Unique album in Vietnamese music market

Rarely has rock been the mainstream of Vietnamese music , especially recently when rap/hiphop has dominated the market, while ballads have always been popular. Rock is rare, and other subgenres of this genre such as alternative, indie rock, dream pop, etc. are even rarer for mainstream artists to use. Obviously, this is not a suitable choice to help artists reach the top of the domestic charts.

However, for a singer who always likes to challenge and change herself like Phung Khanh Linh, it seems that these difficulties do not diminish the singer's will. Since the beginning of 2025, Linh has released 3 different singles, all of which are quite small branches of the rock/alternative genre, rarely seen in the Vietnamese music market: Em dau (dream pop), Khoc Blóck (alternative rock), Tam su voi dem mot minh (ambient pop). These products are all "quality" and highly appreciated by experts. Before that, Linh also made her mark in Vpop with the album Citopia, which explored the city pop music genre, which was quite unfamiliar at that time.

As an affirmation of always going to the end of creativity, Phung Khanh Linh released the album Among Ten Thousand People , focusing on exploiting the dark colors of rock/alternative and freely exploring unique musical materials as a personal brand of the female singer.

Find a new direction for yourself

Phung Khanh Linh's music has changed significantly since collaborating with Thoi Dai Records. Previously, her products were all ballads, lyrical, easy to listen to and easy to feel, even had big hits, but the audience often did not remember much about the performer, it was difficult to distinguish Linh from other singers of the same genre. It was not until the release of the album yesteryear that the audience had a clear picture of Phung Khanh Linh's personality.

However, the singer's style is not fixed in a certain genre or color. From yesteryear with a strong US-UK pop girl color, to Citopia changing to City pop - a popular genre in Japan in the late 70s and early 80s. At the time of release, Linh did not receive much attention from the public, but what the singer has done so far are all things that are favored by the mainstream.

The album Among Ten Thousand People marks another transformation of Phung Khanh Linh.

Instead of continuing to push forward, continuing the musical materials that have gradually been accepted by the audience, Phung Khanh Linh continues to diligently exploit new elements. The female singer's album Among Ten Thousand People has almost no songs that follow familiar, easy-to-listen trends. Right from the opening song, Linh used classical materials from the ballet Swan Lake . Immediately after that are the dense dream pop sounds in Harsh Reality , sad lyrics and a very slow tempo.

The female singer even built a darker atmosphere more clearly with a rather strange gothic material in the song Premonition with horror lyrics: "This fate turned to ashes/I buried it deep in the bottom of the tomb/Pleasure turned to ashes/Why didn't you miss me once?" . The gothic element was also thoroughly exploited by the female singer in the visual part of the official lyrics video .

In addition to alternative/dream pop, the main genre used in Giua mot van nguoi , Phung Khanh Linh and her crew also tried their hand at ambient pop in Anh la thang toi, Tam su voi dem mot minh or Baroque pop with Dieu em khong muon . Although possessing somewhat gentle sounds, less violent than Uoc anh tan tan con tim or Khoc Blóck (alternative rock), the way these songs are developed is still quite rare in Vpop.

Taking on the main production role for this album is blossom - a producer from the UK. Blossom has many years of experience with dream pop and baroque pop, so when working with Phung Khanh Linh, each genre and sound that the female singer wants to convey is done thoroughly. The post-production of the album is also well handled, as despite having many genres, the listening experience is still unified and rhythmic.

Composition is still the strong point

Phung Khanh Linh originally came from The Voice 2015 - a singing competition. However, when entering the market, she gradually developed into a singer - songwriter instead of a vocalist. All 3 of the female singer's albums are songs that she composed completely herself.

Through 3 musical eras, listeners can also see that Phung Khanh Linh's writing ability has clearly developed. If in yesteryear , she showed her diverse ability when writing for many different music genres from ballad, R&B to ballad all with good quality, then in Citopia and especially Giua mot van nguoi this time, she showed her specialized composing ability according to a certain concept and theme.

Phung Khanh Linh's composing ability is always highly appreciated.

All the songs in Giua mot van nguoi strictly follow the story of sadness after a breakup. Although each song in the album was inspired by Phung Khanh Linh from different things and events, such as "Hard reality" was inspired by a watercolor painting of a happy couple, or "Em dau" was written from her own story when she witnessed her father's death, but all of them are about one story, one clear direction.

Listeners also highly appreciate Phung Khanh Linh's compositions. If "Uoc anh tan tan con tim" or "Anh la thang toi" have catchy, easy-to-remember melodies, and are songs that have good results in the album, then "Co nguoi", "Hompressive feelings" or "Dieu em khong muon" have impressive, sharp lyrics, rich in images and emotions. In particular, each of her compositions strictly follows the arrangement, such as " Khóc Blóck" when the sound is very strong and determined, Linh's compositions are concise, simple, and the lyrics are not too thick "Khóc Blóck, I don't wanna see you anymore" ; moving to more somber songs like " Dieu em khong muon" and "Hay noi anh sai roi " she writes many long sentences, evoking many emotions "Flooded with memories of the days when we were together/ Every night I look at the wall, a little love remains/ We have done everything to fill the pain", "Don't try to give me pearls, silk, and diamonds anymore/ Don't think that I need more sparkling gold and silver".

Phung Khanh Linh is not among the artists who attract the most media attention, and she does not aim to pursue the goal of leading the market. Instead, Linh focuses on finding unique sounds, building her own musical path, unlike anyone else. Among ten thousand people, it may be difficult to become a popular album, but it is of enough quality to help Phung Khanh Linh be highly appreciated professionally and attract a loyal audience to her music.

Source: https://znews.vn/album-doc-la-o-thi-truong-nhac-viet-post1597818.html