Published:  00:00 Wednesday - November 12, 2008

The Vietnamese-Belgian singer Pham Quynh Anh, who touched many with her song Bonjour Vietnam (Hello Vietnam), will visit her ancestral land for the first time to give a performance in HCM City on November 14.

Anh will sing at the 10^th anniversary gala dinner for European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam at the Sofitel Plaza Saigon Hotel, according to the organisation.

Anh will stay in HCM City for five days, after which she will visit Hanoi and Ha Long Bay.

Bonjour Vietnam written by Marc Lavoine, a French composer and singer, has been making waves in Vietnamese communities all over the world since it was posted on the Internet in January 2006.

The song owes a lot of its success to Anh’s skilled vocals, though she only knows Vietnam through her parents’ stories.

Tell me about my colour, my hair and my small feet

That I have carried since birth.

Tell me about your house, your street, tell me this unknown entity.

The floating markets and the wooden sampans

I only know about my country via the photos of war

A film by Coppola and the angry helicopters

Someday I will go there, one day I'll say hello to my soul

Someday I will go there (to) say hello to you, Vietnam.

On first hearing Bonjour Vietnam, many listeners find it difficult to hide their emotions. The sweet voice of the Vietnamese-Belgian singer and the heartfelt lyrics have attracted a lot of attention and boosted Anh to worldwide fame.

Born in 1987, Anh began playing the guitar and taking music and singing at the Academy of Mons in Beligum at a young age. In 2000, she won first prize at the contest Pour la Gloire (For the Glory), organized by the RTBF, Belgium’s official French-language public broadcaster. In 2002, she signed a contract with Universal.

After meeting Anh in Brussels, Lavoine was moved by her obvious talent and her unusual cultural history. He was struck by the young woman, who was deeply Vietnamese yet born abroad. He then wrote Bonjour Vietnam for her.