I have to admit, I am a huge American Idol fan. Over the past five seasons, I have seen every Ryan Seacrest hairstyle, listened to Paula Abdul praise every contestant, and laughed at every Simon Cowell insult. From Kelly Clarkson to Taylor Hicks, I’ve watched one contestant after another sing their hearts out with the hope of becoming the next pop superstar. American Idol is basically pop culture at its finest. However, one thing is missing from the show every year. Where are all the Vietnamese contestants? Vietnamese people love themselves some karaoke. Recognizing this love of music and performance, Thuy Tien Entertainment is out to fill this void by finding the next Vietnamese Idol.

Kids Singing in Coffee Shops
In 2004, Steven Trinh and his sister Thuy Tien noticed a new trend amongst Vietnamese-American high school students in the San Jose, Calif. area.

According to Tien, “My brother saw a lot of high school kids hanging out in coffee shops, or even unsafe areas, just to sing. This gave my brother the idea to create a singing competition so that these kids had a better venue to display their talents.”

Once Trinh had the idea for Vietnamese Idol, he recruited Tien and together they founded Thuy Tien Entertainment.

Tien recalls the early days. “I was still in college, and my family wanted me to go into business, but my brother pulled me into the entertainment industry instead. We then organized the first Vietnamese Idol and have gone from there.”

Now in its third year, Vietnamese Idol has grown by leaps and bounds. In previous years, the winner of the competition received a $3,000 cash prize. For this year’s Vietnamese Idol, the winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and a one-year contract to perform with Tien Entertainment with the option of a possible contract extension.

Tien explains, “We perform a lot of traditional dance, hip-hop, and fashion shows throughout the year, and the winner of Vietnamese Idol will get to tour with us and sing.”

The possibility to sing on stage for an audience is definitely a step up from singing at the local Starbucks.

It’s Called Vietnamese Idol, so I’m Gonna Sing Vietnamese Songs
Vietnamese Idol is an annual competition that only has two basic requirements for its contestants. In order to compete, contestants must be between the ages of 16-30 and must have never won a prior singing competition. At the beginning of every calendar year, the application process for Vietnamese Idol begins.

Contestants submit an application that includes a video of them performing. And out of the 420 applications we received this year, 125 contestants were chosen for auditions,” say Tien.

Aspiring Vietnamese idols are judged by the same criteria in every round of the competition. Judges in each round give the contestants a composite score based on the following criteria: 70% vocal voice, 15% performance, and 15% singing technique.

In the first round of Vietnamese Idol, two judges use this score system to narrow down the field of 125 to about 20-25 contestants. For the second round, four judges must narrow down the field even further to only 12 finalists. At the finals, a five-judge panel is used to determine an overall winner. Judges can vary from round to round, and are usually drawn from leaders within the Vietnamese-American community in northern California.

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