Today we’d like to introduce you to Lan Dong.
Hi Lan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born in a small village in Hải Dương Province, in Northern Vietnam, and moved to Hanoi where I studied to be a teacher, while singing at night. My singing of “La Vie en Rose” won a French contest which sent me to Paris, a place I never thought I would go, but I was there, and I knew then that I could reach my dreams if I dedicated my whole soul to them, so on a whim, I left everything behind and moved to Saigon to follow my passion.
From small bars and clubs, I found myself on the largest stages in the country, gaining national attention as a semi-finalist on the first season of The Voice Vietnam (2012) where people said I blew across the stage like a wild wind, my French songs a gust of fresh Bohemian air; but for me, I was just a little girl running in my hometown fields, my naked feet rushing through the tall grasses, fingers strumming my hair like guitar strings, birds fluttering above my head. In the bright stage lights, I was those birds.
My whole life, I’ve dreamt of flying around the world before I die. Since appearing on The Voice, I’ve performed in France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, USA, Russia, Japan …
And now, I live in Los Angeles to do an international music project for women, “Redmoon” – Indie Jazz combines traditional Vietnamese music. I want women to be happier every day, as I want myself to be happier every day.
Albums:
2022 Don’t love alone – Jazz (Vietnamese – English)
2019 Ao anh – Bolero jazz ( Vietnamese- French)
2018 Dong Lan hat Trinh – jazz (Vietnamese- French)
2014 Dong Lan Rose (Vietnamese – French)
2012 Canh lan dai (Vietnamese- French)
Awards:
2021 Nominated Best song – Don’t love alone, Berlin music video awards
2013 Best – Zing Award Best Young Female Singer of the year
2012 Best – My song, Sợ chết (Fear of Death), won Bai Hat Viet (Vietnamese Song) – June
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Although the song “La vien rose” brought me to professional music, choosing to be an artist was a big challenge, not beautiful and delightful like roses. Artists are often poor but rich in spirit, creativity, and experience.
I had to borrow many loans for my first music album. Sleeping in the car has become a usual and normal thing due to many long-distance trips. So many times, I could not sleep because my spine was so hurt.
Different from other easy listening/trendy musical genre, my genre is quite picky that only a few people listen to it. As a result, I don’t frequently get gigs as much shows as others. While most of my high school friends are already married, have kids, and have stable careers, I’m still flying and dancing everywhere like a lonely bird. There were times when I was so sick but I was all by myself alone in a foreign land, especially during the pandemic. It’s already difficult to study and pursue jazz music at school, yet, living in an expensive foreign city, such as Paris and having no gigs are even harsher. But I always use difficulties to motivate myself. I am optimistic and often let go the difficulties very quickly. Then everything is just fine.
Until now, my only asset is still a passionate heart that wants to sing, compose, and dedicate myself to creating meaningful projects for the community.
If I had to choose again, I would still choose this colorful life.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am proud to be a small but strong woman from Vietnam who dares to dream and go everywhere to pursue my dreams. A small girl with an open heart who loves traditional values but also wants to break down the conventional values that no longer serve the highest good, create new values and renew myself as well as positively impact the community. Combining those values with the desire to always find the sparkling gem hidden in each person, makes me different.
I’m a singer, songwriter, dancer, yoga practitioner, and also a painter. My paintings are mainly auctioned for charities.
In Vietnam, people know me as a young generation singer specializing in French music and this is an unlikely thing because most of the French singers are older generation and there are not many lefts, especially in Vietnam. When I participated in The Voice Vietnam for the first season with a soaring, gentle, wild but passionate spirit, many fans shared that they saw the fields and the clear blue sky when they heard me sing. Some of them said that my voice made them cry as a way to cleanse their souls.
I believe that my voice carries a God’s mission to help and heal people including myself. Thus, I start focusing making music for healing. I believe that music, especially vocals – a musical instrument that directly comes from and transmits from heart to heart without any indirect means, bring a very special power to both listeners and the singer. Indeed, singing helps me regain balance for my life.
I love traveling and learning about different cultures. I am especially fascinated when learning people, their philosophies and psychology. Each person’s life is like a living book, I always enjoy reading and listening. All the spiritual food I ingest will emerge spontaneously in my compositions and vocals.
An international project, that I have cherished for a long time, is dedicated to women. The project is called REDMOON – what I call a woman’s monthly period. This is an international music album in the style of indie electronic jazz combined with traditional Vietnamese music. I work with French, American and Vietnamese artists to blend different cultures naturally.
I want to sing and praise different sacred secrets of women. Topics like the menstrual cycle (which is still considered nasty and dirty; women are not even allowed to go to the temple to pray when they are on their period) or orgasm (a lot of women don’t know what an orgasm is because of shame, they can’t overcome self-indulgence and traditional mindsets to share and learn about themselves confidently), or etc…
I look at life with a different perspective, what traditional stereotypes consider bad. For me, belly area is the sacred area that connects with the Universe. REDMOON is a very sacred thing, helping to sustain humanity. A woman’s genital is as beautiful as an orchid, when it is loved and cared, they will emit a wonderful fragrance. I believe in the greatness of the Universe and the power of love.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I used to wish that I had studied art when I was a child, but I also felt lucky when my childhood was surrounded by natural plants. I paint on the ground, sing in the fields or in the shower, dance with trees, to name a few.
I used to wish that if my family supported me in pursuing art, I would have learned many things sooner and not have to lie to my family about my profession.
After spending a lot of time pursuing a teaching profession as my family wants, and trying different fields, finally, at the age of 26, I was brave enough to give up everything to fulfill my desire to be an artist. I left the capital and moved to the south to live with only a small suitcase with a passionate heart. At that time, I only knew one friend in the south. People use the Vietnamese idiom “deaf is not afraid of guns” to describe me.
After participating in The Voice Vietnam for the first season, I was well-known and invited to work at different entertainment companies. I know that if I agreed, I would definitely have more opportunities to be more popular, gain a better income, and standing better in the entertainment industry. However, I took the risk to do what I wanted and fulfill my dream of traveling around the world before I die.
I took a break from my career, left my hometown for France to study jazz when I was not young anymore. Encountering cultural and language barriers, I sometimes broke down, and cried like a baby on my chair because of the feeling of helplessness, especially during the pandemic. Living alone in a strange city with quarantine orders, I was bewildered and used to think about what if I die in this land without seeing my love ones; no one would know because the neighborhood are not as close and warmth as in my hometown. There were also financial, mental difficulties, and etc. Gradually, I regained my confidence by being optimistic, practicing yoga and meditation. I focused on health and psychology to recovering myself.
I used to be pressured by the conventional women pattern: the need to marry in adulthood and have children. Inquiries, expectations, and encouragement from friends and family made me tired. When I faced myself, my hormones also seem to scream at me – a person who loves children very much: Will I have children? It is a harsh truth that women have limited time if they want to have children. Maybe I will not have children because my life moves a lot, financially is unstable and doesn’t guarantee the best time to take care of them and I accept that. My children are works of art and they are shared with everyone.
I always take risks and see them as a challenge to help me become stronger, and more complete; and push my limits.
People only grow up in loneliness, because that is the fire that tests gold. When we know how to heal ourselves, we can heal others and help them live happily with what we have, live meaningfully, and so is more than enough for life.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.donglanartist.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donglansinger/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donglansinger
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClMixOifcPbnqLTFpjc5S3g
Image Credits
Tam Lan Truong
Francois Brunetta
Dai Ngo
Oanh Nguyen
Others
