ABSTRACT
Vietnam’s popular music scene is based on the star system, and to become a pop music star is the dream of many Vietnamese teenagers and young adults. It is often a pipe dream, however, because the road to fame is bumpy, and there are many diffi culties involved in becoming a pop music star. To make it as a pop star in Vietnam requires charisma, good looks, talent, and luck. In this chapter I assess the bumpy road of the pop singer’s profession, relative to issues of memory politics and market economics, by making biographical sketches or profi les of Vietnam’s best-known pop singers during the 1990s and early 2000s, rising stars or wannabes, established singers or local returnees, and Việt kiều singers who routinely return to their homeland to perform. Gender and age issues are important factors that are discussed. I also describe several strategies undertaken to become a pop singer in Vietnam, such as lessons, talent shows and singing contests, personal marketing and the Internet, and the role played by the fi lm industry. I conclude by examining personal earnings in the pop singing profession. Therefore, this chapter mostly pertains to the pop singers themselves and their profession; I discuss other musical topics, such as compositions, songwriters, and fusion, in later chapters.
