Ngoc Lan on PBN

When we think of Ngoc Lan in music videos, naturally May Productions would most likely be the first production company that would come to mind due to her lengthy association with the label and the two very memorable solo videotapes of Ngoc Lan that had been released in the early 1990s.  Asia Productions would probably come second in terms of a production company associated with Ngoc Lan's appearances in music videos.  It is only fair to say that Ngoc Lan's work on her first two solo music videotapes produced by May Productions truly revolutionized the Vietnamese music video production industry setting higher standards in quality.  The enormous success from both of Ngoc Lan's solo music videotapes produced by May Productions undoubtedly enabled the label to launch the Hollywood Night series in the early 1990s, in which its popularity for a number of years really had given the Paris by Night series produced by Thuy Nga Paris a serious run for its money.  With each volume of Paris by Night that Thuy Nga Paris was dishing out during those years in the early 1990s, May Productions would immediately right behind them coming out with a new volume of the Hollywood Night series with just as wide of viewer audience reception.  The competition between the two labels was quite stiff as the performances of each of their products out in the market were really neck and neck.  But then right around the mid 1990s, another competitor joined in on the race, Asia Productions.  Like the saying goes, only the strong survive.  That was the case with this war between Thuy Nga Paris, Asia Productions and May Productions.   Despite having Ngoc Lan on their lineup of regular performers along with the recruitment of several top players from the Paris by Night stage such as Lynda Trang Dai, Huong Lan, Y Lan, Tuan Ngoc and Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen, May Productions couldn't stand up to the fierce competition against Thuy Nga Paris and Asia Productions by the mid 1990s.  Following the downfall of May Productions, their biggest star, Ngoc Lan, would venture out and collaborate with Asia Productions as well as Thuy Nga Paris to make appearances on each of the production companies' live show music video series.  This move by Thuy Nga Paris of recruiting Ngoc Lan onto the lineup of Paris by Night performers came as of no

Ngoc Lan's Debut Appearance on Paris by Night
  Performing Duc Huy's Mua Xuan Trong Doi Mat Em 

surprise.  Afterall, Ngoc Lan was one of the most bankable recording artists among overseas Vietnamese singers.  Since Thuy Nga Paris has been the most prolific overseas Vietnamese music production label with its extremely successful Paris by Night series which has served as the primary stage for overseas Vietnamese entertainers featuring all the biggest names, why wouldn't Ngoc Lan be recruited?  Ngoc Lan certainly ranks as one of the biggest names ever among overseas Vietnamese singers.

Ngoc Lan on Paris by Night
 performing Con Mua Trong Doi

Ngoc Lan's tenure at Thuy Nga Paris, although brief lasting only from 1995-1996, would, however, entail performances on the Paris by Night stage that have been considered to be some of her most memorable.  Contrary to her performances on Hollywood Night, we see a more mature Ngoc Lan on the Paris by Night series.  The songs she had selected to appear on video for Thuy Nga Paris were more heartfelt and geared specifically toward a more mature adult viewer audience.  All five of her appearances on Paris by Night, Ngoc Lan was seen singing ballads.  Even her style of dress had changed.  Ngoc Lan would be seen wearing elegant evening gowns in all but one out of the five music videos for Thuy Nga which was a far cry from the days when she was either dressed in shorts singing and dancing to Joe le Taxi with a group of back-up dancers on the Hollywood Night stage or better yet, when she was dancing around in a lake dressed in a gothic all-black dress and wearing a hat in her music video of Johnny, Johnny.  It's not that she didn't look cute back in those earlier videos.  She certainly did.  But Ngoc Lan was an artist with enough wisdom to know how to dress and appear in a style that is age appropriate.  During the time of Ngoc Lan's collaboration with Thuy Nga Paris, although still quite beautiful, she was by then approaching 40.  She was fully aware that her days of being seen in skimpy shorts singing and dancing on stage to bubble gum music were well over and that a more sophisticated look and sound were evidently the appropriate image for her to now take on.  As it turned out, Ngoc Lan's calculations were dead on.  And because of that, she would only further gain the respect and adoration of her huge following of fans.

Ngoc Lan looking very sexy
while singing Duy Quang's Kiep Dam Me on Paris by Night  

All five of the songs that Ngoc Lan had performed on Paris by Night were nothing short of phenomenal beginning with her debut appearance on the series on Volume 33 with the song, Mua Xuan Trong Doi Mat Em.  Since this is a tune penned by Duc Huy, what other singer would be more well suited to record this song than our beloved Ngoc Lan, herself?  Ngoc Lan's performance of Kiep Dam Me was just flawless.  She looked incredibly sexy in that dress.  After hearing her rendition, I must say no other singer could even match Ngoc Lan's interpretation of this beautiful, heartbreaking ballad penned by her friend, the legendary singer/songwriter Duy Quang.  In Em Ve Nao Co Hay, written by composer Hoang Trong Thuy, Ngoc Lan really pours her heart and soul into the song.  Again, I can't think of another singer's version of that song I'd rather listen to.  Con Mua Trong Doi, a song that was originally written in Japanese and given Vietnamese lyrics written by Khuc Lan, was another flawless performance from Ngoc Lan on Paris by Night.  And finally, my favorite of them all, Ngoc Lan's performance of Trinh Nam Son's Ve Day Em clearly exemplified why I had become a devoted fan of hers.  Ngoc Lan's delivery of this song was gentle and sweet, yet passionate and full of emotion.  I still get chills everytime I watch this video on YouTube.

Ngoc Lan and Ve Day Em on Paris by Night

I wish Ngoc Lan's tenure on Thuy Nga Paris had been a longer one.  As a matter of fact, I wish Ngoc Lan's life and career had been longer.  It is rather difficult to accept how such a great artist who was so beautiful and talented like our beloved Ngoc Lan is no longer with us.  But at least we still have her music and videos to remember her by.  The legend of Ngoc Lan definitely still lives on. 

Mat Troi Ben Kia Mua Ha (Sunny on the Other Side) Review

To follow up with the enormous success of Ngoc Lan's solo videotape, Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh (As If I've Always Loved You), Tran Thang, the CEO and co-founder of May Productions, and Ngoc Lan once again collaborated and came up with a sophomore vehicle, Mat Troi Ben Kia Mua Ha (Sunny on the Other Side).  Undoubtedly, there had been high anticipation given the unprecedented record of sales from Ngoc Lan's first solo videotape released back in 1990.  Nearly everyone among overseas Vietnamese audiences, including myself, couldn't wait to see what May Productions and Ngoc Lan would come out with in the years to come and if the level of success enjoyed from Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh would ever be matched or surpassed.  Such a task was deemed quite plausible for Ngoc Lan's video works, since the public had already seen such an example in her career as a recording artist a few years prior.  This was, of course, in reference to the enormous success of her 2nd solo studio album, Nguoi Yeu Dau (1987), which had become the biggest selling solo studio album ever recorded by an overseas Vietnamese recording artist, that would be nearly matched the following year with the release of her third solo studio album, L'amour Tinh Ta, which rounded out as the highest selling album for the Giang Ngoc label of the year in 1988.  For a brief while, L'amour Tinh Ta held the position of being the 2nd biggest selling solo studio album recorded by an overseas Vietnamese artist, right behind Nguoi Yeu Dau.  For an artist to hold both first and second places among the best selling studio albums in the Vietnamese music industry, as was the case of Ngoc Lan, is simply astounding to say the least.  During the latter part of the 1980s and beginning years of the 1990s, it can arguably be said that the overseas Vietnamese music industry was pretty much dominated by Ngoc Lan.

Music video productions among the Vietnamese music industry had just started to grow into fruition. The tremendous impact that music videos had made within the American mainstream music industry from the early 1980s and the birth of MTV music video channel had revolutionized world music altogether. Singers were then regarded as movie stars, as audiences now would identify a singer with not only his or her signature song but also as the star of a particular mini-movie known as a music video made for the song.  The same effect would also take place among Vietnamese singers.  Michael Jackson, Madonna and Cyndi Lauper have been accredited as the first major stars of American and world pop music videos.  Among Vietnamese singers, undoubtedly it was Ngoc Lan.

Although Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh had been so well received by Vietnamese audiences worldwide, it had received some criticism for its lack of artistic value.  Ngoc Lan indeed looked beautiful, as the camera crew of May Productions had managed to capture her essence and physical beauty for the entire world to see.  But the storyline behind the music videos featured on Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh were either weak, if not non-existent.  Aside from Khi Co Chang (Je Ne Suis Que de L'amour), the storyline on the rest of the music videos from Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh really did not make any sense. Nevertheless, we enjoyed watching them.  I'd have to say my favorite video was Doi Cho (Johnny, Johnny).  I guess you can say that would be one of my all time favorite guilty pleasures in music videos.  I loved watching how beautiful Ngoc Lan looked, how playful she was with her cute style of dancing, and even the endearing silliness of her trying to dance while standing knee deep in water of some lake.  But just what in the hell was the video all about?  Who cares?  It was more than enough for us viewers how Ngoc Lan looked so sexy dancing and changing into different wardrobes throughout the song, but toward the end of the song, we see a streetlight that shifts from the colors green, yellow and ultimately, red.  Ngoc Lan walks slowly to approach a door that would open to some mysterious room.  And just as she was about to enter, she faints and drops to the ground.  That was the music video of Ngoc Lan singing Johnny, Johnny.  It's rather funny and completely silly, but so what?  We all loved it and just couldn't get enough of Ngoc Lan.

Among the songs selected to be made into music videos featured on Mat Troi Ben Kia Mua Ha, May Productions worked with an innovative Vietnamese-American musician, Alan Nguyen.  Unlike the videos produced on Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh, for the most part the music videos featured on Mat Troi Ben Kia Mua Ha had each been produced and shot with a bit more of a storyline and seemed like each video had an actual script.  Actually, all but one out of the six music videos on Mat Troi Ben Kia Mua Ha seemed to have had a script.  I'll hold off on disclosing which of the six it was because I have a feeling many of our readers already have a pretty good idea which music video I'm referring to here.  If you're not completely sure which video I'm referring to, just read on and before you are finished reading this entire post, you'll know which one I am talking about right now and hopefully will understand my reasons for thinking this way about this music video for this particular song.


Dang Tran Thuc, as in all the music videos for Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh, once again served as the director of this Mat Troi Ben Kia Mua Ha.  Would you believe that Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen, the star of Paris By Night videos series presently, had also worked on this project as assistant director?  There is no doubt in my mind that she had contributed a lot of input to the making of this videotape.  I'm just really surprised that Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen had managed to remain as assistant director of this project rather than take over as the director, judging from my own few experiences working with her in the past.  I don't mean that in a negative way.  It's just that, based on my observations of Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen, she seems like a perfectionist and a take-charge type of individual.  But whoever it should be accredited to, I must say that the brave attempts at being innovative on this videotape production are rather impressive.  But keep in mind, this was still a Vietnamese music video production where no matter what, the star would always have to appear at all times looking flawlessly beautiful.  The production team behind May Productions was fully aware of that. Therefor, Ngoc Lan would appear in full make-up at all times, regardless if she was portraying someone imprisoned, a mental ward patient, or even a girl who had just woken up in the morning. That is just the absolute requirement by Vietnamese law universally understood in the field of entertainment, a law permanently set in stone with no possibility of amendment what so ever.  Every Vietnamese person on earth is aware of this law from as early on as childbirth and refers to such more so as common knowledge.  Put it this way, to Vietnamese people, the likelihood of man one day being able to sprout wings and fly like birds is much greater than a Vietnamese singer or actress ever appearing on stage or the big screen without any make-up.  The latter would just be humanly impossible.

The first music video featured on this volume was Mua Thu Ru Em, a song written and composed by Duc Huy.  I really enjoyed this one. However, as I've noticed, this did not fair out so well with the Vietnamese general audience simply because Ngoc Lan did not appear in the video wearing any glamorous wardrobes.  From beginning to end, she was seen dressed in the costume of a cave girl.  I thought she looked seductive.  But for a singer to appear on video not wearing a designer evening gown filled with sequins is just an impossible sale with Vietnamese audiences.  That is just how it goes.

Three of the six in total videos on this videotape were made for three original songs:  Mal de Toi, Prisoner of Love, and Whenever You Come To Me, all written and composed by Alan Nguyen for Ngoc Lan.  Ngoc Lan's voice was in top form in the audio recordings of these three songs from Alan Nguyen, and each of the videos for these songs would contain ample footage of Ngoc Lan looking sensational and glamorous changing in and out of one beautiful wardrobe after another.  Therefor, it was really of no surprise that these three music videos of Alan Nguyen-penned new songs were sure shot favorites with Vietnamese audiences.  Ngoc Lan obviously had good taste in clothing, and as always looked great in every wardrobe she was seen wearing on video.  But I must concede, especially in the music video for Mal de Toi, it would have been a whole lot better if May Productions had hired a professional choreographer to help her out, or at least enrolled Ngoc Lan in some professional dance lessons.  Just watching Ngoc Lan looking cute, smiling and wiggling back and forth while lip synching the lyrics to Johnny, Johnny on Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh was charming enough to make Vietnamese audiences love and adore Ngoc Lan even more and deem the video as enjoyable to watch and entertaining.  However, the same approach did not work on Mal de Toi, as the lack of choreography was quite apparent and Ngoc Lan's limited dance moves just simply got old before even the first minute into the video.  She looked really bored trying to dance by herself in front of the camera.  But could anyone blame her?

Whenever You Come to Me is a lovely song written and composed by Alan Nguyen with a gentle melody and beautiful lyrics both in English and Vietnamese.  Yes, Ngoc Lan was seen in this video singing in English.  There had been no question that Ngoc Lan's singing in the French language was an exceptional trademark of hers and how she had been so successful with her recorded covers of French love songs where her French sounded as effortless as her Vietnamese.  But up until then, it had seemed that English was a language she often struggled with on many of her recordings of American love songs.  Her performance with Whenever You Come to Me, as well as Prisoner of Love are clear examples that she had indeed come a long way with the English language.  Her pronunciation in English with these two songs were a far cry from Casablanca recorded on her first solo studio album and other songs she had recorded in English from her earlier days.  This was just another example of how Ngoc Lan had grown as an artist.

Like in her first solo videotape, Ngoc Lan chooses to round out this second solo videotape with a classic Vietnamese tune; a popular song written by Tuan Khanh, Noi Niem.  This decision and the art direction of the music video to Noi Niem seemed too much like a replica of Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh, in which the final music video was of the song written by Trinh Cong Son, Tuoi Da Buon.  Just like how Tuoi Da Buon had been the least entertaining video on Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh,  in my opinion, Noi Niem was the least entertaining and most uneventful out of the six music videos featured on Mat Troi Ben Kia Mua Ha. 

The one video I found to be rather ridiculous with an unclear storyline, and can even be downgraded to being utterly ridiculous the more times I've watched it, was Mua Dong Sap Den.  Years ago, I had heard Ngoc Lan's recorded version of this song on a compilation cassette of Duc Huy songs consisting of several other female recording artists like Kieu Nga, Thuy Vi, Bich Ha, Nhu Mai and Ngoc Lan, entitled as Em! released under Da Lan music label.  I didn't care much for Ngoc Lan's delivery of this song.  This song had also been recorded by Khanh Ha on her solo studio album, Ngay Ngat Ben Anh (1987), released by Diem Xua Productions, which would later be retitled as Coi Tinh when it was released on compact disc.  Khanh Ha's superb rendition of Mua Dong Sap Den has since then overshadowed all others.  Out of all the songs Ngoc Lan had recorded throughout her career, Mua Dong Sap Den would be one of my least favorites.  Her vocals for this song seemed rather lifeless and mundane.  The art direction and storyline on the music video of Ngoc Lan's version of Mua Dong Sap Den only further perpetuated my sentiment.  Besides two very brief footages of Ngoc Lan walking in the snow in this video, which would represent something having to do with winter at least, most of the clips put together for this song seemed like a mishmash of seasons and events totally without any sort of correlation.  I couldn't help but wonder just what the scriptwriter, editor and director of this video were all trying to do with Mua Dong Sap Den.  In the music video for this song, Ngoc Lan was seen walking on the beach, lying on a hammock on what seemed like a hot summer day, wearing a backless dress out in the desert, and attending an outdoor wedding as the guest who catches the bouquet thrown by the bride.  Now keep in mind, this was a song called Mua Dong Sap Den (Coming Winter).  After watching the music video several times, I guess, all I can say is, well, uh.... perhaps the only thing that would have made it totally complete would be if Ngoc Lan had appeared wearing a bathing suit on some tropical island and then maybe a few clips of Ngoc Lan dressed as either a nun or can-can dancer walking along the Seine River.  In other words, huh?

Ngoc Lan's sophomore video effort, Mat Troi Ben Kia Mua Ha, upon its release generated high sales, unsurprisingly.  Despite its greater artistic value, the popularity of Mat Troi Ben Kia Mua Ha would not match anywhere near the massive level Ngoc Lan had enjoyed with her first solo videotape, Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh.  Although Ngoc Lan did look beautiful on this videotape, she just didn't appear as glamorous as she did in Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh.  I believe that was probably one of the main factors of it being not as popular as her first solo videotape.  Nevertheless, Mat Troi Ben Kia did turn out to be a successful vehicle for both May Productions and Ngoc Lan.  It was well received by the audience, especially among her loyal fans, and was in no way a discredit to Ngoc Lan as a Vietnamese music video star.  It just wasn't as grand as Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh.

By the way, all six of these songs featured on this videotape would be released on compact disc by May Productions almost a decade later.  The title given to this compact disc would also be Mat Troi Ben Kia Mua Ha and would include six other songs Ngoc Lan had recorded for May Productions that had yet to be released.  Although it would technically be Ngoc Lan's 11th solo studio album, in actuality this was more like a compilation album consisting of some of Ngoc Lan's recorded songs at different times for May Productions.  This album was released in 1999 by May Productions, when Ngoc Lan was no longer actively recording for the label.  

Memories of a Big Sister, Idol, and Inspiration 2014

I have told this story several times before.  Among the various blogs, social media websites and tribute sites that had been created by Ngoc Lan's many fans where I have told this story in the past, I believe it was when I had posted this story on IloveNgocLan.com sometime in the fall of 2004 that had reached the widest viewership audience.  I really enjoyed writing this story, as much as I still enjoy telling it over and over again to those around me.  Now when I look back, what I had written about my friendship with Ngoc Lan were indeed very fond memories that I will forever cherish and hold dear to my heart.  The image I would always like to have of Ngoc Lan is that from my recollections during my friendship with her.. The Ngoc Lan that I had befriended, looked upon as an adoptive older sister, and had grown to love was someone who was always in focus of exactly what she wanted in life, someone very beautiful, and someone who truly loved life.  Here is the story I had written of Ngoc Lan almost 10 years ago that I've partially revised and updated for this publication here on NgocLanRemembered.BlogSpot.com for our readers.  I hope you will enjoy reading this, and as always, I look forward to reading your comments.

Thien Phu

This poster I still keep hung on my bedroom wall was one that chi Ngoc Lan had autographed and given to me back in 1989.

Memories of a Big Sister, Idol, and Inspiration 2014

I'd like to tell you a story about the Ngoc Lan I was so fortunate to know, love and miss very much.  I'm writing this in English for it is my primary language and much easier for me to express myself than it is in Vietnamese. 

Let me first introduce myself.  My name is Thien Phu.  I had also been involved in the entertainment industry for the Vietnamese community here in the United States.  In the 1990s, I tried my hand at singing, did a few professional audio recordings, and performed for Vietnamese audiences throughout America and abroad with some success.  After nearly a decade working as an entertainer, I decided to put my singing career behind me and went back to school to pursue a degree in English at Cal State Long Beach.  Whether that had been the right decision or not remains ambiguous in my mind to this day.  But that's another story. 

My story of Ngoc Lan began sometime in 1989 when I was just 16 years old.  At the time I was in high school here in the States having primarily American friends and speaking very little Vietnamese.  I was studying French and took a liking to French music.  This is when I began listening to Ngoc Lan's music.  At first I was interested in Ngoc Lan's recorded covers of popular French songs, in which she would bilingually sing in both the original French lyrics, as well as the translated Vietnamese lyrics.  Songs like La Vie En Rose, Une Histoire D'amour and Quelque Chose Dans Mon Coeur that she had recorded enchanted me greatly.  I would often listen to the original versions recorded by the famous French singers and then compare them to Ngoc Lan's cover renditions, and usually I'd end up feeling more of a closeness with her interpretations.  This is when I first started to collect cassettes produced by various Vietnamese music production companies that would include this particular pop music genre referred to as Nhac Tre in the Vietnamese language.  Such compilation cassettes produced with similar Nhac Tre themes released back in the day would feature various other talented Vietnamese recording artists whom also had possessed abilities to sing bilingually in both Vietnamese and French similar to Ngoc Lan like Julie, also known as Julie Quang, Kieu Nga, Elvis Phuong, Minh Xuan, etc.  As a result, this would lead to my transformation of my music interests from primarily being interested in only what would be considered mainstream American to much broader interests in world music, which would include Vietnamese music, of course.  I'd have to say Ngoc Lan along with these previously mentioned artists were responsible in opening up my mind to the Vietnamese culture, thus acquiring for myself a sense of pride in being Vietnamese, as a result.

My meeting with Ngoc Lan was on a Monday night in the spring of 1989.  I remembered I had just finished my homework and my mother had just gotten home from work.  My mother was fussing that my hair had grown too long and insisted that she drive me to the beauty salon to get a haircut.  She called up our family's hairdresser, Perry Zeild, in Santa Ana for an appointment.  Perry was not just our hairdresser, but a very charismatic guy who had become my friend.  He knew all too well how much I idolized Ngoc Lan.  Though it was late and he was about to close up shop, he went out of his way to give me a last minute hair appointment.  Before he hung up, Perry instructed me not to be late and also told me that he had a big surprise for me.  That surprise would be Ngoc Lan.

It turns out Perry had recently accepted an offer to do freelance work on a video project for Ngoc Lan.  He would be her make-up artist for video shoots.  In one particular music video she had planned to do which was for a cover of a jolly French tune, 365 Dimanches, Ngoc Lan a needed a few back-up dancers.  Perry also had a knack for dancing and would himself be in the video as one of her back-up dancers along with 2 other girls, Diem Thinh and Yen Trang, both of which were familiar faces in the Vietnamese community as they were also models that had appeared on covers of such Vietnamese music cassettes, calendars, and fashion magazines.  Ngoc Lan along with the other two female dancers were supposed to meet up with Perry at his salon later on that night after business hours. 

When I arrived at the salon, there were no other customers.  He had pretty much closed up shop and was just working on my hair.  Perry then casually told me that Ngoc Lan, the famous Vietnamese singer, was on her way over to his salon and if I'd like I could stay there awhile to meet her after my haircut.  I was beyond excited.  So naturally, I jumped at the chance to meet my idol.  But still I wasn't so sure if he was being honest or just telling me a fib.  Afterall, he had known how big of a fan I was, that I had all her cassettes, and to meet a celebrity like her would be totally thrilling to me.  So I thought he was just joking in order to trick me into staying after just to keep him company.  Then about 15 minutes later, Ngoc Lan showed up.  I was shivering when she walked into the salon.  I kept on looking at her to make sure if this was the same person I had watched on television so many times.  And yep, it sure was.  She was definitely Ngoc Lan, my idol.  Wow!

As Perry was introducing me to her, she turned to smile at me with a, "Hi!" And then she asked me if I understood any Vietnamese.  (You see, for those of you not familiar with who I am, I am half-Swedish.  Therefore, my looks tend to favor that more of a Westerner than an Asian.)  I naturally replied with a yes.  And as I stuttered, I tried to tell her how much I admired her or as we say in Vietnamese, "ai mo".  She just smiled and thanked me.  Then I asked if it was okay that I stay to watch while she and Perry along with the 2 other dancers rehearse.  She replied with a yes but only if I would agree to also be in the video with her.  I told her I had never danced professionally before, but she insisted that the routine was quite simple and that she thought I was very handsome and should definitely be featured in her video.  Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I was very eager to accept her invitation to be a part of the video.  But first I would have to ask permission from my mother.  She said okay and assured me that I had nothing to worry about.  Ngoc Lan had also in her very cute way, nudged me that from now on I should always address her as "chi" Lan, which in Vietnamese means older sister. When my mother arrived back at the salon to pick me up, she was delighted to be approached by Ngoc Lan and was instantly overtaken by Ngoc Lan's polite mannerism and charm, she readily agreed to let me do it.

This photograph was taken at Perry Zeild's beauty salon where Ngoc Lan, myself and the other dancers for the music video, "365 Dimanches", would rehearse nightly for months prior to the day of shooting for the video would take place in May of 1989.  Perry Zeild is photographed with his back faced toward the camera.  I'm facing him with one arm raised waving in the air, since this snapshot had caught me while I was doing the dance routine.  And to the right, behind Perry would be Ngoc Lan.

For the next few months, we rehearsed the dance routine relentlessly for hours on 4 nights out of each week.  On the weekends, chi Lan had to be out of town to do her live shows so we couldn't meet for rehearsals then.  But every weeknight was tiresome as we would practice our dance routine for the video until the late hours of the night at Perry's salon which we had used as a dance studio after he closed up shop each night and cleared away the chairs.  It was really hard work.  This is when I first learned how much of a perfectionist Ngoc Lan was.  If any of the dancers missed a step, she would be the first one to notice.  She wouldn't react by being arrogant or unpleasant whenever she pointed out anyone's mistakes.  Instead she had a mild-mannered way of speaking and always kept her cool.  During these months, I got to spend a great deal of time with chi Lan.  We would go about town looking for costumes for the video shoot.  Naturally, she drove me everywhere since I was still 16 and neither had a car nor had gotten myself a driver's license yet.  At first we had trouble finding the right costumes.  We tried Vietnamese owned boutiques first, but they had very limited supplies and people would often waste time being starstruck upon meeting Ngoc Lan, the famous singer, rather than treating her like every other customer.  The few places we would go to within the Vietnamese community, for some reason, people would often ask her if I was her younger brother.  She would just smile.  One of those inquiring people, I just went ahead and answered flat out with a "No!  What are you thinking?  How could it be possible?  My father is a

White man.  And both of chi Lan's parents are full-blooded Vietnamese, which means she is 100% Vietnamese.  How could you people not see that?"  It was quite obvious that I was getting rather frustrated at such questions by some rather oblivious Vietnamese folks.  At that point, chi Lan cleverly softened the situation by flashing a friendly smile at the inquisitors.  She would later bring this up during a conversation between just the two of us and also advised me that I should just say yes if anyone else asks me that same question in the future, because, as she put it, she would be honored to have such a good-looking younger brother.  As the weeks passed, we finally accomplished finding the right costumes at some hole-in-the-wall shop somewhere in downtown Los Angeles.  A friendship between us had developed throughout the course of preparing for this video between chi Lan and myself.  Our relationship became like that of a brother and a sister.  She even one time, when I went to her house for a costume fitting, asked me if I would consider her as an adoptive big sister.

A big sister, she was during that time.  I didn't realize how much I had learned from her.  At times, I was in complete awe watching her tenacious determination and hard work.  She was always on the go, working on some recording project, music videos, or flying off to faraway destinations for her live show performances.  I was amazed at how she had managed to keep it all together.  Although most of the time, chi Lan had to be serious due to her hectic schedule, she would also find the time to talk to me in private, crack a few jokes here and there, and even show her generosity by giving me advice on life.  On one occasion while I was at her house, she shared with me a thick photo album that consisted of many pictures taken of her at live performances at shows in different places from all over the world, obviously since in her line of work a great deal of travelling is required.  To a 16 years old kid like myself who had lived most of his life in Southern California, hearing her tell me stories of her many adventures and travels throughout her career made me feel like a kid at a candy store.  For me to befriend someone who was older, wiser, and had experienced so much of life really was a treat. 

Finally in May of that year, the day of the video shoot would come.  It was shot at some rather large American-owned film studio in Santa Monica, California.  The entire crew arrived at the studio at 6am.  Immediately, we all got ourselves ready for make-up and into our costumes.  That would be the first time in my life that I would have make-up applied onto my face.  When Perry was finished doing my make-up, I gave myself a second or two to check myself out in front of a mirror.  I was shocked, as I couldn't even recognize that it was actually me that I was staring directly at.  As corny as it may sound, all of the sudden I sighed to myself that perhaps it is true what some people have been telling me all along, in that I am indeed a pretty boy. 

Shooting was to start at 9am.  And just right before the camera was scheduled to start rolling, I realized I had left my pair of dress shoes behind.  The director, Mr. Thuc, and the executive producer and owner of May Productions, Mr. Thang, were furious with me, needless to say.  As they both were about to scold me, chi Lan took notice of how frightened I was and pulled me aside to whisper in my ear not to worry and that I should rest assure that she would take care of this matter.  She slipped me several $20 bills into my pocket and told her friend, who I now know was actually Thanh Lam, the famous saxophone player, to drive me to the nearest shoes store to pick up a pair.  What could have easily turned into a fiasco was prevented from happening due to chi Lan's calm and rational way of thinking.  Once my shoes situation had been resolved, the video shoot began.  It was truly an exhausting experience.  We didn't finish filming until the really late hours of the night.  Just before wrapping it up, chi Lan hugged everyone and thanked us for all of our hard work.  Perhaps it is my imagination, but I felt that chi Lan hugged me the longest.  During the long hug, as she said her goodbye to me, she stressed one particular reminder to me that we should always keep in touch and to never forget that I am her little brother.  I don't know why, but that brought a tear to my eye.

Thien Phu and Perry Zeild, 1993.  This is the only photograph I can find of myself with Perry.  Perry passed away in 1994 after many years battling with the AIDS epidemic.  This photograph had been taken when I went to visit him in the dressing room during one of his performances in Chinese opera.  Aside from being an accomplished hairstylist and make-up artist, Perry had also enjoyed a successful career as a performer of Chinese opera.

I didn't realize that that would be the very last time I would ever see her up close in person alive or even speak to her.  In the years that followed, I guess I couldn't really blame her for losing contact since she would obviously be constantly occupied with her grueling schedule, and I would be equally busy finishing up high school.  As I entered adulthood, right after high school I would come across the first of several chance meetings with chi Lan that would unfortunately never come to fruition.  In the summer of 1990, once again my friend Perry would introduce me to the promoters of a major beauty pageant live show event held in Long Beach called Dai Hoi Hoa Hau Ao Dai Long Beach '90 as he would put in a good word with them recommending me as a potential candidate to be selected as 1 of 4 male models that would be in the live show with duties of escorting the beauty pageant contestants as they make their entrances onto the stage, as well as when they would make their exits from the stage .  This would also be the first time I would come across a rising newcomer show hostess, who at first I found to be a little too talkative, by the name of Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen.

After I had been chosen to be 1 of the 4 male models for the beauty pageant live show, to my delight I would also learn that among the list of scheduled music performers on that night would be none other than Ngoc Lan, my beloved big sister.  On the night of the show, while chi Lan was performing her set of songs during the show's music segment, I stood there and watched her sing for as long as I could from backstage before I was called to get ready to escort another beauty pageant semi-finalist contestant out onto the stage. I didn't get to see chi Lan's performance of her last of 3 songs she did that night since I had to go change into a different tuxedo in the dressing room.  I tried to hurry so that I could catch another glimpse of her in person and possibly say hi, but it just wasn't in the cards.  By the time I changed into the next wardrobe, my hair would be next.  After Perry would finish checking if my hairstyle and stage make-up was okay, I ran toward the right backstage side entrance in hopes that I would catch chi Lan while she exits the stage.  But I was too late, since chi Lan had apparently already left the building.  That would be the first of several chance meetings that would almost, but still would not allow me to meet up with my big sister, Ngoc Lan. 

In 1992, Ngoc Lan did a show at Diamond Nightclub in Fullerton.  I had bought tickets and arrived early.  Unfortunately, I wasn't 21 yet and was not let in by the guards at the door.  In '94, I was now a paid singer at cafes and smaller clubs around Orange County,  I had caught the attention of some interviewer for Vietnam Performing Arts Television and been asked to appear on his television show for an interview.  The day I showed up at the television studio, I would learn that chi Lan had just left less than 5 minutes ago.  She had been there earlier and was interviewed to plug an upcoming show of hers at the Anaheim Marriott promoted by the band, May Bon Phuong.  3 years later, I was in the process of recording my first album, Tiec Nho with Anh Tu, Julie and Thai Thao for Bien Tinh Productions.  One of the tracks on that CD was called Magic Boulevard, a French song originally recorded and written by Francois Feldman and the Vietnamese version was entitled Ngay Vui Nam Ay written by none other than Ngoc Lan.  I had gotten a hold of chi Lan's telephone number and called to ask for permission to use her written lyrics for my recording.  A woman had answered when I called, she took down my phone number and that same woman called back the following day to say that it was alright for me to go ahead and record the lyrics with Ngoc Lan's blessings.  It wasn't chi Lan that I had spoken to.  That same year, I had a booking to perform at some casino outside of Atlanta, Georgia that had featured a gala of some of the top names in the Vietnamese music business like Thanh Tuyen, Henry Chuc, Dalena and Ngoc Lan whose photos were all included on the poster flyers to promote the show.  I was so excited that one of my dreams in being able to share the same stage with chi Lan; my big sister, my idol, and my inspiration, was about to come true.  Unfortunately, this chance meeting would also not come to be.  When I arrived in Atlanta, I was told Ngoc Lan was not going to be there and had to cancel due to health reasons.  This saddened me.  In the years to come, I would release my debut album and perform at many more shows throughout the United States and abroad working with many other singers.  Through the circle of other performers.  I would hear many horrific rumors about her health.  I heard from one person she had a brain tumor.  Another said she was a bedridden diabetic.  Some even claimed that Ngoc Lan's health was as a result fo her being a targeted victim of voodoo.  None of these stories seemed to be the truth.  One story did, however.  And that was what Glenn, a Vietnamese celebrity hairstylist and make-up artist who had worked on Ngoc Lan's last music video appearance, had told me.  He said that Ngoc Lan had revealed to him that she had been suffering from Multiple Sclerosis.  By the way, Glenn was my friend, a fellow Amerasian, and recently had passed away less than two years ago. 

Regardless whatever disease chi Lan had, I wasn't sure and I really couldn't sort out which of the rumors about Ngoc Lan was the truth.  And some of the rumors were just downright vicious.  All I know was, one thing was for sure.  Ngoc Lan was ill. 

In 1999, I was working on my next album, Ngay Em Di.  Before its release, I had been referred by another fellow recording artist, Ngoc Hue, to Kelvin Khoa, a musician, to remaster some of the tracks I had recorded.  I then learned he was Ngoc Lan's husband.  I tried many times to ask anh Kelvin Khoa about her health, but never could go through with it fearing he might think I was prying into her business.  I did, however, tell him about my past friendship with his wife and that I miss her very much.  When he finished with the re-mastering work for my songs, he did tell me that he did speak of me to chi Lan a few times and that yes, she did indeed remember who I was.  He also said that together he and chi Lan had listened to my CD after he had finished with the remastering work and that her favorite song I had recorded was Lemon Tree.  That made me very happy. 

I guess like with all singers, I had idols to look up to before  I went into the profession.  One of those idols was indeed Ngoc Lan.  In a selfish way, I had always wished for any of my idols to one day see  me sing and hopefully offer me feedback or critique.  Sadly, this occasion with Ngoc Lan never happened for me.  But I can be thankful she did get to hear me sing through my audio recordings.  I'm also sad I didn't really get the chance to thank her for all that she had taught me and her generosity toward me back when I was just a 16 years old dancer.  She will always be a true inspiration to me. 

As for that music video for the song, 365 Dimanches, we had shot together back in 1989, when I ran into Mr. Thang and his wife, singer Tra Mi, whom were owners of May Productions, at Ngoc Lan's funeral in March of 2001, they told me that much of the footage of that music video somehow had been damaged and the remainder left was an insufficient amount in order to make into a complete music video to release.  So all I have left now of chi Lan are the memories and, of course, her beautiful voice through her music.  Thank you, chi Lan!  I hope you can hear me say, I really love you and miss you, my sister. 

Who knows?  She just might be listening from above.

                                                                              Thien Phu

                                                                                       2014