Khánh Ly

Khánh Ly is the stage name of Vietnamese-American singer Nguyễn Thị Lệ Mai (March 6, 1945), one of the leading exponents of Vietnamese New Music, a term used to describe a Western-influenced genre of popular music developed between the 40s and the 80s. Born and raised in Hanoi, she developed a passion for music from an early age and participated in several singing contests before making her debut as Khánh Ly in 1962. That same year, she relocated to Đà Lạt and started performing in several clubs and resorts. There, Khánh Ly met composer Trịnh Công Sơn, who invited her to join him on stage in Saigon. Despite declining the offer, a fortunate encounter in the streets of Saigon in 1967 kicked off a creative partnership that would last several decades, spawning classic albums such as Ghi âm trực tiếp tại Quán Văn (1967), Như cánh vạc bay (1973), and Sơn Ca 7 (1974). Their politically charged anti-war protest songs quickly reached new heights of popularity both in their native country and abroad, making her the first Vietnamese singer to achieve international fame. After making appearances in festivals in Europe, the US, Canada, and Japan, Khánh Ly fled Saigon in 1975 and settled in America, where she kept releasing music and touring internationally well into the 21st century. In 2021, she released the maxi-single Variety of Colors, which included the hit single “Sweet Love.”

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