Quang Lê (born January 24, 1981),[1] a Vietnamese American singer with Thúy Nga Productions, known for his covers of traditional Vietnamese songs created and written before, during and about the Vietnam War. Quang Lê achieved success at a young age, with hits such as “Sương Trắng Miền Quê Ngoại”, “Đập Vỡ Cây Đàn”, “Đường Về Quê Hương” and “Tương Tư Nàng Ca Sĩ”.
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Quang Lê was born in Vietnam, with family roots from Central Vietnam in the City of Huế.[2] He is the third son in a family of 6 siblings, and one adopted sister. His family immigrated to the United States in 1991, and initially settled in Missouri. His family then moved to Orange County, California.[3]
Although Quang Lê had been singing at a very young age, it was not until 2000 that he decided to become a professional singer.[4]
Prior to appearing on the Paris By Night stage, a musical production created by Thúy Nga Productions, Quang Lê sang for a smaller music production called Ca Dao.[4] He released three albums with Ca Dao singing “Quê Hương” songs such as “Ngại Ngùng”, “Em Ve Voi Nguoi”, “Chim Sáo Ngày Xưa”, “Tinh Cha” and “Lối Thu Xưa”. He was even given the opportunity to sing with a very famous female Vietnamese singer at the time, Phi Nhung, on two songs entitled “Ngày Đã Đơm Bông” and “Ngau Hung Ly Qua Cau”.
Quang Lê had submitted a video to Thúy Nga Productions but at the time, they did not need singers to perform “Quê Hương” songs. He waited two years before he received an invitation to appear in Thúy Nga’s Paris by Night 66, entitled “Người Tình va Quê Hương”, an opportunity that opened all doors for Quang Lê and started his journey to becoming one of the top selling artists within the Vietnamese music industry.[5] On Paris by Night 66, Quang Lê sang “Thư Xuân Trên Rừng Cao” from songwriter Trinh Lam Ngan.
Quang Lê was invited again to appear on Thúy Nga’s Paris by Night 68 entitled “Nửa Vầng Trăng”. In this installment, he sang alongside an alumnus of Paris by Night and another “Quê Hương” singer, Tuong Nguyen, singing a mix of songs from song writer Duy Khánh.
Quang Lê appeared again on the Paris by Night stage in number 69 entitled “Song Ca Nợ Tình” singing “Sương Trắng Miền Quê Ngoại” by Đinh Miên Vũ. It was Quang Lê’s cover of this song that the Vietnamese community began to recognize and respect Quang Lê’s voice and abilities despite his young age. In fact, in Paris by Night 89: Live in Korea, during his interview onstage by MC Nguyen Ngoc Ngan, Quang Lê shared with the audience his experience meeting song writer Đinh Miên Vũ. Miên Vũ had approached Quang Lê at one of his shows and gave Quang Lê two musical sheets he had written: one for the song “Sương Trắng Miền Quê Ngoại” and the second for a new song, “Hai Quê”. It is believed “Hai Quê” is part two of “Sương Trắng Miền Quê Ngoại” which Miên Vũ wrote and has given to Quang Lê to perform. Audience in Paris by Night 89 was treated to Quang Lê’s performance of “Hai Quê” with his Huế accent.
Quang Lê’s career began to take off and he became a contracted singer for Thúy Nga Productions, releasing various “Quê Hương” music albums, starting with “Sương Trắng Miền Quê Ngoại” which became the number one selling album in the same year it was released. The demand for Quang Lê began to increase, pushing Thúy Nga to also release consecutively the following solo albums from Quang Lê: “Kẻ Ở Miền Xa”, and “Xin Gọi Nhau Là Cố Nhân”.
In Paris by Night 73 entitled The Best of Song Ca (Duets), Thúy Nga decided to pair Quang Lê with Ngọc Hạ, and the audience immediately fell in love with the duet. Quang Lê and Ngọc Hạ brought the audience back to the town of Huế in the song “Ai Ra Xứ Huế” from Duy Khánh, sung in central accents. This duet sparked more demand from the audience to see more of Quang Lê and Ngọc Hạ together. In Paris by Night 79 entitled Dream, Thúy Nga paired the two singers again in the song “Tình Lúa Duyên Trăng” from Hoai An and Ho Dinh and again in Paris by Night 94 25th Anniversary Part 1 with the song “Tình Nghèo”.
Thúy Nga Productions made special “Xuân” (Spring) shows on the Paris by Night stage, starting with Paris By Night 76 entitled Xuân Tha Huong. In this installment of Paris by Night, Quang Lê sang “Xuân Này Con Về Mẹ Ở Đâu”, a very emotional song by Nhat Ngan. This began a series of songs for Mothers from Quang Lê on Paris by Night “Xuân” specials. In Paris by Night 80 entitled Tết Khắp Mọi Nhà, Quang Lê sang the song “Mừng Tuổi Mẹ” (Celebrating Mother’s Birthdays). In Paris by Night 85, the third installment of Thúy Nga’s “Xuân” specials titled “Xuân Trong Ky Niem”, Quang Lê sang “Xuân Này Con Không Về”, receiving much recognition for his cover of the song.
The release of “7000 Ðêm Góp Lại” brought Quang Lê to a much more broad audience, as oppose to just the older generation. He continued to sing “Quê Hương” songs such as “Thành Phố Sau Lưng” and “Xin Em Đừng Khóc Vu Quy” as well as a duet with another famous “Quê Hương” singer, Như Quỳnh” in the song “Đêm Bơ Vơ” from Duy Khánh. Quang Lê also sang with singer Hương Thủy in a very sweet cover and upbeat pop song “Tình Nhỏ Mau Quên”. This song brought his audience back to the days of youth and falling in love back in the old country. Quang Lê provided a unique remixed to the song “Xin Đừng Trách Đa Đa” by adding a trance mix to it, very different from what the audience expects from him. He also provided to the audience a romantic ballad in “Hãy Về Đây Bên Anh” from Duy Manh, which attracted a different audience, mainly from the younger generation, who was able to connect to the meaning of the song. The success of this song also proved that Quang Lê’s voice is transparent and can successfully transpire to many different music genres.
In Paris by Night 82, Quang Lê sang “Đập Vỡ Cây Đàn” by Hoa Linh Bao. His performance sparked the released of his next CD, titled “Đập Vỡ Cây Đàn” which again has Quang Lê continuing to explore other music genres. He continued to provide to the audience with traditional Vietnamese music such as “Chuyện Ba Mùa Mưa” and “Nhật Ký Hai Đứa Mình”, a romantic “Quê Hương” song loved by many from the older generation. The CD had a guest star from a very famous and beloved female artist, Minh Tuyết, who normally do not sing “Quê Hương” songs but sang “Bài Ca Kỷ Niệm” with Quang Lê. Although not a common pairing, the two singers provided a nice cover of the song. Quang Lê also duet again with Hương Thủy in another cute song called “Chuyện Tình Nơi Làng Quê” again about young love in the old country. He was also given an opportunity to duet with Quỳnh Dung, his “Godsister”, whom in a previous interview he mentioned was the one person he wanted to duet with. In this CD, Quang Lê also explored a short “Tan Co” number, a traditional music genre from southern Vietnam called “Lo Hen”. He also sang “Tiễn Bạn Lên Đường”, a Chinese song translated into Vietnamese. He also continued to bring to the younger audience a romantic ballad in the song “Tình Em Là Đại Dương” from Duy Manh.
Paris by Night 88 was dedicated to the Vietnamese song writer Lam Phuong, who has provided the Vietnamese community with a number of “Quê Hương” songs. The show was called “Đường Về Quê Hương” (Journey Back to the Countryside). Quang Lê was invited to sing the song written by Lam Phuong, with the same title as the show “Đường Về Quê Hương”. In this show, performances were done live and Quang Lê, appearing more mature in a black suite, open collar and longer hair, provided a very upbeat version of the song.
Paris by Night 90 was dedicated to Vietnamese Women. Quang Lê, alongside other singers, Khanh Ly, The Son, Tâm Đoan , Hương Thủy and Thanh Truc was part of a performance dedicated to all mothers, called “Lòng Mẹ Việt Nam”. Quang Lê sang the song, titled “Lòng Mẹ Việt Nam” which describes the pain of a mother who must see her sons off to war and longingly waits for words from them and their safe return. Quang Lê received positive feedback for his cover of this song, as he was able to pour so much emotion into the song, while maintaining very soothing and sweet vocals. In this show, Thúy Nga also paired Quang Lê with a new singer to Paris by Night, Mai Thiên Vân, in the song “Nước Non Ngàn Dặm Ra Đi”. The duet proved to be a success and requests for the two to sing again was overwhelming. In Paris by Night 92 Nhạc Yêu Cầu, where the audience was able to send in requests to Thúy Nga, Quang Lê was paired up with Mai Thiên Vân again in a very adorable performance of “Gõ Cửa Trái Tim” and the audience, young and old alike immediately fell in love with the two. The two paired up again in Paris by Night 94 singing two songs “Áo Em Chưa Mặc Một Lần” and “Vòng Nhẫn Cưới”.
Quang Lê released a new album with all his greatest hits. The CD was called “Hai Quê: Platinum” and included songs sang on the Paris by Night stage including “Thư Xuân Trên Rừng Cao”, “Đêm Trao Kỷ Niệm”, “Hương Tóc Mạ Non” and “Cay Đắng Bờ Môi”. The CD also featured other songs requested by his fans included “Mất Nhau Rồi” and “Tâm Sự Người Hát Rong”. While the Paris by Night audience was falling in love with the Quang Lê and Mai Thiên Vân duet, his fans still loved his duets with Hương Thủy. The two again sang another song called “Nhà Anh Nhà Em” about young love back in Vietnam.
Thúy Nga decided put together a show dedicated to the three regions of Vietnam, “Huế, Saigon, Hanoi” in Paris by Night 91. Quang Lê, with a group of male singers, sang “Từ Miền Bắc” and “Vào Miền Nam” created for each region. He also sang, with singer Khanh Ly, performed a very special performance remembering the Massacre of Hue. In this performance, Quang Lê provided the audience with a very moving song “Những Con Đường Trắng”, of him falling in love with a local traditional Vietnamese girl and then finding her body during the massacre. The whole performance brought back many memories to the audience and made many emotional.
After performing with Mai Thiên Vân in Paris by Night 92, Quang Lê was given the opportunity to sing with his idol singer Y Lan in the song “Tình Hoài Hương”. During the interview on stage by MC Ky Duyen, Quang Lê told the audience that singing with Y Lan was a request from him to Thúy Nga to allow the pair to duet because he has idolized her for nearly 20 years.
In Paris By Night 93, Thúy Nga decided to create a show mirroring America’s Dancing with the Stars. In this installment, fans of Quang Lê saw a very different side to Quang Lê. In previous Paris By Night shows, Quang Lê participated in cultural dance but not ball room dancing. In Paris by Night 93, Quang Lê teamed up with singer/dancer Thuy Van and treated the audience to a “Rumba” dance to the song “Biển Tình”. Although he received high marks from the guest judges, Quang Lê did not win the competition.
Thúy Nga celebrated Paris by Night’s 25th anniversary with two shows: Paris by Night 94 and Paris by Night 95. He sang “Tình Nghèo” with Ngọc Hạ and “Áo Em Chưa Mặc Một Lần” and “Vòng Nhẫn Cưới” with Mai Thiên Vân. He also sang in a group song with all other singers in the Paris by Night show in the song “Nếu Chỉ Còn Một Ngày”. Quang Lê then treated to the audience to “Tương Tư Nàng Ca Sĩ” from Cong Thanh Bich. The success of this song spurred the release of a full album, titled “Tương Tư Nàng Ca Sĩ”. The album included more songs that were requested from his fans including “Buồn Chi Em Ơi”, “Em Hãy Về Đi”, and a duet with Mai Thiên Vân, “Các Anh Về”.
There was a lot of controversy when Quang Lê’s name was taken off of the Paris by Night 96 Nhạc Yêu Cầu 2 poster. Speculations that Quang Lê’s contract was over with Thúy Nga and that he would be joining Trung Tam Asia began to circulate. Quang Lê did not appear in the Paris by Night 96 show but made a surprise appearance in Paris by Night 97 singing “Huế Mu Suong”. This ended any rumours of Quang Lê leaving Thúy Nga and put many hearts at ease. For the DVD release of Paris by Night 96, Thúy Nga included an MTV of Quang Lê singing “Đôi Mắt Người Xưa”. Fans got to see a very romantic side of Quang Lê as he cried in the video to his ex-love on her wedding day (just all an act of course). The video also provided a promotional ad to Quang Lê’s new album with Mai Thiên Vân.
in 2010 and 2011, Quang Le decided to go back to Vietnam and do live shows. Many artists from Thuy Nga like Luu Bich, Minh Tuyet, Huong Lan, Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen joined him. The shows were a huge success and received attention from audiences not only in Vietnam but also around the world.
Quang Lê is a devout Buddhist and performs at many temples around the world, often for fundraising events. A major event which Quang Lê frequently participates in is “Lễ Hội Quan Âm” at the Việt Nam Buddhist Temple in Sugarland, Texas, located in the suburbs of Houston. Quang Lê also gets invitations from overseas Temple such as in France and Australia to perform. Quang Lê was approached by Nguyen Dat, vice president of the Vietnamese Buddhist Temple to release a Buddhist CD. In early 2009, in time for Lễ Hội Quan Âm, Quang Lê Entertainment released “Giót Nước Từ Bi” (Tears of Compassion), an album dedicated to Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. The album comprises songs espousing Buddhist values. Quang Le will be re-releasing this under Thuy Nga, with special guest singers, entitled "Nước Mắt Từ Bi".
Although Quang Lê is a Buddhist, he also accepts invitations to perform at Churches, particularly fundraisers that helps the church. He also gets invited to perform at Marian Days, the main festival and pilgrimage for Vietnamese American Roman Catholics, celebrated since 1978 on the 28-acre (110,000 m2) campus of the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix in Carthage, Missouri.