Vietnamese karaoke classics everyone knows

The Vietnamese karaoke songs you'll hear at almost any party fall into a few families: slow bolero love songs and duets, Trịnh Công Sơn classics, big V-pop hits, Tết songs in the new-year season, and a handful of English songs everyone knows. If you learn one or two from each group, you'll be ready for the microphone.

Karaoke is a huge part of social life in Vietnam and in Vietnamese communities abroad, from family birthdays to company parties. Here's how to find your way around the song book.

Bolero: the backbone of the party

Bolero in Vietnam means a style of slow, sentimental popular song, not the Spanish dance. The songs are about longing, lost love, poverty and homesickness, sung with feeling and plenty of vibrato. Older guests often pick them first, and a good bolero singer gets real applause.

What makes bolero karaoke-friendly:

• Slow tempos give you time to read the lyrics.
• Many songs are duets (song ca), ideal for couples or two friends.
• The melodies are simple and repetitive.

For background, read what is Vietnamese bolero music. A tip: if someone older asks you to sing a song ca with them, say yes, even if you only manage the chorus.

Trịnh Công Sơn: songs everyone can hum

Trịnh Công Sơn (1939 to 2001) is one of Vietnam's most beloved songwriters, known for poetic, melancholy lyrics. His songs cross generations and politics, which makes them safe, warm choices. Titles you'll often find in karaoke books include:

• Diễm xưa: a dreamy love song about rain in Huế.
• Hạ trắng (White summer): soft and nostalgic.
• Nối vòng tay lớn (Joining hands in a great circle): an upbeat song about unity, often sung all together, arm in arm, at the end of an event.

V-pop: what younger guests choose

Younger singers reach for V-pop. Sơn Tùng M-TP is the go-to name; songs like Em của ngày hôm qua, Lạc trôi and Chạy ngay đi were huge hits and are fixtures in karaoke rooms. These are faster and harder to sing than bolero, with quick lyrics and high notes, so they're as much a performance as a song. Read more in who is Sơn Tùng M-TP.

V-pop hits change every year, so ask the group what's popular now.

Folk and patriotic songs

Some gatherings, especially with older relatives, include folk songs and well-known songs about the homeland. A northern folk song like Bèo dạt mây trôi ("drifting duckweed, floating clouds") is a common choice and shows up in many arrangements. You may also hear songs praising a specific city or region, which people sing with pride when they're from there.

Tết songs

In the weeks around Lunar New Year, the song list changes. Cheerful spring songs about family reunions and the season fill karaoke rooms, shops and TV. Ngày Tết quê em (Tết in my hometown) is a typical example.

One English song is also a famous Tết tradition in Vietnam: ABBA's "Happy New Year," which plays everywhere during the holiday. Expect someone to request it.

English songs that always work

If your Vietnamese isn't ready for the mic, English songs are welcome at most parties. Classic ballads and well-known pop songs often appear in Vietnamese karaoke catalogs, and singing one is a perfectly good way to join in.

Karaoke etiquette at a Vietnamese party

• Sing when asked. Refusing every time can seem standoffish. One song, even badly, is enough.
• Clap for everyone. Skill matters less than spirit.
• Let elders go first or pick early songs, especially at family events.
• Don't hog the mic. Pass it after your song.
• Expect scoring. Many machines give a score at the end; a high one earns cheers and a low one earns laughs.

For how karaoke became such a fixture, read karaoke in Vietnam: why everyone sings.

Before your next party, pick one slow bolero chorus and practise it a few times; that single song will carry you further than any perfect English ballad.