Winner of two crystal statues for Best Album and Best Composer at the 2008 Contribution Awards, Do Bao was the star of the prestigious event, which is held annually by Sports and Culture newspaper. He said about the double victory.

Let’s turn back the clock to a time before the evening of 2008’s Contribution Awards. Over the past four years, your name has appeared as a nominee four times, but you’ve never won. Have you ever thought of giving up?

Honestly, yes. I was quite disappointed. I am not the type who craves awards. However, as you know, I was passive in this case. The journalists put me on the list of nominees, and I was the loser repeatedly, so I was ashamed.

However, it was my friends who advised me not to give up. I also think there are times one should step back to recognise others.

This time others have stepped back to recognise you. How does it feel to have a double victory?

I am surprised. As usual, the winners were selected by about 100 journalists who report on music and culture. I didn’t expect much. I work only in Ha Noi and more than half the journalists are from HCM City.

However, I believe I deserve it. Over the last five years, I have invested my efforts whole-heartedly in each album that was nominated, so if asked which I think is the best one, I find it hard to answer.

Your latest CD, “Bow 2 – Time to love”, won Best Album this year. But there are opinions that your first CD, “Bow”, is even more interesting, and should have won the award four years ago. Do you think your success has been delayed because you were young and new at that time?

Maybe. When I decided to release “Bow”, I was 25. In other countries, musicians introduce their albums at an early age, 18 or 20. But in Viet Nam, most composers release albums when they are 50 or older. Because by that time, they are quite well-known by their audience.

There is a rule that “seniority gets priority”. People might think I wanted to upstage [others] with my first album. However, the audience’s enthusiastic reaction to “Bow” surprised me. In 2004, it sold as well as [album] by veteran songwriters like Trinh Cong Son and Phu Quang. And people keep listening to it. I think my decision to release the album was right, although it sounded too bold at the time.

This action seems out of character from how journalists have portrayed you as a sensitive vulnerable young man. Are they wrong?

No, they aren’t. It is a fact that I am not the self-confident type, which can be easily recognised in daily life. But in music, it’s different. Because this is my strength – song-writing is what I love to do and I am happy to do. Everyone is confident about what they are good at. I am self-confident, as music is a game for me, and I believe I have the capacity to continue it in the long run.

How did you discover your capacity for music, when neither of your parents are involved in the music world?

Although my parents are business people, they sent me to music classes starting in the 9th grade. I was lucky. Then, I tried to compose and passed the entrance exam to the Ha Noi Conservatory’s Composition Department.

What qualities of your music meet the pop-music market in Viet Nam?

I think my music is young, unpredictable and delightful. It has a positive approach to the youth, reflects their feelings and draws them towards beautiful things. That is what they expect but don’t find in many new songs.

Also, when you listen to my lyrics, you realise they are appropriate to people today. They were born after the launch of the renewal process, and they have little connection with war and the suffering of the past.

What do you think about the pop music market now?

I think it is rather chaotic and there aren’t many high-quality works to meet listeners’ high hopes. The market will soon be saturated.

Modern audiences are very sensitive and intelligent, because they have more exposure to approach all kinds of music via television. Their music background has been improved quickly, and they evaluate each piece of music more and more exactly.

So, I believe someday we song-writers will find ourselves lost trying to face these changes.

Artists often complain that they are lonely. As a young member of the music world, do you ever feel this way?

Yes, of course. Most people in our field are lonely, and in some ways it’s a requirement for the work.

I am truthful and straight-forward, so sometimes I find myself isolated. It is a fact that most old musicians want to find disciples who can continue their ways. Meanwhile, there are young people who want to rely on following well-known teachers. As a result, they are often afraid of the older generation, and don’t dare to speak their mind. However, our music will not move on if it keeps hitting such a dead end.

When I was working as a teacher, there were students who asked to be my students. I refused. I believe each artist should be free. Young people should be bold enough to talk in their own voices.

You have had a successful career, but you once said “I may leave music one day, but my family is forever my steady mainstay.” Does this mean you attach more importance to your family than to your career?

I have always believed my family is more important. I work, I earn money, all this is for my family. I think to follow a passion is to make a better life.

What surprises me today is how people often boast about how many lovers they have, not how faithful a husband they can be. Also, people boast about how much they earn, but not how happy they are. I wonder, why.

The last question – what can your audience expect from you in the future?

I am going to join in a special music event called The Breath of Asia in August with some traditional Vietnamese and American musicians. Then, when I return home, I want to produce a CD based on the experience. This time, I will work as a producer, not a song writer. I want to try something new.

VietNamNet/VNS