Vietnamese song attracts int'l attention

By Hieu Nhan August 23, 2021 | 04:00 am PT

Vietnamese hit song 'Hai Phut Hon' (Over Two Minutes) is gaining in popularity among social network users in the U.S., China, and South Korea.

Many Vietnamese in South Korea said the song has been played in many stores across the country, and used as background music on short video platform TikTok after a clip of a volleyball player dancing to the track published on Aug. 17 attracted more than 1.3 million views.

Many South Koreans have posted videos of themselves dancing to the Vietnamese song, including singer Aespa.

Rapper Phao has received a lot of success with 'Hai Phut Hon.' Photo courtesy of Phao.

'Hai Phut Hon' has also cooked up a storm in the U.S. It was played during the basketball match between Utaz Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies in May and has entered Billboard's list of Top 12World Digital Song Sales.

In March, it was the most streamed Vietnamese song on global music streaming platform Spotify.

In China, the song has appeared on Douyin, a domestic version of TikTok, with many users including celebrities posting videos of themselves dancing to the melody.

'Hai Phut Hon' by Phao, real name Nguyen Dieu Huyen, 18, became a mega hit worldwide and even the most searched song globally on Shazam, an app that can identify music and TV shows from a short sample audio, last December.

This is not the first time a Vietnamese song has trended on Chinese social networks, with 'Cu Chill Thoi' (Just Chill) by indie band Chillies and ‘De Den De Di' (Easy Come Easy Go) by singer Le Quang Hung having done so earlier.