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Description
V-pop (Vietnamese pop) is the mainstream popular music of Vietnam, blending Vietnamese melodic sensibilities with contemporary international pop production.
It spans glossy dance-pop, emotive ballads, R&B-inflected vocals, hip hop crossovers, and EDM-driven hits, often presented with stylish music videos and idol-style performance aesthetics.
Lyrically it centers on love, youth, friendship, and urban life, while occasionally referencing traditional culture through melodic turns or the subtle use of folk instruments.
Since the 2010s, V-pop has adopted global pop playbooks—tight hooks, polished vocal stacks, choreographed stages—yet retains Vietnamese language prosody and songwriting cues that keep it distinct.
History
After the Đổi Mới economic reforms (late 1980s), Vietnam’s music industry reopened to outside influences. The 1990s saw the emergence of modern Vietnamese pop built on earlier popular traditions (nhạc nhẹ/nhạc trẻ and Vietnamese bolero) and Western pop forms. Radio programs and awards such as Làn Sóng Xanh helped define a national chart culture, while the “Big Four” divas (Mỹ Linh, Hồng Nhung, Thanh Lam, Trần Thu Hà) elevated vocal standards and established the commercial viability of contemporary pop.
The 2000s brought nationwide stardom for artists like Mỹ Tâm, Đan Trường, and Lam Trường, expanding V-pop’s audience with power ballads and early dance-pop flourishes. CD/VCD markets, TV variety shows, and domestic tours built a commercial ecosystem. Production values rose and songwriting leaned toward memorable hooks, heartfelt narratives, and accessible diatonic harmony.
Streaming (Zing MP3, NhacCuaTui, YouTube) and social media transformed discovery and promotion. Korean and Japanese pop systems influenced training, visuals, choreography, and release cycles. Artists such as Sơn Tùng M-TP, Đông Nhi, Noo Phước Thịnh, Tóc Tiên, and Hoàng Thùy Linh embraced high-concept MVs, EDM- and hip hop-informed production, and international collaboration (e.g., Sơn Tùng M-TP x Snoop Dogg). Parallel to the idol wave, an indie ecosystem (Ngọt, Vũ., Chillies) and a revitalized rap scene (Suboi, Đen Vâu; later TV shows like Rap Việt) broadened V-pop’s stylistic palette.
V-pop matured into a diversified market: dance-pop and R&B coexist with folk-pop fusions, rap crossovers, and bedroom-pop aesthetics. Artists experiment with Vietnamese folk colors (e.g., pentatonic gestures, đàn bầu/đàn tranh textures) inside global pop frameworks. International reach continues to grow via TikTok virality, cross-border collaborations, and diaspora participation, while Vietnamese-language songwriting remains central to the genre’s identity.
