Image of Nguyet Anh from her latest lounge-influenced album “Quoc Bao Chillout by Nguyet Anh.”

Media firebrand Nguyen Hoang Nguyet Anh’s music has taken a decidedly more relaxed turn with her new album “Quoc Bao Chillout by Nguyet Anh.”

It is the first of Bao’s Saigon Lounge series, in which he hopes to work with many local singers.

The songs are a modern blend of lounge music and pop, featuring piano-based tunes often driven by heavy drums, saxophones and horns. Sometimes quiet, sometimes brash, the piano is accompanied by xylophone or vibraphone on some tracks while drum and bass beats often bring the music closer to the European “ambient” genre. A world away from electro-pop, some tunes use island beats while others use spaced-out synthesizers and salsa rhythms. It’s not your grandpa’s elevator music.

“Lounge music, which caters to a more mature audience, gives me a mature, thoughtful image,” Anh says.

“That is necessary for a businesswoman like me who wants to gain my partners’ confidence,” says the 27-yearold.

She now runs her own company, Mun Creative, which works in advertising, design, event hosting and entertainment.

“I’m an ambitious woman who aspires to have a successful career both as an artist and an entrepreneur,” Anh said.

“All singers have their own road to success. I’ve chosen lounge music and I want to be remembered for being the first singer to perform it in Vietnam.”

She says she hopes her lounge music can help people relax.

“The genre is new in Vietnam, but I believe it will strike a chord with local audiences,” she said.

The album is for sale on popular websites including CDBaby, iTunes and Amazon.

Media-savvy

Anh began her entertainment career as a television MC in 2002.

She switched to singing in 2003, mesmerizing audiences with her mellifluous, gentle voice and her creative R&B-pop approach.

She cooperated with Quoc Bao on her debut album, Khi em yeu anh (When I love you) in 2005, which won instant praise from young people throughout Vietnam.

She went on to produce the single Bong nang (The shadow of sunshine) in which she worked with famed composer Vo Thien Thanh.

Despite her success, Anh does not perform or release albums often, saying that she wants to focus on quality, not quantity.

“I fluctuate between being an MC and a singer to continually renew my image and not bore audiences,” she said.

Pride

“I’ve learned to be independent,” Anh said.

“I want to be financially independent and I want to have my own achievements.”

The singer is also proud of her Hanoi roots.

“I’m sometimes asked to speak with the southern accent when hosting shows, but I refuse,” she said.

“I can be flexible in everything, except my accent.”

Live-wire

It is this same self-confidence that some people find arrogant.

When Anh competed at the Vietnam Television Phu nu the ky 21 (The 21st century women) event, she said she would likely win the contest when it was only half over. Her cockiness sparked an outcry from local audiences.

She ended up loosing the competition.

“I’m not overly confident,” she says. “I just have confidence in what I have and I think everyone should be proud of their own values, even if others disagree.”

The young spark plug also started a media fire when she said she was disappointed in her boyfriend for cheating on her. Her comments were interpreted by the press and public as though she were disappointed in all Vietnamese men. Of course, male readers were furious.

Reported by Hai Mien