This year’s Good Morning Viet Nam will feature the music group Secret Garden. Nhan Dan Newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief Le Quoc Minh noted that although the programme cannot yet be regarded as a brand, over the past three year it has nonetheless left a strong impression on Viet Nam’s cultural life.
- Could you share why the organisers chose Secret Garden this year?
- The organisers of Good Morning Viet Nam have always sought to invite instrumentalists rather than singers or vocal groups. We have consistently maintained that approach over the past two years, and continue to do so in this third edition.
This time, however, there is a difference. Instead of selecting two artists or ensembles who had already performed in Viet Nam, we selected a group which is well known but who will be appearing here for the very first time.
Kenny G has performed in Viet Nam seven times – in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017 – while Bond appeared in 2015 and 2016. Secret Garden, however, has never performed in Viet Nam.
Fortunately, our invitation coincided with the group’s 30th anniversary, making this a particularly meaningful occasion. On their official Facebook page, the group have also shared news about the event and expressed their excitement as they prepare for their performance in Viet Nam.
- The stage design at each Good Morning Viet Nam event has always been a delightful surprise for the audience. Could you reveal anything about this year’s stage for Secret Garden?
- The audience will certainly be surprised by the stage design of Secret Garden. Our approach avoids over-elaboration, while ensuring the visuals remain distinctive and unique. If Kenny G’s visuals showcased spectacular and magnificent images of nature and the landscapes of Viet Nam, and Bond offered a contrasting blend of both tradition and modernity, then with Secret Garden we would like to keep it a secret so that the audience can enjoy the most wonderful experiences on the night of the concert.
Stage of Kenny G Live in Viet Nam.
Stage of Bond Live in Viet Nam.
Stage of Kenny G Live in Viet Nam
Stage of Kenny G Live in Viet Nam
- At Kenny G and Bond’s concerts, there were promotional music videos featuring images of Viet Nam. Could you reveal any music products linked to Viet Nam by Secret Garden this time?
- It can be said that the unique highlight of the Good Morning Viet Nam programme — enthusiastically supported by international artists — is that the ticket revenue will be used to fund charitable activities.
When we put forward this idea, every artist showed interest and support. In addition, another of our initiatives when inviting these bands was to use their world-class music set against images of Viet Nam as a form of promotion. We can see that Kenny G’s first music video for Ha Noi tourism was an outstanding success. Until now, audiences have been accustomed to seeing promotional images for national tourism through traditional, fairly common motifs that achieved certain effects. But in Good Morning Viet Nam, those images combined with the music of world-class international artists created an entirely fresh style.
GOING HOME - KENNY G IN VIETNAM
Following that, Bond promoted Quang Ninh in general, and Ha Long tourism in particular, with highly captivating footage. The organisation was exceptionally meticulous, and the artists themselves felt greatly satisfied. The music video featuring Kenny G and Bond, once released, attracted a significant increase in attention from music lovers in general as well as from Vietnamese audiences in particular, with the number of views rising considerably.
VICTORY - BOND IN VIETNAM I OFFICIAL MV I BOND BAND
Building on the success and concept of the programme, this time we will also travel to a third location to film beautiful images of Viet Nam. We have always hoped to extend this music video project to all provinces and cities nationwide, with the ambition of introducing each locality.
Within our capacity, we strive to showcase the beauty of Viet Nam across certain regions, year by year. We believe that the location chosen by the organisers this year will be widely appreciated, as it has appeared in many foreign films. The filming location for the Secret Garden MV will be both fresh and familiar to audiences in Viet Nam and abroad. We hope our efforts will contribute to promoting tourism in Viet Nam as well as within each locality.
– Could you share whether the organisers plan to expand the Good Morning Viet Nam stage to other localities?
– The current difficulty lies in the fact that there are still very few venues in the country that can accommodate around 3,000 people or more. Our surveys show that many venues can only seat about 1,200 to 1,500. With such limited capacity, ticket sales cannot generate enough funds to support charitable activities. Pricing tickets too high is not our policy either. Therefore, we hope that in the near future more theatres and venues across the country will be built to meet these requirements, so that the Good Morning Viet Nam programme can be brought to more localities.
- How can Nhan Dan Newspaper and its partners elevate Good Morning Viet Nam into a global music brand reflecting the spirit of Viet Nam and creating more lasting impressions?
Although we hesitate to declare Good Morning Viet Nam a fully-fledged brand after just three years, the programme has undeniably left a meaningful imprint on Viet Nam’s cultural landscape. Over the past two years, we’ve welcomed numerous international bands to perform in Viet Nam, and several large-scale Vietnamese productions have taken place. Yet few programmes maintain a consistent musical theme focused solely on instrumental performance as this one does.
Our ambition is to deliver high-quality music to the public - not only through annual live performances held once or twice a year, but also via music video content distributed across digital platforms, television networks, in-flight entertainment, resorts, and hotels. These derivative products have enduring value and play a vital role in showcasing the beauty of Viet Nam to a wider audience.
- Each year, a renowned artist or band is invited to take part in the programme. Does this create pressure for the organising committee in future editions?
The greatest challenge for the organising committee is securing sufficient funding. Each band comes with its own set of requirements, and budgetary constraints remain the most pressing concern. We aspire to invite even more prominent acts, but financial limitations often stand in the way. While there is no shortage of talented artists, the real question is whether we can afford to bring them on board.
Secret Garden, including two members, Fionnuala Sherry (female) and Rolf Lovland (male), was established in 1994. Rolf Lovland, born in 1955, began composing at the age of nine and is known as one of the most outstanding songwriters.
He earned a master’s degree from the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. He represented his country in the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 and won first prize. At the time he founded “Secret Garden”, Rolf had won Norway’s Grammy Award and was one of the most famous composers of the country, with 60 of his songs listed on the charts of Norway’s national radio.
Fionnuala Sherry là người Ireland, biết chơi violin từ khi lên 8, tốt nghiệp Cao đẳng âm nhạc Dublin và đã có thâm niên 10 năm trong Dàn nhạc giao
Secret Garden - Nocturne
In 1995, Secret Garden made history by winning the Eurovision Song Contest with “Nocturne”, breaking the 40-year history of this prestigious European competition by awarding the prize to an orchestral composition and ensemble for the first time. Since then, over three decades of tireless work, Secret Garden has nurtured the love of global audiences through 12 albums, beginning with “Songs from a Secret Garden” (1995) and most recently “Songs in the Circle of Time” (2024).
Secret Garden has maintained its position in mainstream music as one of the artists with best-selling discs under the Universal Classics & Jazz label, with 113 platinum discs worldwide, more than 3 billion streams, and 311 weeks on the Billboard New Age rankings.
Secret Garden’s concert in Viet Nam will take place on the evening of October 18 at the National Convention Centre, My Dinh, Ha Noi.
E-Magazine | en.nhandan.vn
Production Manager: HONG VAN
Content: NDO
Photos: Secret Garden's Fanpage
Design: VAN THANH