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Vietnamese people love to sing. At least once in their lives, they have grabbed a mic and sung a song. Most people choose a karaoke club where they can monopolize the audience’s attention.
Of course, singing karaoke in the Vietnamese way is different. People sit still in the sofa, choose a heartbroken song (Don’t worry, most Vietnamese songs are about broken hearts), sing along the lyrics, and wait for the score. The score is an important factor. In some clubs, they even give awards to those who score 100 for a song.
That’s the reason why many Vietnamese buy DVD midi karaoke players to practice singing at home, though they will bother their neighbors a great deal. Another reason is that they will be embarrassed if the score is too low. In their opinion, scoring low means singing bad.
A foreigner may recognize a song by the singer or the band who’s made it famous. In Vietnam, a songwriter will be honored if her/his songs are sung by many singers, plus karaoke singers.
If you’re invited to a karaoke club, pick a strange song most people don’t know of, so if you score low, nobody will comment on it. If you’re confident, pick a fun song with fast rhythm. If you don’t sing at all, ask somebody to duet a song and murmur when she/he actually sings for you. Don’t decline to sing. It’s rude.
If you’re in Vietnam, better practice singing now.
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