Martin Johnson, front man for US rock band Boys Like Girls, sings at the Hennessy Artistry 2009 in Hanoi

American rock band Boys Like Girls moved the Vietnamese crowd with searing rock balladry at the Hennessy Artistry concert in the capital Tuesday.

The band’s sweet and gentle melodies mixed with searing guitars in their hits “Love Drunk,” “Learning to Fall,” “The Great Escape” brought the National Convention Center to near boiling point.

The four-member band from Boston, in Vietnam as part of the Hennessy show that is touring Asia, said they hoped to gain a larger following in the Asian and Vietnamese music markets, according to a statement released at a press briefing the day before the show.

Band members Martin Johnson (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Paul DiGiovanni (lead guitar, backup vocals), Bryan Donahue (bass guitar, backup vocals) and John Keefe (drums) also told the press they loved Vietnamese songs and would consider playing them in the future.

Mc Fadden’s Westlife, on the other hand, already has a large Vietnamese following, but he looked forward to giving his fans his solo music in its “true manner” instead of what they normally get, which is poor-quality bootleg CDs.

Australian songstress Lenka said she wanted to interact directly with Vietnamese fans. Asian fans were incredibly kind to artists, she said, adding that the sentiment was a source of inspiration to her.

Paul Freeman from the UK sang a duet with Lenka at the show and sang his trademark sensitive rock-ballads.

Hennessy Artistry first came to Vietnam in 2004.

Reported by Bao Anh