Vietnam Idol

History

Vietnam Idol was created based on the British show Pop Idol and U.S. show American Idol. The show debuted in 2007 in Vietnam, broadcast by Ho Chi Minh City Television under the production of Đông Tây Promotion. After two years active, the TV station and production company lost the license to produce a season to BHD Corp. and Vietnam Television. The show then under a name Thần tượng âm nhạc: Vietnam Idol, which only mentioned previously but not included in the title card. The show was renewed for a fifth season under a pure Vietnamese name regarding on regulation of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The show is currently in production with Thanh Bùi, Thu Minh and Nguyễn Quang Dũng as judges and hosts by Duy Hải. Former personnels are Mỹ Tâm, Siu Black, Anh Quân, Quốc Trung, Diễm Quỳnh, Tuấn Khanh, Hà Dũng, Trần Mạnh Tuấn, Hồ Hoài Anh. Former MCs were Nguyên Vũ, Thanh Thảo, Sỹ Luân, Huy Khánh and Phan Anh.

Season 1

The first season of Vietnam Idol premiered on May 23, 2007 on HTV9. It was hosted by Thanh Thảo and Nguyên Vũ. The judges panel includes Siu Black, Tuấn Khanh and Hà Dũng. The grand finale was held on October 3, 2007 at Hòa Bình Theater with Phương Vy crowned the winner over Ngọc Ánh; Vy then sang her coronation song "Nụ cười và những ước mơ" (Smiles and Dreams) but did not release it as her single. Over 720,000 votes were counted for the finale and this has been the only season so far to announce the number of votes. Phương Vy, Ngọc Ánh, Thảo Trang, Trà My, Duy Khánh released their solo albums afterwards and enjoyed moderate success after the show.

Season 2

Following the success of season one, it was confirmed by the producers that Vietnam Idol had been renewed for a second season with auditions would take place in June. However, the authorities subsequently postponed the contest until late July, early August, stating that there were many similar contests on HTV from then to the year’s end and the event was not suitable in the country’s current social and economic situation. As a result, auditions commenced a month later than the original schedule. The season premiered on September 3 on HTV7. Sỹ Luân replaced Nguyên Vũ in season 1 to co-host the show with Thanh Thảo. The judges panel welcomed Hồ Hoài Anh and Trần Mạnh Tuấn as two new judges along with the original judge from season one - Siu Black.

At the Grand Finale, Quốc Thiên was announced the winner, taking the title over Thanh Duy. The coronation song for season one "Nụ cười và những ước mơ" was used again for this season.

Season 3

After the show took a one-year break in 2009, it was renewed for a third season in 2010. Vietnam Television and BHD Pictures took over the production of the series from previous producers HTV and Đông Tây Promotion. While nearly 40,000 people signed up for the contest only 25,000 arrived to audition. This season followed the same structure as season 9 of American Idol, introducing "Save" option, inviting mentors for each round. The winner get a recording contract with BHD Entertainment instead of Music Faces Records as in the previous seasons. The semi-final and final rounds were filmed in BHD Pictures Studio and the grand finale took place in Lan Anh Music Center.

At the Grand Finale, Uyên Linh was announced the winner, taking the title over Mai Hương. Linh then performed the new coronation song called "Cảm ơn tình yêu" (Thanks for Love) and released the song as her debut single a week later.

Uyên Linh and Văn Mai Hương achieved significant media attention after the season ended. Both Linh and Hương have reached number one on Vietnamese Favorite Song chart.

Season 4

It was officially confirmed that the show would return for the fourth season. Auditions will start in June, 2012. Siu Black ruled herself out of returning to judges' table only before the official press conference. On May 29, it was publicly unveiled the new judging panel, the new format and some changes. Mỹ Tâm replaced Siu Black, after her departure. Broadcast commenced on Friday, August 17 at 8PM slot, replacing The Amazing Race Vietnam.

Season 5

Nguyễn Quang Dũng and Mỹ Tâm confirmed coming back for the fifth season. New judge is Anh Quân. Broadcast commenced on Sunday, December 13 at 8PM slot. The winner of this season is Nhật Thủy.

Season 6

Two new judges of this season are Thanh Bùi and Thu Minh, Thanh Bùi replaced Anh Quân and Thu Minh replaced Mỹ Tâm. Broadcast commenced on Sunday, April 5 at 8PM.

The winner of season 6 is Nguyen Trong Hieu. He is a German Vietnamese who grew up in Germany. He went back to Vietnam for a visit and happened to go for an audition in Vietnam Idol. In his audition, he mentioned that he was a dancer but wanted a career in both singing and dancing. Hieu doesn't have a very powerful voice but he brought a new breeze onto the stage with upbeat performances combine with his natural dancing skills. Image of Hieu in fan is always a humble but optimistic person with bright smile after every performance.

The runner-up of season 6 was Nguyen Bich Ngoc. She is from Can Tho city. Ngoc passed several rounds easily with her powerful voice and brought surprises to the judges time after time in both Vietnamese and English songs. In her audition interview, Ngoc mentioned that she studies in Architecture major with specialty in Interior Design.

Controversies

The gameshow has come under intense criticism alleging voting irregularities and the lack of transparency in voting procedures. Major newspapers such as Thanh Nien and Tuoi Tre ran stories about votes for a contestant being counted for another contestant though there was no hard evidence to prove the allegation and the organisers maintained that the results cannot be manipulated. While the organizers maintain that allowing up to 500 votes per phone number and not publicly tallying votes are standard practices of all Idol shows, they have been accused of doing so to maximize profits at the expense of fairness. Furthermore, there were rumors about contestants' relationship with one of the judges and the PR manager of Vietnam Idol. A public auditor from the Singaporean auditing firm Paul Hooi & Co. was flown in to audit the vote counting process during the Grand Finale.