Quang Le
Encyclopedia
Quang Lê a Vietnamese American
Vietnamese American
A Vietnamese American is an American of Vietnamese descent. They make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American group....

 singer with Thúy Nga
Thuy Nga
Thúy Nga is a Vietnamese-oriented entertainment company that produces Paris By Night, as well as music CDs, musical specials, movies and films, magazines, audio books, posters, and calendars...

 Productions, known for his covers of traditional Vietnamese songs created and written before, during and about the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

. Quang Lê achieved success at a young age, with hits such as “Sương Trắng Miền Quê Ngoại”, “Đập Vỡ Cây Đàn”, “Đường Về Quê Hương” and “Tương Tư Nàng Ca Sĩ”.

Biography

Quang Lê was born in Vietnam, with family roots from Central Vietnam in the City of Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...

. He is the third son in a family of 6 siblings, and one adopted sister. His family immigrated to the United States in 1991, and initially settled in Missouri. His family then moved to Orange County, California
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

.

Although Quang Lê had been singing at a very young age, it was not until 2000 that he decided to become a professional singer.

Singing career

Prior to appearing on the Paris By Night
Paris by Night
Paris By Night is a popular Vietnamese language musical variety show, produced by an Overseas Vietnamese company Thúy Nga and hosted by Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên, featuring musical performances by modern pop stars, traditional folk songs, one-act plays, and sketch comedy...

 stage, a musical production created by Thúy Nga
Thuy Nga
Thúy Nga is a Vietnamese-oriented entertainment company that produces Paris By Night, as well as music CDs, musical specials, movies and films, magazines, audio books, posters, and calendars...

 Productions, Quang Lê sang for a smaller music production called Ca Dao. He released three albums with Ca Dao singing “Quê Hương” songs such as “Ngại Ngùng”, “Em Ve Voi Nguoi”, “Chim Sáo Ngày Xưa”, “Tinh Cha” and “Lối Thu Xưa”. He was even given the opportunity to sing with a very famous female Vietnamese singer at the time, Phi Nhung
Phi Nhung
Phi Nhung is a Vietnamese language singer who specialises in cai luong and vong co music. She sings for Paris By Night and Van Son and also acts in their plays and Tinh production. She also has recorded music for Lang Van....

, on two songs entitled “Ngày Đã Đơm Bông” and “Ngau Hung Ly Qua Cau”.

Quang Lê had submitted a video to Thúy Nga Productions but at the time, they did not need singers to perform “Quê Hương” songs. He waited two years before he received an invitation to appear in Thúy Nga’s Paris by Night 66, entitled “Người Tình va Quê Hương”, an opportunity that opened all doors for Quang Lê and started his journey to becoming one of the top selling artists within the Vietnamese music industry. On Paris by Night 66
Paris By Night 66
Paris By Night 66 - Người Tình Và Quê Hương is a music variety show performance produced by Thuy Nga Productions for its Paris By Night series. It was filmed in Paris, France, and was hosted by Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên. The items focused on the works of composers Trần Trịnh, Ngô...

, Quang Lê sang “Thư Xuân Trên Rừng Cao” from songwriter Trinh Lam Ngan.

Quang Lê was invited again to appear on Thúy Nga’s Paris by Night 68 entitled “Nửa Vầng Trăng”. In this installment, he sang alongside an alumnus of Paris by Night and another “Quê Hương” singer, Tuong Nguyen, singing a mix of songs from song writer Duy Khánh.

Quang Lê appeared again on the Paris by Night stage in number 69 entitled “Song Ca Nợ Tình” singing “Sương Trắng Miền Quê Ngoại” by Đinh Miên Vũ. It was Quang Lê’s cover of this song that the Vietnamese community began to recognize and respect Quang Lê’s voice and abilities despite his young age. In fact, in Paris by Night 89
Paris by Night 89
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thuy Nga.Paris By Night 89: In Korea is a Paris By Night program that was filmed at the Olympic Fencing Gymnasium at the Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea on Sunday, July 1, 2007. It is Thuy Nga's first venture into Asia...

: Live in Korea, during his interview onstage by MC Nguyen Ngoc Ngan
Nguyen Ngoc Ngan
Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn is a Vietnamese-Canadian writer and essayist.He was born in Sơn Tây, Vietnam, but his family moved to South Vietnam when the Geneva Accords divided the country in 1945...

, Quang Lê shared with the audience his experience meeting song writer Đinh Miên Vũ. Miên Vũ had approached Quang Lê at one of his shows and gave Quang Lê two musical sheets he had written: one for the song “Sương Trắng Miền Quê Ngoại” and the second for a new song, “Hai Quê”. It is believed “Hai Quê” is part two of “Sương Trắng Miền Quê Ngoại” which Miên Vũ wrote and has given to Quang Lê to perform. Audience in Paris by Night 89 was treated to Quang Lê’s performance of “Hai Quê” with his Huế accent.

Quang Lê’s career began to take off and he became a contracted singer for Thúy Nga Productions, releasing various “Quê Hương” music albums, starting with “Sương Trắng Miền Quê Ngoại” which became the number one selling album in the same year it was released. The demand for Quang Lê began to increase, pushing Thúy Nga to also release consecutively the following solo albums from Quang Lê: “Kẻ Ở Miền Xa”, and “Xin Gọi Nhau Là Cố Nhân”.

In Paris by Night 73 entitled The Best of Song Ca (Duets), Thúy Nga decided to pair Quang Lê with Ngọc Hạ, and the audience immediately fell in love with the duet. Quang Lê and Ngọc Hạ brought the audience back to the town of Huế in the song “Ai Ra Xứ Huế” from Duy Khánh, sung in central accents. This duet sparked more demand from the audience to see more of Quang Lê and Ngọc Hạ together. In Paris by Night 79
Paris by Night 79
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thúy Nga.Paris By Night 79: Dreams is a Paris By Night program produced by Thúy Nga that was filmed at the Center for the Performing Arts in San Jose, California on August 20, 2005...

 entitled Dream, Thúy Nga paired the two singers again in the song “Tình Lúa Duyên Trăng” from Hoai An and Ho Dinh and again in Paris by Night 94
Paris by Night 94
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thúy Nga.Paris By Night 94: 25th Anniversary is a Paris By Night program produced by Thúy Nga that was filmed at the Terrace Theater at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center on September 20, 2008.The program is...

 25th Anniversary Part 1 with the song “Tình Nghèo”.

Thúy Nga Productions made special “Xuân” (Spring) shows on the Paris by Night stage, starting with Paris By Night 76 entitled Xuân Tha Huong. In this installment of Paris by Night, Quang Lê sang “Xuân Này Con Về Mẹ Ở Đâu”, a very emotional song by Nhat Ngan. This began a series of songs for Mothers from Quang Lê on Paris by Night “Xuân” specials. In Paris by Night 80
Paris by Night 80
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thúy Nga.Paris By Night 80: Tết Khắp Mọi Nhà is a Paris By Night program produced by Thúy Nga that was filmed at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre at the Toronto, Canada on October 29, 2005.-Concept:The program is a part of...

 entitled Tết Khắp Mọi Nhà, Quang Lê sang the song “Mừng Tuổi Mẹ” (Celebrating Mother’s Birthdays). In Paris by Night 85
Paris by Night 85
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thuy Nga.Paris By Night 85: Xuân Trong Kỷ Niệm is a Paris By Night program that was filmed at Studio 40 at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre on Saturday, October 21, 2006 and is released to a 2-disc DVD format on Thursday,...

, the third installment of Thúy Nga’s “Xuân” specials titled “Xuân Trong Ky Niem”, Quang Lê sang “Xuân Này Con Không Về”, receiving much recognition for his cover of the song.

The release of “7000 Ðêm Góp Lại” brought Quang Lê to a much more broad audience, as oppose to just the older generation. He continued to sing “Quê Hương” songs such as “Thành Phố Sau Lưng” and “Xin Em Đừng Khóc Vu Quy” as well as a duet with another famous “Quê Hương” singer, Như Quỳnh” in the song “Đêm Bơ Vơ” from Duy Khánh. Quang Lê also sang with singer Hương Thủy in a very sweet cover and upbeat pop song “Tình Nhỏ Mau Quên”. This song brought his audience back to the days of youth and falling in love back in the old country. Quang Lê provided a unique remixed to the song “Xin Đừng Trách Đa Đa” by adding a trance mix to it, very different from what the audience expects from him. He also provided to the audience a romantic ballad in “Hãy Về Đây Bên Anh” from Duy Manh, which attracted a different audience, mainly from the younger generation, who was able to connect to the meaning of the song. The success of this song also proved that Quang Lê’s voice is transparent and can successfully transpire to many different music genres.

In Paris by Night 82, Quang Lê sang “Đập Vỡ Cây Đàn” by Hoa Linh Bao. His performance sparked the released of his next CD, titled “Đập Vỡ Cây Đàn” which again has Quang Lê continuing to explore other music genres. He continued to provide to the audience with traditional Vietnamese music such as “Chuyện Ba Mùa Mưa” and “Nhật Ký Hai Đứa Mình”, a romantic “Quê Hương” song loved by many from the older generation. The CD had a guest star from a very famous and beloved female artist, Minh Tuyết
Minh Tuyet
Minh Tuyết is a Vietnamese-American pop singer, currently performing on Thuy Nga's Paris by Night. Her sisters is Cam Ly, a singer in Vietnam, and Ha Phuong who performs with her as part of the cast of Paris By Night. She is known in the Vietnamese American culture for being the Vietnamese pop...

, who normally do not sing “Quê Hương” songs but sang “Bài Ca Kỷ Niệm” with Quang Lê. Although not a common pairing, the two singers provided a nice cover of the song. Quang Lê also duet again with Hương Thủy in another cute song called “Chuyện Tình Nơi Làng Quê” again about young love in the old country. He was also given an opportunity to duet with Quỳnh Dung, his “Godsister”, whom in a previous interview he mentioned was the one person he wanted to duet with. In this CD, Quang Lê also explored a short “Tan Co” number, a traditional music genre from southern Vietnam called “Lo Hen”. He also sang “Tiễn Bạn Lên Đường”, a Chinese song translated into Vietnamese. He also continued to bring to the younger audience a romantic ballad in the song “Tình Em Là Đại Dương” from Duy Manh.

Paris by Night 88
Paris by Night 88
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thuy Nga.Paris By Night 88: Lam Phương - Đường Về Quê Hương is a Paris By Night program produced by Thuy Nga that was filmed at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts at the Sarofilm Hall in Houston, Texas on Saturday,...

 was dedicated to the Vietnamese song writer Lam Phuong, who has provided the Vietnamese community with a number of “Quê Hương” songs. The show was called “Đường Về Quê Hương” (Journey Back to the Countryside). Quang Lê was invited to sing the song written by Lam Phuong, with the same title as the show “Đường Về Quê Hương”. In this show, performances were done live and Quang Lê, appearing more mature in a black suite, open collar and longer hair, provided a very upbeat version of the song.

Paris by Night 90
Paris by Night 90
Paris By Night 90: Chân Dung Người Phụ Nữ Việt Nam is a Paris By Night program produced by Thuy Nga that was filmed at the Terrace Theater at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center on September 15, 2007 and September 16, 2007.The program was inspired by the conceptual idea of To Van...

 was dedicated to Vietnamese Women. Quang Lê, alongside other singers, Khanh Ly, The Son, Tâm Đoan , Hương Thủy and Thanh Truc was part of a performance dedicated to all mothers, called “Lòng Mẹ Việt Nam”. Quang Lê sang the song, titled “Lòng Mẹ Việt Nam” which describes the pain of a mother who must see her sons off to war and longingly waits for words from them and their safe return. Quang Lê received positive feedback for his cover of this song, as he was able to pour so much emotion into the song, while maintaining very soothing and sweet vocals. In this show, Thúy Nga also paired Quang Lê with a new singer to Paris by Night, Mai Thiên Vân, in the song “Nước Non Ngàn Dặm Ra Đi”. The duet proved to be a success and requests for the two to sing again was overwhelming. In Paris by Night 92
Paris by Night 92
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thúy Nga.Paris By Night 92: Nhạc Yêu Cầu was filmed on May 10th, 2008 and May 11th, 2008 at Knott's Berry Farm, California. In an attempt to make the programs more diverse, Thúy Nga had encouraged the fans to send in their...

 Nhạc Yêu Cầu, where the audience was able to send in requests to Thúy Nga, Quang Lê was paired up with Mai Thiên Vân again in a very adorable performance of “Gõ Cửa Trái Tim” and the audience, young and old alike immediately fell in love with the two. The two paired up again in Paris by Night 94
Paris by Night 94
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thúy Nga.Paris By Night 94: 25th Anniversary is a Paris By Night program produced by Thúy Nga that was filmed at the Terrace Theater at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center on September 20, 2008.The program is...

 singing two songs “Áo Em Chưa Mặc Một Lần” and “Vòng Nhẫn Cưới”.

Quang Lê released a new album with all his greatest hits. The CD was called “Hai Quê: Platinum” and included songs sang on the Paris by Night stage including “Thư Xuân Trên Rừng Cao”, “Đêm Trao Kỷ Niệm”, “Hương Tóc Mạ Non” and “Cay Đắng Bờ Môi”. The CD also featured other songs requested by his fans included “Mất Nhau Rồi” and “Tâm Sự Người Hát Rong”. While the Paris by Night audience was falling in love with the Quang Lê and Mai Thiên Vân duet, his fans still loved his duets with Hương Thủy. The two again sang another song called “Nhà Anh Nhà Em” about young love back in Vietnam.

Thúy Nga decided put together a show dedicated to the three regions of Vietnam, “Huế, Saigon, Hanoi” in Paris by Night 91
Paris by Night 91
Paris By Night 91: Huế, Sài Gòn, Hà Nội is a Paris By Night program produced by Thúy Nga that was filmed at the Terrace Theater at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center on January 12, 2008 and January 13, 2008.-Concept:...

. Quang Lê, with a group of male singers, sang “Từ Miền Bắc” and “Vào Miền Nam” created for each region. He also sang, with singer Khanh Ly, performed a very special performance remembering the Massacre of Hue. In this performance, Quang Lê provided the audience with a very moving song “Những Con Đường Trắng”, of him falling in love with a local traditional Vietnamese girl and then finding her body during the massacre. The whole performance brought back many memories to the audience and made many emotional.

After performing with Mai Thiên Vân in Paris by Night 92
Paris by Night 92
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thúy Nga.Paris By Night 92: Nhạc Yêu Cầu was filmed on May 10th, 2008 and May 11th, 2008 at Knott's Berry Farm, California. In an attempt to make the programs more diverse, Thúy Nga had encouraged the fans to send in their...

, Quang Lê was given the opportunity to sing with his idol singer Y Lan in the song “Tình Hoài Hương”. During the interview on stage by MC Ky Duyen, Quang Lê told the audience that singing with Y Lan was a request from him to Thúy Nga to allow the pair to duet because he has idolized her for nearly 20 years.

In Paris By Night 93
Paris by Night 93
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thuy Nga.Paris by Night 93: Celebrity Dancing - Khiêu Vũ Của Các Ngôi Sao is a Paris by Night program produced by Thuy Nga that was filmed at the Charles M...

, Thúy Nga decided to create a show mirroring America’s Dancing with the Stars. In this installment, fans of Quang Lê saw a very different side to Quang Lê. In previous Paris By Night shows, Quang Lê participated in cultural dance but not ball room dancing. In Paris by Night 93, Quang Lê teamed up with singer/dancer Thuy Van and treated the audience to a “Rumba” dance to the song “Biển Tình”. Although he received high marks from the guest judges, Quang Lê did not win the competition.

Thúy Nga celebrated Paris by Night’s 25th anniversary with two shows: Paris by Night 94
Paris by Night 94
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thúy Nga.Paris By Night 94: 25th Anniversary is a Paris By Night program produced by Thúy Nga that was filmed at the Terrace Theater at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center on September 20, 2008.The program is...

 and Paris by Night 95
Paris by Night 95
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thuy Nga.Paris by Night 95: 25th Anniversary - Cám Ơn Cuộc Ðời is a Paris By Night program produced by Thuy Nga that was filmed at the Terrace Theater at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center on September...

. He sang “Tình Nghèo” with Ngọc Hạ and “Áo Em Chưa Mặc Một Lần” and “Vòng Nhẫn Cưới” with Mai Thiên Vân. He also sang in a group song with all other singers in the Paris by Night show in the song “Nếu Chỉ Còn Một Ngày”. Quang Lê then treated to the audience to “Tương Tư Nàng Ca Sĩ” from Cong Thanh Bich. The success of this song spurred the release of a full album, titled “Tương Tư Nàng Ca Sĩ”. The album included more songs that were requested from his fans including “Buồn Chi Em Ơi”, “Em Hãy Về Đi”, and a duet with Mai Thiên Vân, “Các Anh Về”.

There was a lot of controversy when Quang Lê’s name was taken off of the Paris by Night 96
Paris By Night 96
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thúy Nga.Paris By Night 96 - Nhạc Yêu Cầu 2 is a Paris By Night program produced by Thúy Nga that was filmed at the Knott's Berry Farm on April 18, 2009 and April 19, 2009 and release DVD from June 25, 2009...

 Nhạc Yêu Cầu 2 poster. Speculations that Quang Lê’s contract was over with Thúy Nga and that he would be joining Trung Tam Asia began to circulate. Quang Lê did not appear in the Paris by Night 96 show but made a surprise appearance in Paris by Night 97
Paris By Night 97
For other PBN programs, go to Paris By Night. For the parent company, go to Thúy Nga.Paris By Night 97 - Khiêu Vũ Của Các Ngôi Sao 2 is a Paris By Night program produced by Thúy Nga that was filmed at the Knott's Berry Farm on April 22, 2009 and released onto DVD September 22nd, 2009...

 singing “Huế Mu Suong”. This ended any rumours of Quang Lê leaving Thúy Nga
Thuy Nga
Thúy Nga is a Vietnamese-oriented entertainment company that produces Paris By Night, as well as music CDs, musical specials, movies and films, magazines, audio books, posters, and calendars...

 and put many hearts at ease. For the DVD release of Paris by Night 96, Thúy Nga included an MTV of Quang Lê singing “Đôi Mắt Người Xưa”. Fans got to see a very romantic side of Quang Lê as he cried in the video to his ex-love on her wedding day (just all an act of course). The video also provided a promotional ad to Quang Lê’s new album with Mai Thiên Vân.

in 2010 and 2011, Quang Le decided to go back to Vietnam and do live shows. Many artists from Thuy Nga like Luu Bich, Minh Tuyet, Huong Lan, Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen joined him. The shows were a huge success and received attention from audiences not only in Vietnam but also around the world.

Music and religion

Quang Lê is a devout Buddhist and performs at many temples around the world, often for fundraising events. A major event which Quang Lê frequently participates in is “Lễ Hội Quan Âm” at the Việt Nam Buddhist Temple in Sugarland, Texas, located in the suburbs of Houston. Quang Lê also gets invitations from overseas Temple such as in France and Australia to perform. Quang Lê was approached by Nguyen Dat, vice president of the Vietnamese Buddhist Temple to release a Buddhist CD. In early 2009, in time for Lễ Hội Quan Âm, Quang Lê Entertainment released “Giót Nước Từ Bi” (Tears of Compassion), an album dedicated to Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...

 of compassion. The album comprises songs espousing Buddhist values. Quang Le will be re-releasing this under Thuy Nga, with special guest singers, entitled "Nước Mắt Từ Bi".

Although Quang Lê is a Buddhist, he also accepts invitations to perform at Churches, particularly fundraisers that helps the church. He also gets invited to perform at Marian Days
Marian Days
The Marian Days is the main festival and pilgrimage for Vietnamese American Roman Catholics. The annual event in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary has taken place the first weekend in August since 1978 on the campus of the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix in Carthage, Missouri...

, the main festival and pilgrimage for Vietnamese American Roman Catholics, celebrated since 1978 on the 28-acre (110,000 m2) campus of the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix in Carthage, Missouri.

External links

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