Dương Thái Hòa
Last month, Trung Tâm Asia held the live taping for Asia 81, “Gió Xuân – Springtime” at the Agua Caliente Resort & Casino in California. Contrary to popular belief, Asia 81 was not a show focusing on the Lunar New Year, but instead focused on the season of spring, more specifically flowers. Flowers are often used in Vietnamese songwriting for their beautiful imagery, and the poetic language that can be created, such as when comparing a flower to the beauty of a woman, or the fragility of life.
Known for having a number of MCs in their shows, this time Asia featured MCs Thùy Dương, Bảo Châu, Quốc Thái, and songwriter Châu Đình An. Of course, Asia 81 featured a number of performances about flowers, including the opening number “Thuyền Hoa” performed by Duy Thành and Bích Đào, two of Asia’s newest singers who show much potential. Other performances included “Hoa Bướm Ngày Xưa” performed by Phương Hồng Quế and Anh Khoa; “Hoa Biển” performed by Nguyễn Hoàng Nam; “Hoa Mười Giờ” performed by Cát Lynh; and the closing number, “Mùa Xuân Đầu Tiên & Mưa Sài Gòn Mưa Hà Nội” performed by Nguyễn Hoàng Quân, Hoàng Anh Thư and a choir. Asia 81 also featured a few new songs such as “Gánh Hàng Hoa”, written by Châu Đình An performed by Ngọc Anh Vi, and “Shining Star” written and performed by Cardin. As well, Asia 81 featured a lovely tribute to the late songwriter Nguyễn Văn Đông with a medley of his songs performed by Hoàng Oanh.
Unfortunately, singers Khánh Hà, Thanh Thúy and Phương Trang were not present, contrary to what was previously announced. On the other hand, Asia 81 did feature performances from new singers Huệ Thy and Dạ Hương, who were also not advertised beforehand.
As Trung Tâm Asia continues to carve out this new chapter in their legacy, fans are anxiously awaiting for the DVD release of Asia 81. Asia 81, “Gió Xuân – Springtime” is set to be released onto DVD this year.
Dương Thái Hòa
Dương Thái Hòa has always been passionate about Vietnamese music. Graduating from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Music, Thái Hòa currently performs alongside the Liberty Band in shows within the Vietnamese community. In addition, Thái Hòa also writes, records and performs his own music on his YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/JamesDuongMusic