Singer Tuan Canh - father of Xuan Mai "Con co be be" - said he was heartbroken because his daughter got married early and struggled with life in America.
At the beginning of the year, singer Tuan Canh talked about his life after 16 years of settling in the US, and his relationship with his daughter Xuan Mai after his divorce.
- After Xuan Mai got married and had children, how did you and your daughter stay in touch?
- My ex-wife and I divorced in 2003, then she brought our two children to live in the US. Because of the distance, the children and I rarely contacted each other, short phone calls were not enough to maintain our affection for a long time. When Xuan Mai got married and became a mother, she understood her father's heart, and from then on she cared more about me. Since I settled in the US, the two of us have connected more. Every week, Mai texts and sends videos of her grandchildren to her grandfather to watch. The remaining child - Rich Anh Tuan - lives in Sacramento, both studying for a master's degree and teaching veterinary medicine, so he rarely visits home.
I'm not sad, that's American life. When children turn 18, they start to become independent, gradually separating from their parents. Even though I'm not close to them, I always watch over them to support them when needed.
Xuan Mai - 29 years old, a former child singer - with her husband and three children. Photo: Character provided
- How do you care about your daughter's life now?
- I feel sorry for Xuan Mai because she has a hard life because she is an artist, got married early, and had many children. Mai is a single mother of three, has a limited income, and is under pressure from her banking job. She doesn't complain, and when I ask her, she only gives me general answers so that her father doesn't worry. I understand Mai's personality, so I often help her, and when I see her lacking something, I will make up for it.
When my child followed me to America, I was far away so I could not guide her musical direction. Xuan Mai had a few solo concerts in America and Europe, then released one or two tapes with the music center here but they did not create any effect. For a long time, my child was struggling to find a suitable direction for development while the flow of the music market never stopped.
So, Xuan Mai focused on studying, graduating and then looking for a job. Before getting married in 2015, she chose to end her singing dream even though she still loved the profession. Now Mai is just an ordinary person, the mother of three children. During Tet, Mai went back to California to visit, and my father and I took the opportunity to record a few songs for fun.
- Looking back at Xuan Mai's peak period, what do you think?
- I used to hope that my child would study in a professional training center to develop long-term like the path of Britney Spears and Selena Gomez. But at that time, my child's mother and I did not speak the same language, and we had very little contact, so it was difficult to communicate. I was in Vietnam and could not do anything for my child, I was just sad to see my child gradually fading away.
A child talent who wants to become a star needs to practice hard and cannot sing on stage forever like when she was three or four years old. She needs to be invested in vocal and dance lessons, even practice and eat properly to have a balanced body. But well, everyone has their own choice, now Mai is content with her husband and children so I don't regret anything.
Singer Xuan Canh with his daughter Xuan Mai when she was young and his son. Photo: Character provided
- What memories do you have of the time when Xuan Mai was still famous?
- In the late 1990s, perhaps no one could surpass Xuan Mai, including adult artists. I remember her first grand performance was a live show at the Hoa Binh Theater in 2000. She sang continuously for a week, but the theater was packed with audiences every day. After that, Xuan Mai went to Hanoi to perform four or five more shows at the Vietnam - Soviet Union Friendship Labor Cultural Palace. Seeing that she was loved by the audience, many parties offered to open more shows, but I refused.
I was very confident and professional when performing for an hour with 20 folk songs, foreign songs with Vietnamese and English lyrics. I was very proud because at that time not everyone could do that. The tape Con co be be 1 was the best seller at 32,000 VND each, later uploaded to YouTube, reaching more searches and views than the other products.
My father and I also had to invest a lot in music products but always suffered losses due to pirated CDs. Then, the form of listening to music on YouTube began to develop without tightening copyright, leading to accounts freely posting Xuan Mai's MV. Therefore, my son worked hard and enthusiastically, but most of his income was lost, the rest was very little, not like many people imagined.
MV "Little Stork" by Xuan Mai. Video: Children's Channel
- How did your family keep Xuan Mai's life innocent at that age?
- Apart from the time spent recording tapes, I rarely let my child perform, and I don't let her sing at weddings or birthdays. Xuan Mai's practice and performance at that time was like playing because every child loves to sing. She studied art and went to kindergarten like her friends.
When Xuan Mai was three years old, we took her from the South to the North to film a music video. The whole family of five or six people in a 12-seat car drove along Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hue to Hanoi. She really enjoyed watching the mountains and rivers, with her parents and younger brother by her side. Whenever we were tired, we would stop to rest, and when we saw beautiful scenery like the Perfume River and Ngu Mountain, we would stay to film.
People often gathered around to watch Xuan Mai film, some even followed the group when they went to a new location. Xuan Mai knew she was famous but was friendly, smiled a lot and was afraid of making others sad. I think she had a memorable childhood because she sang and had experiences that very few children have the opportunity to have.
MV "Little Stork" by Xuan Mai. Video: Children's Channel
- You have been off the stage for a long time, how is your life now?
- I live with my wife and youngest son in Garden Grove - a bustling place with many Vietnamese people. Our lives are closely linked to the pho restaurant, a three-minute walk from our house, open from 7am to 3:30pm every day. The restaurant is very small - about 200 square meters, but everyone in the area knows about it. Many artists such as Viet Huong, Che Phong, and Le Giang stop by every time they come to America.
Every night, we usually go to bed early instead of chatting together because we are all tired. Personal work such as medical examination, paperwork, and banking must be done early. wait for the fixed day off on Wednesday. I have many friends in California but rarely see them, during the holidays I only gather with my wife and children, occasionally returning to Vietnam to visit friends.
Sometimes, I feel my life is too suffocating even though I have been in America for nearly 20 years. I miss the leisurely coffee sessions, or just a phone call and all my artist friends are present. Sometimes, I dream of returning home to enjoy my old age. My husband and I will save up to buy a small house so we can do business during the day and sing at night.
Xuan Mai was born in 1995 and started performing at the age of two. She has had many CDs that have taken the music market by storm, selling millions of copies. During her singing career, she has released 30 solo and group albums, the most famous of which is Con co be be - a phrase that later became Xuan Mai's "trademark". She performed a live show with thousands of audiences when she was only five years old.
Singer Tuan Canh is from Hanoi and studied at the School of Culture and Arts. In the early 1990s, he was loved for his folk songs and often performed in many provinces. In the late 1990s, Tuan Canh became the "manager" of Xuan Mai.
Thanh Moc
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