Quyên, who currently lives in HCM City.

“Moreover, the 80-year-old songwriter said he often listens to his songs sung by me. That’s why he immediately agreed when I asked him for permission to use his songs for my album,” she said.

Quyên also said that the composer has about 200 songs that he has never unveiled.

Quyên’s newest album features 12 songs – some of the best by Phương, including Thành Phố Buồn (Sad City), Bài Tango Cho Em (A Tango for You), Thu Sầu (Melancholy Autumn), Cỏ Úa (Withered Grass), and Xin Thời Gian Qua Mau (Time, Please Fly Quickly).

Quyên will perform all these songs in her show, as well as some other hits. She has invited male singers – Quốc Thiên, Quang Đại and Dương Triệu Vũ - who are among the best of Vietnamese bolero music performers, to share the stage with her tonight. — VNS