Soobin's 'No Man Under the Moon' also honors culture, so why compare it to 'Northern Bling'?

Soobin's MV 'Muc Ha Vo Nhan' is causing a stir thanks to its outstanding production quality in Vietnamese music. There's no need to compare its achievements with 'Bac Bling' when both MVs are of high quality and show the artists' dedication.

Soobin, Binz and People's Artist Huynh Tu on the Xam singing mat in the MV Muc Ha Vo Nhan - Photo: NVCC

The MV Muc Ha Vo Nhan by three artists Soobin, Binz and People's Artist Huynh Tu has just reached nearly 3 million views after more than four days of release. The MV reached the top 1 trending on both the general and music charts on November 14, and the song reached number 1 on iTunes Vietnam. In addition, there are many articles analyzing small details honoring traditional Vietnamese culture and international cinema.

The MV surprised everyone with its elaborateness and investment, most of the scenes were filmed for real with real images, makeup, drawings, and props. The crew built a house, put a car on the roof, and hired real elephants. A photo of artificial intelligence (AI) was thrown into the trash with the hidden message "say no to AI".

Honoring culture and the message of "living well"

Singer Soobin shared: "Muc Ha Vo Nhan is a product that I am extremely passionate about, it is my way of showing gratitude for what I learned as a child and passed down by my father Huynh Tu. The source of endless inspiration for folk music and finally I can put it into an official MV".

Soobin's appearance as the "blind fortuneteller" Ly Son - Photo: NVCC

The MV tells a humorous, satirical story about two boys who pretend to be blind fortune tellers to tease village girls but are eventually taught a lesson by the whole village - a metaphor for the message "Be good people".

Using satirical art, directors Phuong Vu and Hoang Dang (Antiantiart) recreate the classic Northern countryside scene but also very modern thanks to the new filming method.

After watching the MV, many fanpages and personal accounts analyzed the cultural and cinematic references. The MV opens with a performance of Xam singing in a market corner, showing that the soul of Xam is in the community.

There are familiar images of Xam culture or traditional culture such as sedge mats, pieces of pottery, sidewalk cafes, village communal houses, ponds, Dong Ho paintings of blind man's bluff...

The image of the mermaids and the plot of the unfaithful blind fortuneteller are considered creative, a new perspective of Soobin and his crew when reflecting on a traditional musical work. "Muc ha vo nhan" here is a person who pretends to be blind, has eyes but cannot see the way of life "to live a good life", lives without feeling and does not appreciate love.

An audience member commented that the song Muc Ha Vo Nhan honors traditional Vietnamese musical instruments and music, renewing Xam by using the native sound treasure with representative instruments of percussion, string, wind...

The MV has 17 guests, including 5 artists acting or singing: Huynh Tu, Tu Long, Lan Thy, Trung Ruoi, Do Duy Nam and 12 artists playing musical instruments such as drums, rice drums, two-stringed fiddles, flutes, monochords, moon lutes, woodwinds, clappers, three-stringed zithers, wooden clappers...

MV Muc Ha Vo Nhan - Soobin, Binz, People's Artist Huynh Tu

Many audiences were delighted to list classic movie scenes that Soobin and his crew had simulated and Vietnamized with Vietnamese context and cultural elements. These were scenes in One Week (1920), Sherlock Jr. (1924, with the scene of a man running through a wall), Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928, with the scene of the wall collapsing, leaving only Soobin and Binz's place); Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010).

Where to compare achievements?

Because Muc Ha Vo Nhan is inspired by music and folklore, on the social network Threads, there are a number of posts comparing the achievements and views of this MV with Hoa Minzy's MV Bac Bling - which has a higher number of views per day and a stronger viral effect.

However, many audiences oppose this perspective, saying that we should not be too obsessed with achievements or views, but should recognize these as quality MVs and music products of Vietnamese music this year.

Reenacting the water puppet scene in the MV Muc Ha Vo Nhan - Photo: NVCC

A scene simulating a famous scene in world cinema, making the audience excited - Photo: Cut from MV

On his personal page, Soobin expressed his wishes for the audience's reception: "Everyone can watch this MV for normal entertainment, or for in-depth understanding. What the crew presents will be a spiritual dish that each person will have different feelings and understandings. The only thing is that everyone should watch carefully to see that there are details in the frame of less than a second that you might miss when watching for the first time. Enjoy the music in your own way!".

Many audiences feel sorry for Soobin when he released the MV Muc Ha Vo Nhan too late (November), making it difficult to collect data for the year-end music award race, while this is a quality MV with depth.

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LE GIANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/muc-ha-vo-nhan-cua-soobin-cung-ton-vinh-van-hoa-sao-phai-so-ke-bac-bling-20251116093128963.htm