What happened to the 'musical prodigy' of the 90s?

In the 90s, the Vietnamese music scene saw the emergence of 3 child singers considered “musical prodigies”: Xuan Mai, Xuan Nghi, and Be Chau. If the 2 female “musical prodigies” Xuan Mai and Xuan Nghi were famous for children’s music, Be Chau was completely different.

Baby Chau's real name is Nguyen Huy, born in 1997. Baby Chau became famous at the age of 3 with his smart, adorable appearance and his ability to skillfully perform adult songs: Trai tim khong ngu yen, Con tim mu ma, Tra van tinh xa...

Thanks to this ability, Chau became a "money tree". He not only participated in singing activities but also acted in comedy with famous names: Hoai Linh, Chi Tai, Viet Huong...

Sharing in the program Multidimensional Glass , Chau said that he has loved the stage since he was little: "My parents were in a theater troupe, so in my mind I was extremely passionate about the stage, always wanting to go on stage to sing.

I sing reformed opera, comedy, pop music... When I returned to Ho Chi Minh City, I was introduced as a child singer, a musical prodigy, a child star...".

Although he loved performing and was fascinated by the stage, Chau said that it was the enthusiasm of the audience that scared him: “I love the feeling of standing on stage and everyone cheering loudly. But when I step off the stage, I feel scared.

Back then, when mentioning Nguyen Huy - baby Chau, everyone would remember the image of me being carried on my father's back to leave the stage. At that time, the audience loved me so much that whenever they approached me, they would bite and pinch me, which scared me a lot. Until now, I still have a bad feeling towards crowds."

"Baby Chau" is afraid of crowds because when she was little she had to face the enthusiasm of the audience.

The male singer also said that his path of "imitating" adult dances and singing music was not unique in the Vietnamese music scene at that time: "In Ho Chi Minh City, I was not the first child singer to sing adult music. At that time, there were many people who sang and became famous for this, but I was luckier because I had support from investors."

Despite emerging as a phenomenon, Chau has also faced many mixed opinions from the audience. The male singer said that some music venues also required him to perform children's music: "I know there are many mixed opinions about children singing adult music.

At that time, there were also some music venues that did not let me sing adult songs but asked me to sing Journey to the West, sing songs about parental love, and the road to school.

"Be Chau" has now changed his stage name to Nguyen Huy and is still actively pursuing art.

Chau affirmed that performing adult songs since he was 3 years old did not affect his soul: “ People say that children should be allowed to have innocence through those songs. But I think innocence cannot be affected by a few songs that I perform.

Actually, at that time, I listened to Xuan Mai's music, but I didn't like it. I especially liked Michael Jackson, Nguyen Hung... I listened and sang and danced along, but in reality, I sang like that without understanding anything, I just imitated the singing to make it sound similar."

However, being famous at such a young age has caused the male singer to encounter many difficulties when he wants to assert himself as an adult.

The male singer is trying to improve himself and win over the audience.

The male singer said that although he changed his stage name from Chau to Nguyen Huy and pursued his own music, he still had difficulty reaching the audience: “The name Chau left such a big impression that it was difficult for the audience to accept a singer named Nguyen Huy. When I grew up, I also did not have an attractive appearance.

Up to now, both the show organizer and the audience only want to see the image of Chau in the past, not Nguyen Huy of the present. But I can only get older, I can't get younger."

Despite many difficulties, the male singer affirmed that he is still trying to pursue art: "People say my time is over, I admit it. But I am still trying to improve myself to continue my career, even though I may not be as successful as when I was young."

An Nguyen

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