HCM CITY — Vietnamese- American singer Thanh Lan will stage a special show in HCM City for fans after 24 years of living away from her native land.

Lan will perform with Vietnamese-American singers Tuấn Ngọc and Alvis Phương, both pop idols for decades.   

Around 1,000 people are expected to attend the Bang Bang - Khi Xưa Ta Bé show (Bang Bang - When I was a Child), which will begin at 8pm at the Hotel Equatorial HCM City on July 29.  

Lan will sing love songs that shot her to fame in the 1970s and 80s by composers Phạm Duy, Lê Hựu Hà and Nguyễn Văn Tý. The 69-year-old artist left Việt Nam in 1993, but her love for singing in her homeland has not diminished. 

The show’s highlights will include Khi Xưa Ta Bé (Bang Bang), a Vietnamese version of Nancy Sinatra’s My Babe Shot Me Down and Trở Về Mái Nhà Xưa (Come Back to Sorrento). Lan will also perform French songs like Búp Bê Không Tình Yêu (Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son), which made her famous worldwide.

Lan showed her talent in music when she was at school. She began her professional career before graduating from the Sài Gòn University of Literature in 1973.

She performed Tuổi Biết Buồn (Younghood), a romantic song composed by Phạm Chánh and Phạm Duy at the Yamaha  International Music Festival in Japan in 1973.

She later worked with a music producer in Tokyo to record Tuổi Mộng Mơ (Dream Age), one of the most popular songs composed by Phạm Duy, in Japanese, titled Yume o Miruno.  

After 1975, Lan worked for prestigious art troupes, including Kim Cương Troupe, Hương Miền Nam and Bông Hồng Troupe, and travelled to perform in many places.

Lan has played leading roles in several feature films by directors Lê Hoàng Hoa, Nguyễn Xuân Thành and Lê Cung Bắc.

Her role in the late veteran director Hoa’s Ván Bài Lật Ngửa (Showdown), an eight-episode TV series broadcast on national television in 1980, left a strong impression on audiences. 

After moving to California, she worked with music producers and entertainment agencies and performed on many albums and videos. — VNS