Nguyen Thi Minh Chuyen from the northern province of Ha Nam was crowned the Best Singer at the finale held at Ho Chi Minh City-based Maximart Stadium Sunday night.

The 25-year-old sang “May” (Cloud) composed by Quoc Bao, fascinating the audience with her mature voice.

Chuyen used to enter the top ten of 2008 Vietnam Idol and is now a third-year student at the Military College of Arts and Culture.

Ho Chi Minh City singer Luong Viet Quang won the Favorite Singer voted by the audience while Ha Hoai Thu from Quang Ninh Northern Province and Hanoi’s Dinh Manh Ninh were awarded Promising Singers.

They charmed most people, including the jury, with their creativity, natural voice, and simple styles which left an impression of freshness.

Sixteen singers throughout the country have made it to the first final of the Sao Mai-Diem Hen 2010, which is Vietnam Television’s biennial contest to discover future pop stars.

They performed pop, R&B, dance, hip-hop and rock music, according to the contest’s regulation.

This year’s jury board includes pop star My Tam and musicians Tuan Khanh and Ho Hoai Anh.

A million fans around the country are estimated to watch the contest and vote online or by telephone.

Source: Tuoi tre