Divo Tung Duong wins three major prizes at 2021 Devotion Music Awards

Photo: Singer Tung Duong (L) and journalist Le Xuan Thanh, head of the organising board (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese singer Tung Duong once again dominated the 16th Devotion Music Awards, held online in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on January 7, as he won three of the nine major categories.

Specifically, Duong won “Album of the Year” for his progressive rock album “Human”, “Music Show of the Year” for the “Human” liveshow, and “Singer of the Year” for his powerful and energetic performances and contributions to contemporary music.

He has so far pocketed 13 prizes at the Devotion Music Awards.

In his acceptance speech, he said such awards not only give him motivation but also inspire him to remain creative and reinvent himself.

Photo: Singer Tung Duong performs at the awards ceremony (Photo: VietnamPlus)

“Producer of the Year” went to DJ and music producer Hoang Touliver, who is Music Director of the TV reality show Rap Viet, which looks for the next best rapper in Vietnam. The show was a hit, with more than 1 million viewers tuning in to watch the finale on YouTube.

Rap Viet was also honoured with “Music Series of the Year”.

“Music Video of the Year” was awarded to “Di ve nha” (Going home), directed by Hoang Thanh Dong and performed by Den and JustaTee.

The beautiful and emotional love song “Hoa No Khong Mau” (Colourless Blooming Flowers), composed by Nguyen Minh Cuong and performed by Hoai Lam, won “Song of the Year”.

“Best New Artist” went to Rap Viet winner De Choat.

The Devotion Music Awards were launched in 2004 by the The Thao & Van Hoa (Sports & Culture) newspaper of the Vietnam News Agency to promote Vietnamese music and honour artists who have made significant contributions to the industry. A ballot was held earlier on the same day with about 100 reporters casting their votes to choose the winners in the nine categories.

At the 2020 edition, pop singer Hoang Thuy Linh became the first Vietnamese artist to ever win the "big four" categories.

Linh won the Best Song of the Year and the Best Music Video of the Year for "De Mi Noi Cho Ma Nghe" (Let Me Tell) and the Best Album of the Year for her album "Hoang." She was also named the Best Singer of the Year.

Photo: People’s Artist Thanh Hoa shares her feelings at the 2021 Devotion Music Awards ceremony (Photo: VietmamPlus)

In the Show of the Year category, the vote has ended in a tie for the first time ever between solo concerts "Truyen Ngan" (Short Story) by singer Ha Anh Tuan and "Tro Ve" (The Return) by singer Tan Nhan. Both received an equal number of votes at 28, making the organizers to exercise their casting vote for the first time in the award’s 15-year history.

Tan Nhan finally won the category for the solo concert during which she performed Vietnamese folk songs of "xam" (blind buskers’ songs), "chau van" (spiritual music) and "quan ho" (love duets) with a contemporary music orchestra.

DTAP Team, comprising Thinh Kainz, Kata Tran and Tung Cedrus, was named the Best Producer of the Year while the Best New Artist of the Year and the Composer of the Year went to singer Amee and composer Phan Manh Quynh, respectively.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the award ceremony was cancelled; instead Hoang Thuy Linh, Phan Manh Quynh and other winners will gather in a fan meeting event live on Facebook fanpage of The Thao & Van Hoa (Sport & Culture newspaper) at 8:00pm on March 25.

The annual Devotion Music Awards was launched by the Vietnam News Agency’s The Thao & Van Hoa newspaper in 2004 to promote Vietnamese music and honour artists with significant contributions to the industry.

This year, the voting was held online for the first time because of concerns over the wide-spreading COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 95 ballots have been sent via email to reporters in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City who voted in nine categories./.