Song of the Week: “Ru Nắng” – A Quiet Masterpiece from Trầm Tử Thiêng and Thanh Thúy
Song of the Week: “Ru Nắng” – A Quiet Masterpiece from Trầm Tử Thiêng and Thanh Thúy
🎶 Song of the Week: “Ru Nắng” – Trầm Tử Thiêng & Thanh Thúy
Written by Trầm Tử Thiêng · Released 1987 · ISRC: QM9SX2112429
📽️ A Quiet Masterpiece of Vietnamese Balladry
In the quiet corners of Vietnam old music, few songs carry the haunting stillness and poetic depth of “Ru Nắng.” Written by Trầm Tử Thiêng and performed by the iconic Thanh Thúy, this track belongs to a golden era where music served as both resistance and remembrance. A quiet love letter wrapped in melody.
📝 About the Song
“Ru Nắng” (“Lull the Sun”) paints an intimate scene of stillness and tenderness. With lyrics like “Em nằm hong tóc ngoài hiên” (“You lie outside the porch, sun-drying your hair”), the song’s atmosphere is both poetic and cinematic. Thanh Thúy’s vocals are gentle yet haunting embodying a timeless voice that remembers, lingers, and comforts.
🎧 Track Breakdown
- Genre: Vietnamese Ballad
- Mood/Feel: Reflective · Romantic · Poetic
- Tempo: Midtempo
- Vocals: Female Vocal
- Instrumentation: Acoustic · Strings · Light Percussion
- Language: Vietnamese
💡 Why It Moves People
“Ru Nắng” pairs beautifully with moments of reflection, quiet love, cultural memory, or generational storytelling. Its gentle beauty and emotional subtlety leave a lasting impression.
🎥 What It Evokes
Golden-hour memories, slow-motion reflections, heritage flashbacks, and the quiet beauty of rural Vietnam.
🎼 Composer Note
Trầm Tử Thiêng remains one of the most emotionally resonant composers in Vietnamese music history. His catalog is defined by quiet courage, national identity, and spiritual beauty.
👉 Stream the Track: [YouTube]
👉 Explore the Làng Văn Playlist: [Spotify]
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Composer Spotlight: Trường Hải – “Đừng Quên Anh Là Lính
Composer Spotlight: Trường Hải – The Voice of Vietnam’s Golden Era and the Soul of a Generation
🎤 Composer Spotlight: Trường Hải – “Đừng Quên Anh Là Lính”
Performed and Composed by Trường Hải · Released 1972 · ISRC: QM9SX2401213
📽️ A Vintage Anthem of Love, Identity, and Devotion
“Đừng Quên Anh Là Lính” (“Don’t Forget I’m a Soldier”) is a heartfelt love letter written during wartime a personal and cultural touchstone from one of Vietnam’s most influential composer-performers, Trường Hải.
🎞️ As Seen in HBO’s The Sympathizer
This timeless anthem continues to resonate today. Audiences may recognize it from HBO’s acclaimed 2024 miniseries The Sympathizer, based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel. The seven-episode series, co-created by Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Decision to Leave) and Don McKellar, blends history, satire, and espionage to tell the story of a North Vietnamese spy embedded within the South Vietnamese army, who later flees to the United States after the fall of Saigon.
Starring Hoa Xuande as the conflicted Captain and Robert Downey Jr. in multiple transformative roles, the show brings Vietnam’s wartime legacy and diaspora struggles vividly to life. Within this setting, Trường Hải’s music underscores the emotional weight of memory, exile, and identity — a sonic bridge between past and present that adds authenticity and poignancy to the narrative.
📝 About the Song
Built on steady rhythm and subtle funk-inspired guitar, the track resonates with both hope and longing. It’s not just a soldier’s plea; it’s a memory in motion emotive, timeless, and steeped in resilience.
🎧 Track Breakdown
- Genre: Vintage · Rock · Funk
- Mood/Feel: Hopeful · Warm · Reflective
- Tempo: Slow
- Vocals: Male Vocal
- Instrumentation: Bass · Drums · Guitar
- Language: Vietnamese
What Makes It Timeless
With a nostalgic pull and a gentle elegance, this piece fits moments of reflection, long-distance love, or the quiet after a storm. It feels rooted in history, yet still deeply personal.
🎞️ What It Evokes
The quiet weight of memory. A sense of something unspoken. It lingers like a letter never sent, or a goodbye that came too soon.
🎼 Composer Note
Trường Hải’s music shaped Vietnam’s pop rock era of the ’60s–’70s, influencing generations through honesty, restraint, and cultural emotion.
👉 Stream the Track: [YouTube]
👉 Explore Lang Van Golden Era Playlist: [Spotify]
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Echoes Across Generations: Làng Văn Builds the Future of Vietnamese Music
Today, music effortlessly travels across borders, and cultural lines blur with each viral beat. The modern soundscape is an open frontier, where genres intermingle, heritage meets hype, and where cultural identities are reshaped with every mix. Melodies rooted in specific cultures are finding homes in global playlists. This is the landscape in which Làng Văn, a Vietnamese-American cultural institution and multimedia company, steps forward to preserve the legacy of Vietnamese music while ensuring its relevance and resonance with future generations.
Làng Văn is situated in Westminster, California, the heart of the Vietnamese diaspora in the United States. It’s a steward of culture, a curator of memory, and an innovator in music technology. Since its founding in 1982, Làng Văn has grown into the most expansive Vietnamese music archive in the world, a living testament to decades of artistic expression. Housing numerous sound recordings, compositions, videos, and record labels, the company’s catalog spans the sonic spectrum, from traditional folk ballads to experimental hip hop. Essentially, Làng Văn has helped shape the nation’s music.
Still, Làng Văn isn’t simply looking back. It’s looking forward with intention. Its leadership, the daughter of the original founders, Lan Nguyễn and Chúc Lê, understands that while music may begin in a specific place or time, its impact should never be confined. The company now finds itself at a pivotal crossroads where its legacy meets opportunity. How does one evolve heritage without losing its soul? How does one modernize the message without diluting the meaning?
Làng Văn COO, Mimi Nguyễn, found that the answer lies in embracing global relevance without abandoning cultural roots. She states, “Just as K-pop shattered assumptions about what non-English music could achieve worldwide, Vietnamese music, too, holds untapped global potential.” Làng Văn sees this moment clearly.
“We think of music as an emotional bridge,” Nguyễn says. “A familiar rhythm or lyric can transport someone to a distant memory, taking them back to the exact moment they first heard the sound. We want to make Vietnamese music accessible sonically and emotionally.” Essentially, the company is exploring how Vietnamese music can live on global stages not as a relic but as a relevant, contemporary force.
Làng Văn sees technology as a critical tool in this vision. It’s currently laying the groundwork for integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its creative process, aiming to use its exclusive rights to its massive catalog. Làng Văn, with full ownership of its material, has the freedom to innovate without compromise.
It’s experimenting with ways to blend traditional Vietnamese vocals with modern beats, exploring AI-generated remixes that honor legacy while pushing sonic boundaries. “Imagine a classic ballad reinterpreted with dancefloor energy or a folk melody transformed into lo-fi soundscapes for Gen Z listeners. That’s what we want to create,” says Nguyễn.
The new generation behind Làng Văn is deliberately pulling back the curtain, inviting audiences into the stories behind the music. For decades, the company let its work speak for itself, with the founders remaining largely anonymous. But today, that’s changing. The family is ready to share the inspirations, sacrifices, and creative choices that have shaped the Làng Văn sound.
Làng Văn looks forward to beginning its new chapter with digital platforms, AI experimentation, and global ambitions. Its philosophy remains the same: music has no borders, but it does have roots. And those roots matter. They’re what gives the music its soul, truth, and power to connect across time and space. Whether remastering old records for streaming platforms or reimagining legacy tracks through AI, Làng Văn is shaping a future where Vietnamese music evolves, thrives, and resonates worldwide.
Originally published by LAWEEKLY on July 3, 2025. Written by Matthew Kayser
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Xuân Mai Featured in Billboard Vietnam’s “6 Classic Children’s Songs Across Generations”
Published: June 1st | International Children’s Day
On International Children’s Day, Billboard Vietnam released a heartfelt feature titled “6 Classic Children’s Songs Across Generations,” highlighting beloved songs that shaped the childhoods of millions. Among the standout selections is “Tân Cổ Tía Má Em” by Xuân Mai, a name synonymous with Vietnamese children’s music.
🎵 Listen to the Featured Song on Spotify:
Title: Tân Cổ Tía Má Em
Artist: Xuân Mai
ISRC: USJ3V1230309 | UPC: 886296913541
Album: Con Cò Bé Bé 7
Release Year: 2004
Blends traditional and contemporary elements in a way that’s both rhythmic and reflective. Its gentle horns, soft percussion, and soulful saxophone create a dreamy, atmospheric soundscape perfectly capturing the tender emotions of childhood memories and family bonds.
“Children’s music is a magical sound that guides our hearts from the very first steps we take in life.” – Billboard Vietnam
🎥 Watch the full Billboard Vietnam reel:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1222018756038912
Meet Xuân Mai – Vietnam’s Youngest Icon
Xuân Mai is one of Vietnam’s most celebrated child singers. Bursting into the spotlight at an astonishingly young age, she captured hearts across generations with her angelic voice and charismatic performances. Her discography includes numerous best-selling children’s albums and live concert tours, with songs like “Con Cò Bé Bé,” “Cha Mẹ Là Tất Cả,” and of course, “Tân Cổ Tía Má Em.”
Her name continues to resonate today, thanks in part to nostalgic millennials and Gen Z fans, as well as a new wave of young audiences discovering her music on platforms like TikTok and YouTube. With billions of views across social media and streaming platforms, she remains a cultural icon — a rare case of a child star whose songs still carry deep emotional meaning decades later.
A Timeless Voice for a Growing Generation
Vietnam’s youth market is massive, with over 16 million children aged 0–9 and a growing diaspora worldwide in countries like the United States, Australia, Canada, and France. With Vietnam ranking #6 globally for TikTok usage, artists like Xuân Mai are uniquely positioned to reach both nostalgic fans and curious new listeners across generations.
Her early success would likely qualify for a Guinness World Record — as the youngest Vietnamese artist to embark on concert tours, sign album deals, and release music under a record label. Her legacy lives on not just as a musical phenomenon, but as a symbol of childhood, family, and cultural connection.
#BillboardVietnam #XuânMai #LangVan #InternationalChildrensDay #VietnameseMusicHeritage
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Playlist Spotlight: Hương Lan – Lang Van Top 50 on Spotify
Playlist Spotlight: Hương Lan – Lang Van Top 50 on Spotify curated by Lang Van Music.
🔊 Playlist Spotlight: Hương Lan – Lang Van Top 50
📽️ The Golden Voice of Vietnamese Ballads
Hương Lan’s voice carries decades of cultural memory, and “Bài Ca Của Nàng” is a shining example of her emotional storytelling. Reflective, poetic, and unmistakably cinematic, this track captures longing, love, and resilience with a graceful voice that transcends generations.
Featuring “Bài Ca Của Nàng (Remastered)” · Written by Hoài Linh & Tấn An · Released 1990 · ISRC: QM9SX2400770
📝 About the Song
With gentle percussion, warm synth textures, and soft acoustic layers, the song plays like a dreamscape. Lyrics invite us into a woman’s quiet hopes “Give me all the spring skies to color my red lips… Give you peaceful sleep, dreams filled with serenity…”
🎧 Track Breakdown
- Genre: Folk · Pop · Singer-Songwriter
- Mood/Feel: Reflective · Dreamy · Emotive
- Tempo: Slow
- Vocals: Female Vocal
- Instrumentation: Synths · Percussion · Acoustic
- Language: Vietnamese
Why It Endures
It wraps emotion in elegance carrying the weight of unspoken feelings, distant affection, or timeworn traditions. It doesn’t rush the listener, it invites them in.
🎞️ What If Feels Like
Sunlit windows and slow walks. Glances that say everything. Moments suspended between memory and feeling soft fades, old letters, and the hush before dawn.
🎼 Artist Note
Hương Lan’s legacy bridges cải lương and modern folk ballads. A cultural icon, she continues to inspire diasporic memory and national emotion.
🎧 👉 Your Turn
Add the Hương Lan – Lang Van Top 50 playlist to your Spotify library 🎶➕ and please tag us with your own favorite Hương Lan songs. We’d love to see your personal playlist and we might even share it with our global community! 🌍💖 #HuongLan #LangVanLegacy
👉 Listen to the Track: [YouTube]
👉 Follow Lang Van Music on Spotify
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Song of the Week: “Gọi Mãi Tên Anh” – Lynda Trang Đài
is a glam-synth anthem that mixes heartbreak with high-energy fashion—bold, nostalgic, and runway-ready.
🎶 Song of the Week: “Gọi Mãi Tên Anh (I Cry For You)” – Lynda Trang Đài
Written by A. D’Addezio, F. Foss, R.R. Keller · Performed by Lynda Trang Đài · Released 1987 · ISRC: QM9SX2401296
📽️ Synth-Pop Drama with Fashion-Forward Flair
No one embodied Vietnamese New Wave like Lynda Trang Đài. “Gọi Mãi Tên Anh (I Cry For You)” is a glam-synth anthem that mixes heartbreak with high-energy fashion bold, nostalgic, and runway-ready.
📝 About the Song
Built on Italo disco beats, shimmering synths, and bilingual vocals, this remastered cover evokes the golden age of diaspora pop with a dramatic twist that makes it fit for sync moments full of edge and flair.
🎧 Track Breakdown
- Genre: Dance · Pop · Vietnamese New Wave · Hi-NRG
- Mood/Feel: Upbeat · Romantic · Nostalgic
- Tempo: Fast
- Vocals: Female Vocal
- Instrumentation: Synth · Drums · Bass · Guitar
- Language: Bilingual (Vietnamese/English)
💡 Why Fans love it
A perfect match for retro fashion vibes, glow-up moments, high-energy throwbacks, and anything that blends bold style with deep emotion.
🎥 Visual Suggestions
Runway edits, 80s-inspired TV intros, montage flashbacks, bold character reveals.
🎼 Artist Note
Lynda Trang Đài defined a generation of Vietnamese-American pop style. Today, her music remains a template for fearless fusion of fashion and emotion.
👉 Stream the Track: [YouTube]
👉 Explore Retro Vibes with Lang Van: [Spotify]
📣 Let nostalgia fuel your next scene: Blog · Instagram · Newsletter
Song of the Week: “Một Ước Vọng” – Phong Lê
Song of the Week: “Một Ước Vọng” – Phong Lê
🎶 Song of the Week: “Một Ước Vọng” – Phong Lê
Performed by Phong Lê · Released 2010 · ISRC: USJ3V1077904
📽️ Vietnamese Hip Hop with Swagger and Soul
Phong Lê brings swagger, soul, and modern global energy to the Vietnamese soundscape. “Một Ước Vọng” is a stylish, fast-paced fusion of hip hop, R&B, and modern V-Pop equal parts party track and cultural statement.
📝 About the Song
Driven by a pulsing beat, slick synths, and charismatic Vietnamese lyricism, this song exudes cool confidence. Whether you’re scoring a character’s glow-up or a late-night city scene, this track adds instant edge.
🎧 Track Breakdown
- Genre: Hip Hop · R&B · V-Pop · Electronic
- Mood/Feel: Confident · Fun · Cool · Reflective · Sexy
- Tempo: Fast
- Vocals: Male Vocal
- Instrumentation: Percussion · Synth
- Language: Vietnamese
💡 Why It Hits Different
Ideal for fast-paced city vibes, bold fashion edits, global youth culture, and any moment that needs a cross-cultural rhythm with attitude.
🎥 Visual Suggestions
City streets at night, transformation montages, digital culture/fashion videos, streaming originals.
🎼 Artist Note
Phong Lê stands at the forefront of a new Vietnamese music wave globally aware yet culturally grounded.
👉 Stream the Track: [Spotify]
👉 Explore Lang Van’s Modern Vibes Playlist: [DISCO]
📣 Keep the vibe alive: Blog · Instagram · Newsletter
Song of the Week: “Special Love” by Trizzie Phương Trinh
Song of the Week: “Special Love” by Trizzie Phương Trinh
🎶 Song of the Week: “Special Love” – Trizzie Phương Trinh
Written by Michiel van der Kuy · Performed by Trizzie Phương Trinh · Released 1990 · ISRC: QM9SX2401215
📽️ A Radiant Fusion of Vietnamese New Wave and Eurodance
“Special Love” pulses with the shimmering spirit of the early ’90s diaspora scene. A bilingual cover reimagining European synth-pop through Vietnamese-American pop culture, the track is energetic, stylish, and emotionally bright.
📝 About the Song
Combining vibrant synths, sharp percussion, and Trizzie Phương Trinh’s charismatic vocals, this dance-pop gem captures the hybrid identity of a generation. Its bilingual lyrics reflect a youthful optimism and cultural fusion that defined the Little Saigon soundscape.
🎧 Track Breakdown
- Genre: Dance · Pop · Vietnamese New Wave
- Mood/Feel: Upbeat · Energetic · Positive
- Tempo: Fast
- Vocals: Female Vocal
- Instrumentation: Synths · Drums · Bass · Electric Guitar
- Language: Bilingual (Vietnamese/English)
💡 Why It Stands Out
Perfect for throwback party vibes, diasporic youth memories, fashion-forward moments, or anything that blends retro flair with a modern edge.
🎥 Visual Suggestions
Y2K fashion cuts, neon-lit dance floors, late-night joyrides, teen nostalgia moments.
🎼 Legacy Note
Part of a pivotal Vietnamese New Wave movement, Trizzie Phương Trinh helped define a style that still influences Vietnamese-American aesthetics today.
👉 Stream the Track: [YouTube]
👉 Discover More on Lang Van Spotify: [Spotify]
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Song of the Week: “Ai” – A Groovy Love Letter to Courage and Devotion
Song of the Week: “Ai” – A Groovy Love Letter to Courage and Devotion
🎶 Song of the Week: “Ai” – Mai Lệ Huyền
Composed by Trương Hải · Released 1992 · ISRC: USJ3V1198019
📽️ A Soulful Groove of Devotion and Identity
“Ai” is a standout from Vietnam’s golden music era, a vibrant blend of soul, reggae, and pop infused with patriotic romance. Performed by genre-blender Mai Lệ Huyền, the song reflects courage, personal love, and cultural pride.
📝 About the Song
Driven by funky guitar, bouncy rhythms, and Huyền’s emotionally raw voice, the song captures deep yearning in a groove-laced package. Lyrics like “Who teaches me how to miss someone in an empty bed?” hit with emotional gravity.
🎧 Track Breakdown
- Genre: Vietnamese Vintage · Reggae · Soul
- Mood/Feel: Uplifting · Romantic · Patriotic
- Tempo: Midtempo
- Vocals: Female Vocal
- Instrumentation: Drums · Bass · Guitar
- Language: Vietnamese
💡 Why It Resonates
Ideal for retro memories, timeless love stories, nostalgic reflections, or powerful moments that blend history with heart.
🎼 Legacy Note
Mai Lệ Huyền was a fearless innovator one of the first Vietnamese artists to infuse soul and funk into traditional themes.
👉 Stream the Track: [YouTube]
👉 Golden Era Vietnamese Playlist: [Spotify]
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Bài Hát Trong Tuần: “Đừng Quên Anh Là Lính” – Trường Hải
🎶 Bài Hát Trong Tuần: “Đừng Quên Anh Là Lính” – Trường Hải
Sáng tác & trình bày: Trường Hải · Phát hành: 1972 · ISRC: QM9SX2401213 · Bản quyền: One-Stop
📽️ Một khúc ca cổ điển đầy tình yêu, ký ức và niềm tự hào
“Đừng Quên Anh Là Lính” là một lá thư tình âm nhạc giữa thời chiến – chân thành, mộc mạc nhưng đầy cảm xúc. Trường Hải vừa là người sáng tác, vừa thể hiện bài hát này, khắc họa sự hy sinh và lòng trung thành bằng nhịp điệu rock pha funk nhẹ nhàng.
📝 Giới Thiệu Bài Hát
Với phần bass và guitar nền đầy nhịp nhàng, kết hợp giai điệu cổ điển và lời ca gần gũi, bài hát kể câu chuyện tình yêu xuyên qua khoảng cách và nghĩa vụ. Đây không chỉ là tâm sự của người lính, mà còn là lời khẳng định bản sắc cá nhân và dân tộc.
🎧 Thông Tin Bài Hát
- Thể loại: Rock cổ điển · Funk nhẹ
- Cảm xúc: Hy vọng · Ấm áp · Suy tư
- Tốc độ: Chậm
- Giọng hát: Nam
- Nhạc cụ: Bass · Trống · Guitar nhẹ
- Ngôn ngữ: Tiếng Việt
- Bản quyền: One-Stop (Bản ghi âm + Xuất bản)
💡 Phù Hợp Cho Đồng Bộ Hóa (Sync Licensing)
Lý tưởng cho các cảnh phim hồi tưởng, chuyện tình thời chiến, viết thư, hoặc phim tài liệu có chiều sâu cảm xúc và chiều kích lịch sử.
🎥 Gợi Ý Cảnh Phim
Cảnh đọc thư, end credits, hồi tưởng ký ức, phim thời kỳ hậu chiến, cảnh nội tâm tĩnh lặng.
🎼 Ghi Chú Nghệ Sĩ
Trường Hải là một trong những nhạc sĩ/vocalist tiêu biểu của thời kỳ nhạc vàng những năm 60s–70s. Các tác phẩm của ông ảnh hưởng đến nhiều thế hệ nghệ sĩ Việt Nam trong và ngoài nước.
👉 Nghe bài hát: [YouTube]
👉 Khám phá playlist Lang Van Golden Era: [Spotify]
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