Paris By Night 102 Review
























I like that this was a live show. Although not all performances were live, but I give Thuy Nga props for it. If you watch the behind the scenes, Don Ho mentioned about his trouble with the lyrics in that he had to write two words in the palm of his hand as a reminder not to mess up on the lyrics. Thuy Nga wants to produce a DVD that’s close to perfect therefore singing live can bring about many errors. Anyhow, let’s get into details with the latest release of Paris By Night 102 Nhac Yeu Cau- Tinh Ca Lam Phuong

What I like:
I love all of the songs because they are of quality and among some of the best classics of Vietnamese music. You can’t go wrong with Lam Phuong's music. Secondly I like some of the changes made like way “Behind the Scenes” was presented… very upbeat and fun. I noticed that the Thuy Nga logo on screen is different. I like that the emcees were not standing in one spot, but that they get incorporated into the stage and was moving about. That was something different. 

The opening of Toc Tien and Mai Tien Dung was very cute. I loved them when they sang “Nguoi Tinh Oi Mo Gi” from Paris By Night 101. They were really cute and had great on stage chemistry. Therefore I was glad to see Thuy Nga paired the two again. 

On the other hand, please don’t pair Trinh Lam and Lam Anh again, they were so separate singing together in Paris By Night 101. Trinh Lam hardly looked at Lam Anh. He was so focused on himself singing. Glad they didn't duet again. Trinh Lam sang “Kiep Phieu Bong.” I thought the song was very similar to “Vet Thu Tren Lung Ngua Hoang.”  My sisters said it was only at the beginning of the song that there were similarities. For me it was all over in the melody. Listen to it and let me know if you feel the same. As for Lam Anh, she shocked me with her performance. She was really good singing live and especially with “Cho Em Quen Tuoi Ngoc.” Lam Anh was really into it and the "soul" as well as the voice was there. Nguyen Ngoc Ngan mentioned afterwards that she told him this was the first time that she got to sing a song, which she really likes. And I can definitely feel the emotion. Usually when Lam Anh sings I thought she was okay, all about sex appeal and nothing else. But in this show, she was amazing, even better than Minh Tuyet’s performance. 

On to Thu Phuong who looked like Nguyen Hong Nhung from afar because of the costumes. And although I don’t like her hair and clothes I thought she was great. Her voice was really strong and she sounded good, especially at the end. The audience loved it.

Luu Bich also looked good. I saw the screen caps from her fan prior to watching and thought she looks good. But she actually did look good and in better shape. Luu Bich was quite good looking when she appeared on Paris By Night awhile back. But of course time can do damage to someone’s appearance so I give her props for keeping up. 

Because the feel of the performances and the show overall were sad, depressed and heavy due to the songs choice, Ky Phuong Uyen’s performance was a breath of fresh air. I like her outfit and the upbeat song. I also like Nhu Loan’s performance, she looked good and I really like the outfit as well. She’s definitely improving over the course of time. 

What I dislike:
Maybe I’m not used to hearing Thuy Nga’s singers live on Paris By Night so when I hear them live, it sounded strange and bland. Even the great singers were kind of bad live.This shows how studio recording really alter voices. Tsk Tsk...

Although, Toc Tien was cute with Mai Tien Dung in the opening song, she was really bad on the first song, “Mua Thu Yeu Thuong,” which Quynh Vi did a better job in the last Lam Phuong DVD, Paris By Night 88. Toc Tien felt short when she sang the line “Đường vào Paris...” 

When Bang Kieu sang, it was all good until Minh Tuyet showed up. She didn’t sound too good, kind of hollow and hoarse. Her voice wasn’t as smooth and warming and didn’t match up with his smoothing singing. I didn’t like the mix. I have to also mention also that Bang Kieu should lose the gloves; too much considering the outfit looked good. The gloves reminded me of serial killers in Hong Kong drama. 

I’m so happy to finally say this and I hope that someone from Thuy Nga reads this. I like Ngoc Anh. She was youthful, happy and pretty in Celebrity Dancing 94. However, with all of her other performances she was always scary to watch. I don’t know why Thuy Nga would create for Ngoc Anh such a gauntly look. Her hair would always be long, partly covering her face, with the bangs in the front from time to time. And she would appear kind of like some spirit- very dark and unattractive. There was one performance where she was in a glass container. Why? As if her image wasn't creepy enough. Her song choice were also depressing, maybe that's why, but still. This performance wasn’t any different, always seem so desperate in her portray. Her hair once again made her look sad, unhealthy and unattractive. Please change her image, which includes hair, makeup, and clothes and maybe song choice too. Sighs...

If Lam Anh’s performance was one of the best, Diem Suong was one of the worst. Her rendition of “Bien Tinh” was horrible. She didn’t do the song justice. After hearing Quang Le sang this song in Celebrity Dancing 93, I was dying when I heard her version. Her voice didn’t match and she tried too hard, seemed constipated, because she wouldn't stand up straight. 

The ending was iffy. I say this was because Nhu Loan was good, however Quynh Vi was bad. I don’t know who designed the clothes and did the makeup and hair but it was horrendous. Cleopatra much with the eyes? Quynh Vi is not a “dancing type” of singer, because she can actually sing so she doesn't need to be in upbeat - sexy performances. She’s better with slow songs, happy or fast songs that doesn’t require sex appeal, because in this performance there wasn’t any sexiness. She was hard to look at because neither the clothes or the makeup and hair enhanced her looks. Reminds of how scary Phuong Thanh looks with the hair and all - dark. I like Quynh Vi when she was on PBN Talent Show and before she went under the knife.

Overall thought: Paris By Night 102 is somewhat different. Collectively it is not as good as other Paris By Night in the past, but it is not the worse either. Therefore, I recommend that you watch it once just to see. There were some fun parts like the giving out the money where I always feel blah because I would know the answers. Bang Kieu, Thanh Ha and Huong Lan sang parts of a song for audiences to guess. I like when the singers say their thanks at the end, though repetitive was interesting to hear. I wonder if Nguyen Hung's speech was done on purpose but it was funny to see Nguyen Ngoc Ngan and Ky Duyen played along. I was touched when Lam Phuong’s daughter came up and said her thanks and appreciation to him. I was about to get teary, but then my sister said, “If you [meaning his daughter] are so appreciative of him, why don’t you take care of him so that he didn't had to wake up alone in the morning.” She was referring to the song “Mot Minh” by Lam Phuong where it goes, “Sớm mai thức giấc, nhìn quanh một mình...” There was a clip of him that went along with the performance by Huong Giang on Paris By Night 88. Anyway, I want my comedy! Why was it so short? I love Chi Tai though, he’s such an awesome comedian. I also like comedians Hoai Linh, Thuy Nga, Be Ti, and of course Bang Kieu (even though he's more like a singer). Oh, did you see Nhu Quynh’s daughter at the end? Melody is a cute girl, but why was she dress her in such bad fashion and what's with the hair cut? :/ Lastly, I like to go back to enjoying lip-syncing music please. LOL Can't wait to see Paris By Night 103. Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think as always. Ciao.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Wow I disagree with lots of your comments.

Ngoc Anh was flawless. Flawwwless! Yeah she was burning hot in Celebrity Dancing but this is Ngoc Anh in her element. Why opt for pop music when she has so much more to offer.

Lam Anh did not impress me with CMQTN. Her version was soulless compared to Y Lan, Ngoc Lan, Bach Yen and Khanh Ha. But Khanh Ha performance in this PBN however was the most disappointing.

Mot Doi Tan Vo
Thanh Truc & The Son > Luu Bich

Hanh Phuc Trong Tam Tay
Luu Bich >>>>>>> Ky Phuong Uyen

I agree with you on Thu Phuong. Not a fan of her at all but she put up one hell of a performance.

Ho Le Thu was also great. Thanh Ha and Don Ho deserve honorable mentions for giving the old songs a classy remake unlike Mr. Dam

Overall, it's freaking Lam Phuong. Even the bad performances are enjoyable with his music
Karly said…
Hey thanks for sharing your thoughts. I enjoy reading another point of view. :)
Unknown said…
I think the Lam Anh " cho em quen tuoi ngoc " is the most watched number , what do you mean by " Souless " are you deaf ?
Victoria said…
I agree with you Karly about Quynh Vi and Diem Suong. I thought I was the only one who is thinking about this.