by Cham-an is charming with round eyes and a cute smile. He greeted me brightly with his still weak Korean pronunciation. He is the only Vietnamese member of ‘Beauty Box.’ The beauty box consists of 6 people, including 2 Koreans, 2 Japanese, 1 Thai, and 1 Vietnamese. On June 21st, the teaser video was released on YouTube, and on September 23rd, they debuted with the debut album ‘Beyond of BB.’
Although she is a member of a group that has just debuted, the journey to get to this position was not easy. I failed many auditions, and there were many failures.
I have participated in ‘Steps2Fame’, a Vietnamese program similar to some Korean survival programs (global idol development project) such as ‘Produce 101’. The top four in the program can train in Korea for six months and debut in the Vietnamese market. It was an opportunity I wanted so much, but it didn’t make it to the top.
But he couldn’t stop the journey towards his dream. It was decided to participate in ‘Z POP Dream Season 2’ in 2019. This program was designed to provide an opportunity to discover, nurture, and shine Asian musical talent with the goal of ‘One Asia’ that connects all Asia through music. In this program, the two winners (1 male and one female) will receive training in Korea and sign an exclusive cooperation contract with COSMIC or POPS Music in the Vietnamese market for five years. Ann entered the top 10 in this competition. However, the chance to debut was unfortunately not seized.
It was difficult to keep walking towards an unreachable goal. In the end, Ahn turned into a V-pop artist and worked in the Vietnamese music market for almost a year under the stage name Sherry. He also appeared in web dramas. However, Ahn did not lose his goal of becoming an idol in Korea. I continued to apply for auditions. That’s how we met at the audition for Bayu Entertainment at the end of 2020. The result was a success.
Ahn first encountered K-pop when she was in the third year of middle school. The so-called cover dance, which follows the dance of a Korean group to a Korean song, became popular. So I joined the cover dance club. This is where Inner’s life begins to change. Ahn practiced while watching videos of K-pop idol groups such as T-ara with nine other friends. The moment I performed on stage for the first time, a new dream burned in my heart.
No one in Ahn’s family has a job related to music. It is said that his father loved singing when he was young. However, Ahn’s father had to choose a stable job due to family circumstances. The future of singing and performing on stage is usually uncertain. So it takes a lot of courage. That’s probably why Ahn’s parents are worried but still support their daughter’s decision to become a K-pop idol.
I still can’t forget that moment when I first stood on stage and danced. The fact that Nara introduces people through dance and song gave me indescribable pleasure. An unknown joy and self-confidence surged. “I have the ability. I also have the talent to become a celebrity. I could stand in front of people and express my choreography, my voice, my abilities, and even my personality,” Ahn recalled at the time. From then on, I thought of becoming an idol and dreamed of going to Korea. For those who dream of becoming idols, Korea is the stage of their dreams.
Although she made her dream debut, 22-year-old Ahn’s life in a foreign country is not easy. Cham-an has to practice choreography for more than 5-6 hours a day, practice vocals separately, and work on schedules every day. In addition, I am learning Korean online twice a week for 2 hours at a time to improve my language skills.
Above all, the language barrier is the biggest concern. Ahn is still at the beginner level in Korean. It is still challenging to communicate smoothly in Korean. Even when practicing choreography, language barriers hold an ankle. Great care must be taken to correctly understand the instructions. Most of all, they want to express their opinions and feelings to the group members several times, but there are many cases where they can’t. Ahn said, “I want
to share my honest thoughts and feelings with the members right away.” In addition to worrying about the language barrier, Cham An has other burdens. A Vietnamese singer who debuted as a member of a Korean idol group before Cham An became an idol.
Nguyen Hai Yen, who joined the four-member female group MISO in 2008, is one of the first famous Vietnamese artists active in the Korean market. However, Haiyan returned to Korea to get married in 2011 and left the entertainment industry in 2011. In
2014, DK Entertainment debuted a girl group called ‘A-Daily,’ which included Nguyen Hoang Bao. One Vietnamese member named Ngoc (stage name Jade) was included, but he withdrew in 2015 before receiving attention.
In early 2019, Zenith Media Contents agency debuted two multinational groups, ‘Z-Girls’ and ‘Z-Boys.’ Two young artists, Luc Quyen (stage name Queen) and Hoai Bao (stage name Roy), had the opportunity to participate in the first season of ‘Z-POP Dream’ in 2018. However, even after three years of activities, the two groups have not attracted attention in the Korean market. And since they are a multinational group with no Korean members, G-Girls and G-Voice do not often appear on domestic music programs.
Ngo Ngoc Hung (stage name Han Bin), who participated in the survival show ‘ILAND,’ seemed to become a Vietnamese K-pop idol who will debut as a member of the ENHYPEN boy group in 2020 luck has yet to find him. Did not come. Currently, Hanbin is a trainee at Yuehua Entertainment.
Therefore, Ahn is the only Vietnamese K-pop idol who debuted and is currently active in Korea. Ahn said that he was pleased and excited after his debut, but at the same time, he felt a lot of pressure. The pressure to remain a success story didn’t go away quickly.
As the interview began, I was always brave, but as soon as the story of my parents came out, my eyes became moist. It’s because you’ve been away for a long time. Although the weight of longing is great, An is determined to work harder for K-Pop, the starting point of her life.
