Vietnam Idol

infobox television
show_name = Thần Tượng Âm Nhạc: Vietnam Idol
season = 1


format = Interactive television
creator =
judges = Hà Dũng(2007)
presenter=Nguyên Vũ(2007)
country = VIE
network = HTV9
first_aired = May 23 2007
last_aired = Finalists(With dates of elimination)
Season 1 (2007)
Phương VyWinner Ngọc ÁnhOctober 3 Ngọc MinhSeptember 21 Duy KhánhSeptember 14 Thảo TrangSeptember 7 Trà MyAugust 31 Hải YếnAugust 24 Xuân LinhAugust 17 Thanh PhongAugust 10 Ngọc BíchAugust 3 Thùy DươngWithdrew Season 2 (2008)

"Thần Tượng Âm Nhạc: Vietnam Idol" is the Vietnamese version of the British television hit show "Pop Idol". The show is produced by Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV9) and the Vietnam Advertising Company (VAC). It is a talent contest to find a music artist. Vietnam Idol first season aired in 2007 with Phương Vy taking the title ahead of Ngọc Ánh. Season 2 commenced in late August, 2008 and began airing in September, following rescheduling by Ho Chi Minh City authorities.

eason 1

Auditions

Auditions were held at the following locations:
* Cần Thơ: April 7, 2007
* Hà Nội: April 15, 2007
* Đà Nẵng: April 22, 2007
* Hồ Chí Minh City: May 2, 2007

Theater Round

The contestants who passed the auditions, arrived in Ho Chi Minh City for the theater round where they were given songs from the judges to perform. Based on those performances, 30 contestants were chosen by the judges to proceed to the Piano Show.

Piano Round

On the June 27, 2007, the Piano Show began, with the Top 30 Contestants singing in Ho Chi Minh City for the judges and the viewers. The contestants were allocated numbers so that viewers could vote for their favourite(s). The viewers were able to vote by phone or by SMS. Contestants were divided into three groups of ten with the top 3 contestants from each group advancing to the Gala Round. Eight from the three groups that did not proceed to the finals during the first three rounds, competed for the last position in the Top 10 during the Wildcards round.

Gala Round

The gala round involves the contestants singing each week, with the contestant with the least votes each week being eliminated, until one contestant is left and crowned Vietnam Idol 2007. Before it began Thùy Dương withdrew from the Top 10 due to health issues with Ngọc Minh replacing her as he had received the second highest number of votes in the Wildcards round.

Grand Finale

On the 26th of September, the final two contestants, Phương Vy and Ngọc Ánh were given their last chance to sing for the votes of the Vietnamese public. The Grand Finale was held at Hoa Binh Theatre, Ho Chi Minh City on the 3rd of October. During the night, all Top 10 contestants returned to perform with other guest stars. With 53.44% of the votes, Phương Vy was announced the winner of Vietnam Idol 2007 ahead of Ngọc Ánh. As winner of Vietnam Idol she represented Vietnam in the Asian Idol competition.

eason 1 Elimination Chart

eason 2

Following the success of the show, it was confirmed by producers that it would have Vietnam Idol air for a second season, but authorities subsequently postponed the contest until August. [cite news|url=http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifestyle/2008/06/790386/|title=2nd Vietnam Idol resumes this August|publisher=VietNamNet|date=June 25, 2008|accessdate=2008-07-02]

The new season will have a different structure, with new host Sỹ Luân replacing Nguyên Vũ. The panel of judges also changed, with new judges Hồ Hoài Anh and Trần Mạnh Tuấn joining Siu Black.

Audition Round

* Cần Thơ: July 23 - July 24, 2008
* Hà Nội: July 29 - July 31, 2008
* Đà Nẵng: August 5 - August 8, 2008
* Hồ Chí Minh City: August 14 - August 16, 2008

During the auditions, contestants were invited to perform the whole or part of a song to the producers, who decide whether they will perform to the judges. Unlike other Idol contests, the contestants are not notified immediately whether they will advance to the theater round by the judges, but must wait for the producers to contact them after the auditions. Unsuccessful contestants were not contacted.

Theater Round

The Theater Round involved the 94 contestants, who were invited to participate in Ho Chi Minh City in late August 2008. During this round, contestants were required to perform songs chosen by the producers of the contest.

tudio Round

From the 94 contestants, the Top 20 were chosen and placed into two groups according to gender. During a number of weeks, the two groups will perform on alternating weeks, with viewers' votes ultimately deciding the Top 10 which will consist of 5 male and 5 female contestants.

List of the Top 20 below.

Gala Round

Over the course of 8 weeks, the Top 10 contestants will perform live. Each week the contestant with the least viewers' votes will be eliminated from the contest, until there are only 2 contestants left.

Grand Finale

It is anticipated that the recording of the Grand Finale will take place in January 2009. During the Finale, the winner of Vietnam Idol 2008 will be announced selected by viewers' votes.

Criticisms

The game show has come under intense criticism alleging voting irregularities and the lack of transparency in voting procedures. Major newspapers such as "Thanh Niên" 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. [vi cite news|url=http://www1.thanhnien.com.vn/Vanhoa/2007/9/23/209822.tno|title=Chuyện lạ lùng trong nhắn tin bình chọn thí sinh Vietnam Idol: Chọn người này, tin “bay” sang người kia|author=Hương Lan|publisher=Thanh Nien News|date=September 22, 2007|accessdate=2007-09-27] vi cite news|url=http://www.tuoitre.com.vn/Tianyon/Index.aspx?ArticleID=221382&ChannelID=10|title=Vietnam Idol: Vẫn chỉ là một cuộc chơi|publisher=Tuoi Tre|date=September 25, 2007|accessdate=2007-09-27] 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. [vi cite news|url=http://www1.thanhnien.com.vn/Vanhoa/2007/9/24/209977.tno|title=Vietnam Idol - một chương trình không minh bạch|date=September 23, 2007|publisher=Thanh Nien News|accessdate=2007-09-27] Furthermore, there were rumors about contestants' relationship with one of the judges and the PR manager of Vietnam Idol. [vi cite news|url=http://idolvietnam.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=26|title= Hậu trường Vietnam Idol và những điều chưa biết|date=September 23, 2009|publisher=IdolVietnam|accessdate=2007-09-27 ] A public auditor from the Singaporean auditing firm Paul Hooi & Co. was flown in to audit the vote counting process during the Grand Finale.

References

External links

* [http://www.vietnamidol.com.vn Vietnam Idol Official site]
* [http://www.i-pop.vn/english/lich_phat_song_vietnam_idol.html Official Info of Vietnam Idol 2008 in English]