Ha Tran quit rock and... dreamed.

If you've ever seen Ha Tran in tight leather pants and a snapback hat singing the song "Original Essence" with a frenzied energy, then listening to "Let Me Dream" will make you feel incredibly gentle... and irresistible.

CD cover for "Let Me Dream" - Photo: Provided by the artist.

Ha Tran released "Let Me Dream" in vinyl format last year, aimed at analog listeners who appreciate a nostalgic feel but are quite distinct from the mainstream.

It wasn't until this spring that the album was officially released in CD format, expanding the scope for dialogue to a wider audience.

Listen to Ha Tran sing "Ly Ruou Mung" (A Toast to the New Year).

Ha Tran invites you to admire the most beautiful springs of Vietnamese music.

Just seven songs in "Let Me Dream" are enough for Ha Tran to "invite people on a ride back to the past," to admire the most beautiful springs in the history of Vietnamese music.

From pre-war songs of the 1940s and 1950s such as " Bến xuân " (Văn Cao), "Ly rượu mừng" (Phạm Đình Chương), " Gửi người em gái" (Đoàn Chuẩn - Từ Linh); to "new music" of the 1970s like "Em đến thăm anh đêm 30" (Vũ Thành An).

Ha Tran said that "Let Me Dream" will be the first in a series of vinyl albums featuring timeless songs, curated around the theme of "seasons" - Photo: Provided by the artist.

There are also foreign songs with Vietnamese lyrics, from " Youthful Songs" to love songs from the 1990s and 2000s like "Let Me Dream" (Nguyen Cuong) and "Is Spring Still Here? " (Duc Tri).

"Spring Wharf ," a melancholic masterpiece about an unfulfilled love, was composed by Van Cao in the 1940s and celebrated by singers Thai Thanh, Anh Tuyet, Khanh Ly, Ha Thanh, and Cao Minh. More than 80 years later, a new version is now performed by Ha Tran.

Ha's singing was less sorrowful, more relaxed, gentle, clear, yet still full of happiness, as she recalled the time when "all the forest birds gathered in flocks across the spring harbor."

With "The Song of Youth ," the singer's voice is alluring, with a touch of classicism, romantic yet passionate, flowing like the stream of time, thereby celebrating the radiant but fleeting beauty of youth and love.

My favorite is "Ly Ruou Mung " (A Toast to the New Year). Anyone who loved the song performed by the Thang Long choir with its complex, reciprocal, and lively backing vocals, like waves crashing in a joyful New Year's celebration, will likely not be disappointed by Ha Tran's rendition.

Instead of being intended for choir, the new arrangement, written in a very special way, is for solo singer Ha, who can handle it all. However, thanks to her chameleon-like and polyphonic voice, she creates interwoven rhythms that are both modern and classical, yet still maintain the elegance, precision, and sacredness of a song celebrating the spring season.

While the original version depicted the choir members raising their glasses in a celebratory toast, this new version gives the impression that Ha Tran is gazing at the beautiful landscape, somewhat intoxicated, raising her glass high in a toast to her predecessors.

At the same time, he took a sip of the "Quan San cup" and drank it all.

For some inexplicable reason, when I pictured the singer with the habit of wearing eyeliner, for a fleeting moment, I noticed that the corners of her eyes seemed to lengthen.

Meanwhile, in the full lyrics version of "To My Younger Sister," Ha Tran sings with tenderness. "Is Spring Still Here?" combines contemporary folk with jazz fusion, creating many fresh effects. It's vibrant and energetic, yet undeniably romantic.

The new arrangement of "Em đến thăm anh đêm 30" (I Came to Visit You on the Night of the 30th) is equally surprising, incorporating synth-pop electronic music. There are extended, parallel, and swirling sound ranges that intertwine with the singer's vocals, evoking a vast and expansive space.

Ha's singing style, enunciation, and vocal embellishments perfectly complemented the excellent arrangement, bringing a new, modern, and catchy feel to Vu Thanh An's song.

The CD concludes with "Let Me Dream, " featuring a delicate, refined voice, like a whisper so as not to disturb the grass and trees, and "let me dream in your arms, in your gentle embrace."

Alongside the CD release, the "Let Me Dream" project will continue to expand in January 2026 through a series of meet-and-greet activities with Ha Tran - Photo: Provided by the artist.

Dreaming in the Song of Life

With the album "Let Me Dream ," Ha Tran ditches her tight leather pants and snapback hat, and stops being an endless source of radiant energy. Let her be still, so that the "phoenix" (her nickname after The Masked Singer Vietnam) can dream and flourish in her music and life.

In this album, Thanh Phuong, Tran Duc Minh, Vu Huyen Trung, and Minh Duong created arrangements perfectly tailored to Ha Tran's voice, resulting in one of the best spring music albums in recent years.

Ha Tran recounts that her childhood was intertwined with Tet celebrations in Hanoi , so that atmosphere permeates almost the entire album. When listening to this CD, one can imagine cherry blossoms, the fine drizzle, and the newly sprouted branches.

Ha Tran - the "phoenix" of Vietnamese music - Photo: Provided by the artist

Ha Tran sings "You Came to Visit Me on the Night of the 30th"

There are two songs that evoke a very Saigon feel that she particularly likes: "Ly rượu mừng" (A Toast to the New Year) and "Nắng có còn xuân " (Is the Spring Sunshine Still Here?). The singer says she "always feels like she's returning to that southern land with the beautiful women in their flowing ao dai dresses and their wavy hair riding Cub motorbikes."

As for the audience, during the upcoming Lunar New Year, they feel happy to hear a beautiful voice and spring-themed love songs that fill their hearts with joy.

For her, "singing beautifully" means clear pronunciation, correct technique, mastery of breath, sound, and body language. This is what has given the singer a solid foundation to "freely explore many genres: pop, classical, folk, or rock without any hesitation"...

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CENTURY BEANS

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ha-tran-thoi-rock-va-mo-20260202095425725.htm