Call it a musical fairy tale. Minh Tuyet grew up nearly destitute with her six siblings in Vietnam. The family barely had money for food, and “new" clothes were sewn together from scraps of fabrics. In tough times, she and her siblings would find comfort and happiness by singing their favorite songs while pretending they were stars.
Today, Tuyet is among the top-selling artists on the thriving Vietnamese music scene. Her sister, Ha Phuong, a singer who married a wealthy entrepreneur she met while on tour, has her own part in the fable. From her penthouse with a panoramic view of Manhattan, Phuong now oversees a charity foundation she has created for the underprivileged.
Tuyet and her sister once were among the thousands of Vietnamese singers who arrive in Little Saigon in Westminster every year in search of fame and fortune -- much the same way aspiring rock 'n' roll stars gravitate to Los Angeles and country singers descend on Nashville. This weekend, the Tran sisters -- Tuyet, Phuong and their sister Ly, who is a star in Vietnam -- will perform at two sold-out concerts at Knott's Berry Farm's Charles Schulz Theatre in nearby Buena Park.
“If you want to be a star in the Vietnamese music scene, you want to be in Little Saigon," said Tuyet, a petite singer known for her soulful voice. “The recording studios are here. Promoters will come to Westminster to find new faces. Everything happens here.
“I told my mom that I just wanted a chance to pursue singing in America. We had no opportunity in Vietnam. At worse, I could be a wedding singer or wash dishes. Or if things get really bad, I'm young, I could get married and have someone take care of me."
With more than 200,000 people, Little Saigon has the largest concentration of Vietnamese outside Vietnam and is the epicenter of Vietnamese-language recording. Virtually all of the world's Vietnamese music is produced in a dozen or so recording studios along Bolsa Avenue. The industry here is estimated to be 10 times larger than in Vietnam, where recording technologies lag and Communist censorship prevails.
Thuy Nga Productions and Asia Entertainment are the two largest labels, known for their international distribution and multi-million-dollar productions. Thuy Nga's trademark is its extravagant sets and lighting, and Asia is more overtly political, said Van Son, a comedian who has his own popular music and DVD production company that ranks third in distribution.
Today, Tuyet is among the top-selling artists on the thriving Vietnamese music scene. Her sister, Ha Phuong, a singer who married a wealthy entrepreneur she met while on tour, has her own part in the fable. From her penthouse with a panoramic view of Manhattan, Phuong now oversees a charity foundation she has created for the underprivileged.
Tuyet and her sister once were among the thousands of Vietnamese singers who arrive in Little Saigon in Westminster every year in search of fame and fortune -- much the same way aspiring rock 'n' roll stars gravitate to Los Angeles and country singers descend on Nashville. This weekend, the Tran sisters -- Tuyet, Phuong and their sister Ly, who is a star in Vietnam -- will perform at two sold-out concerts at Knott's Berry Farm's Charles Schulz Theatre in nearby Buena Park.
“If you want to be a star in the Vietnamese music scene, you want to be in Little Saigon," said Tuyet, a petite singer known for her soulful voice. “The recording studios are here. Promoters will come to Westminster to find new faces. Everything happens here.
“I told my mom that I just wanted a chance to pursue singing in America. We had no opportunity in Vietnam. At worse, I could be a wedding singer or wash dishes. Or if things get really bad, I'm young, I could get married and have someone take care of me."
With more than 200,000 people, Little Saigon has the largest concentration of Vietnamese outside Vietnam and is the epicenter of Vietnamese-language recording. Virtually all of the world's Vietnamese music is produced in a dozen or so recording studios along Bolsa Avenue. The industry here is estimated to be 10 times larger than in Vietnam, where recording technologies lag and Communist censorship prevails.
Thuy Nga Productions and Asia Entertainment are the two largest labels, known for their international distribution and multi-million-dollar productions. Thuy Nga's trademark is its extravagant sets and lighting, and Asia is more overtly political, said Van Son, a comedian who has his own popular music and DVD production company that ranks third in distribution.
