Does TikTok promote or 'distort' Vietnamese music?

With its rapid growth, TikTok has become a fertile ground for the showbiz world to exploit. Not strict about content, social networks attract many artists because this is the place where they can bring their products to audiences of all ages the fastest. However, this rapid spread is sometimes like a double-edged sword for many artists.

When artists release music to "please" TikTok

The explosion and rapid spread of music on TikTok has led many Vietnamese artists to follow it to promote their products. This is also the place where many artistic products are distorted.

Before TikTok exploded, artists had to work hard and be creative to create a complete, quality song, arrangement, and music. That process could take a month or more. But now, with TikTok, they can create a 15-second clip to satisfy their audience; it helps if the melody in that 15 seconds is lively and suitable for dancing.

With the trend of making short content, songs that want to be successful must have catchy melodies. This leads to the rise of products made in the style of "instant noodles", without systematic and complete investment. These are just separate parts that easily "rise" to become trends.

See love went viral thanks to being remixed to match the trend on TikTok.

Hoang Thuy Linh's See Tinh is a clear demonstration of the power of TikTok. The song quickly became a global storm. However, the notable part of this song is only a short remix. The lyrics are also adjusted to a fairly fast speed, making them sometimes unclear in terms of language. This is a big advantage that helps them stand out in the international market when the audience does not need to pay too much attention to the lyrics. Perhaps for that reason, even though See Tinh is a hit, the name Hoang Thuy Linh has not received much attention internationally.

Also because of the explosion and ability to spread the song quickly, many Vietnamese artists follow TikTok to promote their products. The song Run home and cry with me was originally released by Erik with a pop style and was not well received by many audiences. When the remix was spread on TikTok, the song became famous. Since then, Erik has used the remix to perform.

The song later became even more popular after being mixed with a hot TikToker's vulgar rant. However, for Erik, this increase in popularity was a disaster. The male singer had to apologize when the audience chanted these offensive words during a big show he performed.

Similarly, in addition to the ballad version of Who's Behind You , Thieu Bao Tram released a remix to keep up with the trend. She also made a dance video based on the remix of the song, which was originally only released on TikTok. Many viewers expressed confusion and frustration when a sad, emotional song suddenly turned into a lively song for the audience to dance to.

Or like Huong by Van Mai Huong, which was not very good when released, but became a "monster" on the trend thanks to promotion on TikTok.

TikTok helps Van Mai Huong's song become popular again.

And following the trend, a series of nonsense songs were released in the past year with meaningless lyrics, the purpose of which was only to "serve" TikTok. Even many famous singers followed this trend to release songs that caught up with the trend.

"All Stand Still" marks Ngo Kien Huy's return after a year of silence, and is a dance song. This song was composed by musician RIN9, and its content is a question from a guy when he discovers that his lover is cheating on him. Although the melody is catchy, the message of the song has no meaning other than the phrase: "All stand still, don't move" that is "chewed over and over again". This chorus then spread across social networking sites for people to create a trend of dancing to.

Yeah! Then I'm Sorry by Hoang Yen Chibi is also the product that marks her return after 3 years of silence. The music is easy to listen to, but the lyrics are criticized by most of the audience as being nonsense and meaningless. The female singer tried to promote by putting the song on TikTok to create a trend, but received the opposite reaction. Besides the headache-inducing lyrics: "I want to apologize, it's not easy, brother" , the song leaves no impression on the listener.

Hoang Yen Chibi caused controversy when she returned to music with a song that was just a trend but had no value.

Chi Pu released a series of MVs with heavy investment in images, catchy rhythms and created a trend on TikTok, but the lyrics were shallow, even somewhat vulgar. The lyrics of Sashimi with the lines: "Sashimi kimochi/ The food must be delicious for me to crave/ It must be really fresh for me to come back" once became the focus of public criticism.

"Distorting" the song to please TikTok

Realizing the potential of TikTok in reaching audiences, many artists have launched remix products in a massive way. Even having to find a way to create a few catchy melodies, about a few dozen seconds long according to TikTok's regulations.

The general formula for songs to easily trend on TikTok is to remix (or fast-forward) along with trends such as choreography, transformation, etc. This leads to boredom and monotony in all the songs on TikTok. Not to mention, these music pieces are also used in offensive clips without control.

TikTok has changed the way music is played when the value of a song is only contained in 15-30 seconds. Typically, "Tai tai dang nghi" by Ngo Kien Huy does not leave any impression other than the music used to create a trend.

Sharing with VTC News reporters about the trend of composing music to catch up with TikTok trends, musician Nguyen Van Chung commented: "It is not wrong for young musicians to change their composition style to have their own customer base. Young people today are the main audience. How to change to fit the trend is the choice of each musician. Maybe when choosing to change to meet the audience's taste, they accidentally lose something valuable to themselves, but sometimes it brings value to the people they serve."

"As a musician, I still want to have songs that are loved and widely spread. I am also thinking about changing trends according to what the audience likes, but I have to balance between trends and my own artistic ego. The important thing is that I still cannot lose my own unique qualities in my compositions," the musician said.

The male musician believes that a song must be beautiful from melody to lyrics, beautiful from meaningful content to title, that is perfection. The composer must describe beauty, honor beauty, preserve beauty. According to him, evaluating what is a successful product depends on different criteria of each artist. There are singers who only need to be in Top 1 Trending to be considered successful, many others think that success is being engraved in the hearts of the audience, being highly appreciated by experts.

"As a musician, to be called a song, it must have both content and melody. A good song needs to have more emotions and live long in the hearts of the audience. For me, a good composition will be listened to over and over again every year, strongly affecting the soul of each person, not just causing a temporary fever at a certain time. Music must be beautiful from the lyrics, melody to content, even the name of the song. No matter what genre of music, it must have humanistic values and artistry," said the author of Mother's Diary .

Amee is a female singer who often chooses TikTok as a place to promote her music products.

When music follows TikTok trends, it also pushes genuine artists into an unfair game. The mentality of wanting their products to be known by a wide audience is something that any artist desires. However, artists also need to be alert to balance temporary trends with the quality of their products. Find a way to make your entire product conquer the audience, not just 15 seconds on social media.

Ngoc Thanh

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Source: https://vtc.vn/tiktok-thuc-day-hay-bop-meo-nhac-viet-ar763665.html