Ngoc Lan Trivia

This is to all fellow devoted fans of Ngoc Lan out there.  How much do you know about Ngoc Lan?  Would you say you're an expert who knows a lot when it comes to facts about Ngoc Lan's career, music and life?  How read up are you about Ngoc Lan?  I challenge you to take our Ngoc Lan Trivia and try to answer the following questions.  It just might surprise you on how much you know about our beloved Ngoc Lan.

Ngoc Lan Trivia - Part 1:

Here are the first five questions.  I assume these questions are fairly easy and that you don't have to be an expert on Ngoc Lan to know the answers.

1. What was Ngoc Lan's given birthname?  A) Nguyen Ngoc Lan  B) Jade Orchid  C) Nguyen Thanh Lan  D) Maria Le Thanh Lan  E) Tran Ngoc Lan
2. What city was Ngoc Lan born in?  A) Hanoi  B) Saigon  C) Nha Trang  D) Da Lat  E) Paris
3. Other than Vietnamese, Ngoc Lan was famous for singing in what language?  A) English  B) French  C) Chinese  D) Korean  E) Spanish
4. When and where did Ngoc Lan began her career as a professional singer?  A) After she left Vietnam for the United States first resettling in Minnesota  B) At the age of 20 while she was still in Vietnam at cabarets and nightclubs in Saigon  C) While she was in college as a foreign exchange student in Paris, France  D) As a child while still living in Nha Trang  E) In Hollywood during the 1990s where she also appeared on the Hollywood Night music video series
5. What was the cause of Ngoc Lan's untimely passing?  A) Cancer  B) Multiple Sclerosis  C) Suicide  D) Diabetes  E)  Automobile Accident

So, were you able to answer all five of the previous questions?  If so, then you're definitely a fan of our beloved Ngoc Lan.  But not so fast.  Just by knowing the answers to those five very easy questions about Ngoc Lan doesn't necessarily make you a devoted fan of Ngoc Lan.  The answers to those five questions are pretty much public knowledge.  Maybe that's putting it a bit too extreme there.  Let's say the answers to those previous questions are basic information about Ngoc Lan.  Therefor, one would have to be a fan of Ngoc Lan in order to know the answers.

Let's continue on to the next set of questions.

Ngoc Lan Trivia - Part 2:

The following ten questions here are designed for those that are considered to be devoted fans of Ngoc Lan.  These questions are a bit harder and require fans to do a bit of reading about Ngoc Lan to know the answers to.  For those devoted fans who have followed Ngoc Lan's career closely through the years, you should have no problem answering these trivia questions.

1. When Ngoc Lan resettled in Southern California in 1982, what was the name of the music production label that she first recorded professionally for?  A) Asia Productions  B) Da Lan  C) Doi Magazine  D) Lang Van  E) Giang Ngoc 
2. During the 1980s, what was the name of the first major nightclub that Ngoc Lan had become an exclusive weekly peformer at for an entire year?  A) Majestic  B) Diamond  C) Dem Mau Hong  D) Ritz  E) Au Baccara
3. Ngoc Lan had recorded duets with a lot of male artists during the 1980s and 1990s.  Which one of these male artists did she not ever record a duet with?  A) Duy Quang  B) Don Ho  C) Trinh Nam Son  D) Lam Nhat Tien  E) Nhat Truong
4. What was Ngoc Lan's best selling studio album during the 1980s?  A) Tieng Hat Ngoc Lan  B) Nguoi Yeu Dau  C) L'amour Tinh Ta  D) Tinh Xanh  E) Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh
5. Ngoc Lan had also recorded many duets with other female artists?  Which one of these female singers did Ngoc Lan record the most duets with?  A) Kieu Nga  B) Khanh Ha  C) Nhu Mai  D) Huong Lan  E) Julie Quang
6. Ngoc Lan had come from a large family.  Including herself, how many children did her parents have altogether?  A) 10  B) 12  C) 6  D) 8  E) 11
7. Among her siblings, Ngoc Lan was ..... A) the fifth eldest.  B) the eldest.  C) the second eldest.  D) the third eldest.  E) the youngest.
8. In 1990, May Productions released Ngoc Lan's ground-breaking first solo music videotape which consisted of beautifully shot music videos for five of her recorded songs.  What was the title of her first solo videotape?  A) Ngoc Lan in Hollywood  B) Nhu Em Da Yeu Anh  C) Khi Co Chang  D) Lai Gan Hon Em  E) Ngoc Lan on Video
9. During her career as a professional singer, Ngoc Lan toured extensively and performed in concert for live audiences in many different countries all over the world.  Ironically, there was one country where her fans never did get to see her perform live in concert.  Which country was that?  A) United States  B) Australia  C) Canada  D) France  E) Vietnam
10. How old was Ngoc Lan when she passed?  A) 32  B) 50  C) 44  D) 36  E) 40

So how did you do with that last set of ten questions?  I told you they were going to be harder than those first five.  Well, if you had no trouble answering all ten of those questions, I must say then that you are definitely a devoted fan.  Actually, if you were able to answer at least half out of the ten questions, I'll say you still qualify as a devoted fan of Ngoc Lan.  How many of you are courageous enough to move onto the final set of questions?  If you can answer these next five questions without any problems at all, then you have my total respect.  You would then not only be considered either a truly devoted fan of Ngoc Lan or even an expert about her, but a qualified obsessive Ngoc Lan fanatic like myself.  Not to worry, it's alright to be one.  I should know, I've been an obsessive Ngoc Lan fanatic for years and proud of it.  

Ngoc Lan Trivia - Part 3:

All I can say is, good luck on these last five questions, friends!

1. What was the name of Ngoc Lan's very first recorded song?  A) Nguoi Yeu Dau  B) Nang Chieu  C) Mua Dong Cua Anh  D) Lo Mai Sau  E) Oh, Mon Amour
2. Ngoc Lan's debut solo studio album, Tieng Hat Ngoc Lan, consisted mostly of covers she recorded of popular French songs and Vietnamese ballads.  Only one out of the twelve songs on this album had never been recorded before by any other artist.  It was a Vietnamese song written by a former beauty queen who had been crowned as Miss Vietnam - USA in the Hoa Hau Ao Dai Long Beach beauty pageant in the early 1980s.  What was the name of that song and who was the songwriter?  A) Sao Danh Xa Em written by Marguarite Pham  B) Sa Mac Tinh Yeu written by Khuc Lan C) Hay Den Voi Em written by Giang Ngoc  D) Song Xuan written by Que Phuong  E) Con Yeu written by Cam Van
3. Ngoc Lan's height has been exaggerated to as tall as 5' 8" by some unreliable sources, yet in reality, she was anything but 5' 8".  How tall was she?  A) 5' 6"  B) 5' 4"  C) 5' 3"  D) 5' 2"  E) Under 5 feet tall
4. During the 1980s, long before Ngoc Lan had gotten married to Kelvin Khoa, she had been romantically linked to a famous Vietnamese-American saxophone player and musician.  What was his name?  A) Vu Anh Tuan  B) Tuan Duc  C) Thanh Lam  D) Trung Nghia  E) Truc Ho
5. Ngoc Lan's first album, Tieng Hat Ngoc Lan, was released in 1986 available in the form of audio cassette.  A couple of years after, it would be reprinted and re-released available in the form of compact disc by the production label, Doi Magazine.  Which production label had released it back in 1986 available in the form of audio cassette?  A) Giang Ngoc  B) Da Lan  C) Asia Productions  D) Lang Van  E) Ngoc Lan

If you had no trouble coming up with answers to all 20 Ngoc Lan Trivia questions, I seriously tip my hat to you.  Way to go!   But if you did have trouble answering these questions, relax, that doesn't disqualify you as a fan of Ngoc Lan.  Who am I to say you are a fan or aren't a fan of Ngoc Lan anyway?  The fact that you've taken this trivia.... Actually, the fact that you've taken the time to visit this blog site, for that matter, already shows that you certainly are a true fan of our beloved Ngoc Lan.

Answers to Ngoc Lan Trivia - Part 1 Questions:

1. D  2. C  3. B  4. A  5. B

Answers to Ngoc Lan Trivia - Part 2 Questions:

1. B  2. D  3. D  4. B  5. A  6. D  7. A  8. B  9. E  10. C

Answers to Ngoc Lan Trivia - Part 3 Questions:

1. D  2. D  3. E  4. C  5. E

Author's Selection of Ngoc Lan's Best Duets

Ngoc Lan had recorded many duets with many different singers throughout her career, both male and female.  Ngoc Lan's soft, gentle singing voice can be described as the epitome of femininity.  Perhaps that is why her voice was so compatible for duets with male artists.  Among the male artists Ngoc Lan had recorded duets with were Don Ho, Huy Sinh, Jo Marcel, Trung Hanh, Elvis Phuong, Nhat Truong, Vu Khanh, Chau Dinh An, Si Phu, Duc Huy, Trinh Nam Son, and of course, Duy Quang.

There was a pleasant melange, like a perfect blend of the male and female voice, which came about when Ngoc Lan and Duy Quang paired up to record a duet.  The chemistry between the two voices was undeniably magical. This was proven with the high sales these two artists experienced with their first duet album together, Bien Mong, released in 1987 by Kim Ngan, and again with Tinh Phai, released in 1989 by Dream Musical Productions.  Both Ngoc Lan and Duy Quang were aware of how compatible their voices were for duets. That is why they recorded duet albums together a total of three times.  Their last duet album recorded together was entitled Ta Say, released in 1994 by Ngoc Lan Musique.

Nhu Mai and Kieu Nga had each recorded duets with Ngoc Lan.  Similar to the popularity Ngoc Lan had experienced on duets with Duy Quang, her duets with Kieu Nga were widely received by Vietnamese audiences everywhere.  The most popular duet song recorded by these two ladies would undoubtedly be Anh Thi Khong (Toi Jamais).  The music video to that song alone was reason enough for the song's popularity with Vietnamese audiences.

Here are my selections of the best duets Ngoc Lan had recorded with another artist.

1.  Anh Thi Khong (Toi Jamais) - Ngoc Lan & Kieu Nga

Of course, this song had to be included.  Who doesn't like this version recorded by the top two Vietnamese queens of French music?  This song was featured on Ngoc Lan and Kieu Nga's duet album released by May Productions, Paris Van Doi.  Vietnamese lyrics for this song were written by Vu Xuan Hung.

2.  Neu Xa Nhau - Ngoc Lan & Duy Quang

Featured on their first duet album together, Bien Mong, released by Kim Ngan (1987).  This Duc Huy penned love song was done best as a duet by these two.

3.  Mua Dong Cua Anh - Ngoc Lan & Duy Quang

I loved this song ever since I heard the original version recorded by Nhat Truong and Thanh Lan prior to 1975.  But I must say, Ngoc Lan and Duy Quang added a certain distinct charm of their own with their version featured on their second duet album together, Tinh Phai, released by Dream Musical Productions (1989).  This song was written by Tran Thien Thanh AKA Nhat Truong, of course.

4.  Tren Dinh Mua Dong - Ngoc Lan & Nhat Truong                                 

Featured on the Ngoc Lan and Nhat Truong duet album, Chan Troi Tim, released by May Productions, this has been one of my favorite songs writeen by Tran Thien Thanh ever since I can remember.  I love how Ngoc Lan's voice blended so well with Nhat Truong's, similar to that of Thanh Lan and Nhat Truong's recorded duets together from way back in the day.

5.  Nguoi Lia Xa (Tu T'en Vas) - Ngoc Lan & Elvis Phuong

Elvis Phuong had recorded many great albums in the 1980s.  Among them was this unforgettable album, Lady Nguoi Toi Yeu, released in 1988, which comprised of a collection of French love songs he recorded with several female vocalists such as Kieu Nga, Minh Xuan and Ngoc Lan.  Vietnamese lyrics to this song were written by Nhat Ngan.

There you have it.  That was my selection of the top 5 duet songs recorded by Ngoc Lan.  What were some of your favorite duet songs Ngoc Lan had recorded?