The reason Huong Tram received a 'storm of outrage'

Huong Tram won Album of the Year at the 2026 Dedication Awards, beating many more highly-rated competitors. The victory was deemed unconvincing, sparking a "storm of outrage" on social media.

On the evening of April 15th, at the 2026 Dedication Awards ceremony, Huong Tram won the Album of the Year award with her project "Lifebuoy" . According to the announcement, the project surpassed nominees including "Between Ten Thousand People" (Phung Khanh Linh), "The Film" (Thanh Lam & Nguyen Vinh Tien), "Promise" (Nguyen Ngoc Anh), and " Made In Vietnam " (DTAP), with 727,654 votes, far ahead of the second-place winner.

This result came as a surprise because Huong Tram's album wasn't among the previously predicted winners. Therefore, after the victory, the owner of "Lifeline" quickly became the focus of debate on social media. Her post sharing her joy of winning received over 18,000 angry reactions in a short time.

Many people feel sorry for Van Mai Huong and Phung Khanh Linh.

In fact, at this year's Dedication Awards, Album of the Year is considered one of the most fiercely competitive categories, as the trend of artists investing in album production is increasingly strong, replacing the previous wave of making music videos.

At the time the Top 10 Album of the Year nominations were announced, Huong Tram's "Phao Cuu Sinh" (Lifeline) was hardly mentioned as a potential winner, considering both the reaction from music critics and its chart performance. Instead, the prominent names included "Giua Mot Van Nguoi" ( Between Ten Thousand People ) by Phung Khanh Linh, " Giai Nhan" (Beautiful Woman ) by Van Mai Huong, and perhaps "Made In Vietnam " (DTAP).

While "Giai Nhan" didn't achieve chart-topping success, it was still considered by observers to be one of the albums that offered a rare balance between emotion, technique, and creativity, particularly in its blend of genres and its refreshing use of familiar elements (bolero with pop in "Uot Long ," or the extensive use of traditional instruments in "Bao Boi ").

In their third collaboration, Van Mai Huong and Hua Kim Tuyen no longer strive to turn every product into a hit or showcase their technical skills, but instead opt for restraint, placing the lyrics and sounds in the right places. From there, both aspire to delve deeper into their chosen themes, creating a soft, feminine musical space with a strong East Asian influence.

Van Mai Huong's performance was also praised for its just-right sensuality, fitting the album's spirit without necessarily showcasing excessively high notes. She sang as if telling a story, a self-reflection on sadness, longing for love, and heartbreak.

From the moment it was released, Giai Nhan was mentioned as one of the most outstanding albums of the year, and could even be considered one of the best projects in Van Mai Huong's career.

Van Mai Huong and Phung Khanh Linh went home empty-handed at the 2026 Dedication Awards. Photo : @vanmaihuong, @phungkhanhlinh.

Unfortunately, the singer's brainchild has inexplicably slipped through the ranks at music awards ceremonies, failing to win any of its last six nominations at the Green Wave Awards and Producer's Inside Picks & Awards. Even at the 2026 Dedication Awards, "Giai Nhan" didn't make it into the top 5, ending its journey early at one of the year's most important awards. This has left many viewers feeling confused and disappointed.

In the top 5, the remaining two names predicted to have the highest chance of winning are " Among Ten Thousand People" and "Made In Vietnam" . Among them, Phung Khanh Linh's project has been consistently compared with "Beauty Queen" throughout the past year.

Building upon the framework of alternative/dream pop, combined with material from the ballet Swan Lake , Among Ten Thousand People constructs a complete musical world where elements from structure to emotion are closely connected, thereby creating a distinct difference from familiar mainstream pop.

This could also be considered the strongest contender in the Album of the Year category at the Dedication Awards, as Giai Nhan has already been eliminated, while the remaining names haven't been mentioned much in the market recently.

However, similar to recent awards ceremonies, Among Ten Thousand People once again fell into the trap of being "overlooked." This outcome left a distinct feeling of regret, as once again Phung Khanh Linh went home empty-handed in the awards race.

The remaining names in the top 5 – * The Film* , *The Promise* , and *Made In Vietnam* – weren't actually considered outstanding. Among these, DTAP's project was believed to have the potential to create a surprise, having previously made a controversial comeback at the recent Green Wave Awards. Unfortunately, that didn't happen again.

DTAP couldn't pull off another surprise.

Huong Tram's controversial victory

In fact, "Lifebuoy" is not without its strengths. Overall, Huong Tram's brainchild shows a relatively clear conceptual approach, with an emotional progression from hurt to healing, creating a seamless flow.

Huong Tram's vocals are also a standout feature, showcasing maturity in her technique, demonstrating greater restraint and flexibility compared to her earlier stages. The production is meticulously invested in, creating a relatively consistent soundscape, revealing her ambitious vision.

However, compared to her competitors, Huong Tram's album is also considered to have limitations in several aspects. The musical style is criticized as safe, following the familiar path of pop ballad mixed with R&B that has been popular for many years. The way the climaxes are built and the handling of harmonies with string instruments sometimes feel ostentatious and lack harmony. Many songs have predictable structures, lack breakthroughs, and fail to leave a distinct impression.

Furthermore, the album's content revolves around familiar themes such as breakups, hurt, and healing, but lacks new perspectives or emotional twists. The lyrics are direct and accessible, but lack the necessary subtlety.

However, the fact that the award results are determined by a 50-50 ratio between public and expert votes always carries the potential for surprises. Excluding Van Mai Huong, who was eliminated early, Huong Tram clearly has the greatest advantage in terms of mobilizing votes among the top 5.

Huong Tram led the audience vote throughout. Photo: @huongtram.

In fact, on the Dedication Awards voting portal, Huong Tram maintained her leading position throughout the voting period, far ahead of her two highly-rated rivals, Made In Vietnam (ranked 4th) and Giua Mot Van Nguoi (ranked 5th). Conversely, the albums ranked 2nd and 3rd in terms of votes, such as Cuon Phim or Hen Uoc , did not generate significant discussion and were rarely mentioned in the previous predictions.

In this context, it can be explained that Lifebuoy 's victory was primarily due to its overwhelming advantage in the voting, thereby creating a sufficiently large point difference to partially offset any doubts about its quality.

However, the explanations above have not been enough to help Lifebuoy or Huong Tram avoid a wave of negative opinions, as many people still question the persuasiveness of this victory.

Source: https://znews.vn/ly-do-huong-tram-nhan-bao-phan-no-post1644109.html