2023 in Review: Vietnam – new destination of world famous artists

In 2023, Vietnam's stages became more exciting with a series of tours by world’s famous international artists, including many names familiar to the audiences of 1980s and 1990s generations.

Right after the Lunar New Year, the explosive release of the music video (MV) titled “I do”, a collaboration product between singer Duc Phuc and the music band 911, signaled the beginning of an exciting year for the music industry of Vietnam as a destination for many international music bands and artists.

After being released on Youtube less than 24 hours, the MV "I do" reached nearly 2 million views, along with thousands of comments. Band 911 and singer Duc Phuc gave a number of performances together in Vietnam. Although they did not perform in major music programmes and big stages, they all attracted the attention of the audiences and the video clips of their performances are very popular.

In March, the famous band Super Junior from the Republic of Korea (RoK) returned to Vietnam for the World Tour Super Show 9 n Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City is the 13th stop of the series of concert entitled "Super Junior World Tour - Super Show 9: Road", which started from Seoul (the RoK) in July 2022.

The show "heated up" the Military Zone 7 Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City with 15,000 spectators cheering passionately. This proved that Super Junior's appeal has not cooled down over the years. Not only did the audiences enjoy familiar songs, but the band’s members also captured the hearts of those present at the show with their talks in Vietnamese.

In June, SEEN Festival in Hoi An heated up the music atmosphere again when welcoming a series of music and entertainment stars from the RoK such as Taeyang (BIGBANG), BoA, aespa, Hyoyeon (SNSD) and KARD.

In July, young music lovers in Vietnam were excited at two major music events including the two-day tour the famous band BlackPink in Hanoi and the presence of US-UK star Charlie Puth at the 8WONDER, the world-class music festival, in Nha Trang.

In October 2022, BlackPink announced The Born Pink World Tour, the band's largest world tour ever. In Hanoi, BlackPink performed at two concerts at My Dinh National Stadium on July 29 and 30.

However, a month earlier, the BlackPink "fever" had begun. All websites are filled with topics about the band, tickets, and accompanying items during the show such as lightsticks, t-shirts, hair bands and backpacks.

The two concerts in Hanoi are not only musical parties that please the audiences but also an opportunity for thousands of young audiences to see their idols and express their love for them. The Blackpink girls had an impressive performance night, not only with their famous songs but also with dance performances in Vietnamese that made thousands of audiences extremely excited.

Before BlackPink's concerts, the US top music star Charlie Puth came to Nha Trang as part of the 8Wonders Music Festival. The male singer was very excited and surprised by the warm and enthusiastic welcome of the Vietnamese audiences.

In early September, HAY Glamping Festival at Yen So Park of Hanoi welcomed two big names including Ronan Keating and Epik High. At his age of 50s, Ronan Keating still proved his great appeal as bringing the audiences to their youth through a series of Boyzone's once famous songs. Meanwhile, Epik High satisfied the audiences’ with their glorious hits.

In November, saxophone legend Kenny G returned to Vietnam for the programme "Kenny G Live In Vietnam", which was organised by Nhan Dan Newspaper in collaboration with IB Group Vietnam, under the international music project "Good Morning Vietnam” initiated by Nhan Dan Newspaper.

Kenny G provided Vietnamese audiences with a classy and emotional music night at the National Convention Centre with his unconventionality and generosity. Familiar songs and music pieces associated with the once legendary artist were introduced to Hanoi audiences in a "new way” that the artist has painstakingly harmonised, remixed, and brought soul to the works.

Many years have passed, but the love of many generations of Vietnamese audiences for Kenny G remains unchanged. After the show ended, hundreds of audiences still lined up outside to wait for the artist to sign on CDs.

In the last months of the year, the Vietnamese music stages continued to welcome famous faces of world music including Maroon 5 and Westlife. Westlife came to Vietnam as part of The Wild Dreams Tour at Thong Nhat Stadium (District 10, Ho Chi Minh City).

Maroon 5 performed in Phu Quoc as part of the 8Wonders Music Festival. Vietnamese audiences were once again satisfied and immersed in the emotions of the famous songs.

With the famous artists’ tours to Vietnam during 2023, it can be said that Vietnam has been becoming one of music destinations of the world's famous names.

Coming to Vietnam, famous artists, have contributed significantly to promoting the land, people, culture and tourism of Vietnam to the international community. BlackPink and Super Junior both expressed their love for Vietnamese pho (noodle soup) and dance the famous song “See Tinh” of Vietnam. The stars also did not hesitate to express their love to Vietnamese fans in simple Vietnamese sentences.

The Vietnamese conical hat was also worn by members of Epik High and BlackPink when they were performing in Vietnam, surprising audiences.

According to the online booking platform Booking.com, after BlackPink's tour was announced on June 26, 2023, searches for accommodation facilities in Hanoi from July 26 to August 1 increased 300% compared to the same period last year. From June 26 to July 9, this rate was always at 160% compared to the same period last year. The number of searches for accommodation facilities from abroad to Vietnam increased by 685% on the nights when this band performed.

At the end of 2023, there will still be incidents of show and tour cancellations that make both audiences and artists lose trust in the organisers. However, it can be affirmed that becoming a new destination for a series of major international artists in the past year has contributed to improving Vietnam's position in the map of international music venues. More highly successful tours are expected in 2024.