Bang Kieu

Bang Kieu (1973-    ) is a famous Vietnamese male singer.

Born on July 13, 1973 in Hanoi, Nguyen Bang Kieu is the youngest in a family of 17 children.  Despite his father being a doctor, he had been brought up in a family of modest means.  At the age of 16, Bang Kieu enrolled at the Hanoi Conservatory of Music.  It was there where he formed a short-lived pop music group called Chia Khoa Vang.  From 1990 until 1996, Bang Kieu sang for another pop group, Hoa Sua.  Although his tenure with Hoa Sua would earn him quite a bit of exposure and notoriety in the northern region of Vietnam, it wasn't until 1998 when Bang Kieu along with three other male vocalists, Anh Tu, Tuan Hung and Tuong Van, formed a quartet known as Qua Dua Hau that his career as a professional singer would rise to national prominence.  A little over two years after its formation, the quartet, Qua Dua Hau, officially broke up in the year 2000.

Toward the end of the 1990s, Bang Kieu had become one of the most renowned male singers in all of Vietnam.  He recorded many tremendously successful duet albums with other top recording artists of the day in Vietnam such as My Linh, Phuong Thanh, Thu Phuong, Thanh Lam and Lam Truong.  Among his most popular songs have included Em Oi Ha Noi Pho, Trai Tim Ben Le, Phut Cuoi and Trai Tim Khong Ngu Yen, in which he had recorded as a duet with singer My Linh,  In 2000, Bang Kieu recorded his first solo studio album, Ngo Vang Xon Xao, for the production label, Hang Phim Giai Phong, based out of Ho Chi Minh City.  He has since recorded over a dozen more solo studio albums both in Vietnam and in the United States.  In 2002, Bang Kieu took up US permanent residence upon getting married to overseas Vietnamese singer Trizzie Phuong Trinh.  In 2004, he made his debut appearance on the wildly popular Paris By Night live show music video series produced by Thuy Nga performing Anh Se Nho Mai, a song he had written along with musician Duc Tri.  Since then, he has made numerous return appearances on the Paris By Night stage and has become an exclusive recording artist for Thuy Nga.  He has also recorded many well-received duets for the Thuy Nga label with such artists like Khanh Ha, Thuy Tien, Tran Thu Ha, Minh Tuyet, Thanh Ha and Van Quynh.

In 2004, Bang Kieu along with fellow singer and former Vietnamese national, Thu Phuong, were banned by the Ministry of Performing Arts Department of Vietnam after both had publicly stated discontent and criticism of the current communist government in Vietnam.  For the next several years, both of these artists would be prohibited from holding any live concerts, as well as from partaking on any audio recordings or television appearances in Vietnam.  Whether these two performers were allowed to return to Vietnam was unclear.  Nevertheless, both performers would not make return trips to their native homeland for the next four years.  While Thu Phuong had been given permission to retain usage of her Vietnamese passport for travels outside of the United States during the next four years, Bang Kieu lost his Vietnamese citizenship altogether.  In 2008, Bang Kieu and Trizzie Phuong Trinh traveled back to Vietnam for the first time in four years.  Finally on September 24, 2013, Bang Kieu was granted permission from the Ministry of Performing Arts Department of Vietnam and issued a license to perform live in concert again in Vietnam.  The license allowed him the legal right to work in Vietnam as a returning overseas Vietnamese artist for a period of three months.  Singer Khanh Ly had also been issued with a similar license from the Ministry of Performing Arts Department of Vietnam simultaneously with Bang Kieu.

From 2002 until 2013, Bang Kieu was married to Vietnamese-American singer Trizzie Phuong Trinh.  The couple had three sons together.  Prior to his marriage, Bang Kieu had been in a long term romantic relationship with singer My Linh whom he had met while still living in Hanoi.  Since 2014, Bang Kieu has been romantically linked with Vietnamese fashion model and former Miss Vietnam Photogenic pageant titleholder, Duong My Linh.

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