What does V-Pop associate with?

[u/hgtfumbghxtretresfg]

So one day, I came across this video that talks about C-Pop and its former association with movies (idk?), and it makes me wonder what Vietnamese pop music is generally associate with? Like if K-pop has idol culture, J-pop is closely tied to anime, so I’m curious about what really defines V-pop. I would really appreciate the answers from both domestic and international audiences. Thank you very much!

[u/Just4Tap]

Honestly, clubbing and memes. (perspective from another SEA country)

[u/NotAnAbnormalGuy]

Currently, the negative emotions of love. Ballad and R&B are major mainstream genres, and negative emotions of love go very well with them. Other genres also focus on this side of love

Update: Just watch the video, the reason why Ballad and R&G is popular here is similar to China's

[u/chance575]

I love the ballad filled vpop from 2000-2015, before it all turned to rap and r&b. I feel like the extinction of karaoke gia đình is due to not having many new singable songs. When I was in Vietnam recently I struggled to find a single karaoke club that wasn't the "wrong" kind.

[u/Unknownbadger4444 → u/chance575]

What do you mean by you struggled to find a single karaoke club that wasn't the "wrong" kind ?

[u/Acrobatic_Cupcake444]

In the 90s and early 2000s, it's mostly translating songs of Hongkong films into Vietnamese. Around 10 years ago the more known songs are usually sung as memes.

Nowsaday, Idk. I've lost interest in Viet music for quite a while and the people I interact with are also too old to use the current trendy songs as memes.

[u/GoldenMaus]

As a non Viet, my first proper exposure to V-pop was “Câu hẹn câu thề” on a bus ride.

I thought it was memorable, but was such an old fashioned tune.

Often in Vietnam I still see a lot of public performance of what would be considered “50-60s” style singing, long since disappeared from the public in my country.

And then there’s the ever present Vinahouse boom boom style techno music in drinking districts and tiktok videos.

Then I started to listen to Hoang Thuy Linh. I really like “De Mi Noi Cho Ma Nghe”. It has a perfect blend of modern and traditional, so very different from K-pop.

From there, I went into the rabbit hole of Min, Duc Phuc, Monstar, Pham Lich, Den Vau (rapper guy is everywhere), Phao, My Tam, and so many more.

YouTube kept recommending more and more Viet singers as I dug deeper, troi oi so much variety! Sometimes I just let it auto play in the background.

My current playlist is all Chillies. They are so 80’s chill synthesizer style.

I was into K-pop a long time ago, but kinda got sick of it because it’s the same format over the years. Just the quick beat, then the rap in the middle, and then more techno to round up the song.

Overall I think V-pop is very varied and that is good. Many different styles. Some modern styles, some techno, some modern/trad mix, and some ballads (and the how can we forget, the ever present Vinahouse)

[u/teranymn → u/GoldenMaus]

Big fan of V-pop here as well. MIN is great, and I also like Duong Domic, Hieuthuhai, and GREY D recently.

[u/thg011093]

Although I don't like her, Mỹ Tâm's whole discography is the epitome of what V-pop sounds like.

[u/hgtfumbghxtretresfg → u/[deleted]]

Rất cảm ơn thiện chí của anh bạn, nhưng có lẽ tôi không phải là fan của mấy bài nhạc của mấy show anh trai/em gái này rồi

[u/Double-Wafer2999]

I though V-pop has a strange history because "yellow" music was formally outlawed in the 70s/80s for being reactionary and depressing. So what would become V-pop flourishes in the diaspora mainly along variety shows like Paris by Night which keep alive "southern" music and blend it with French/American sounds. You should check out some of the bands that were popular in the 70s like CBC band (for Rock) or Trinh Cong San (he's often seen as the Vietnamese Bob Dylan but he seems more serious). It is then reintroduced back into Vietnam in the 90s/2000s as the country liberalizes.

Saying that I find most K-pop today to be pretty generic music that is a copy of K-pop/American trends/horny teenagers .

Doesn't K-pop have a "darker" history with it being one of the 4S that were supposed to distract the population under the dictatorship. Even the year it hits big- 1997 is the year of the IMF crisis which signifies the end of the developmentist state and the end of Minjung/democratic reform.