In September, My Anh toured Phases of the moon in the US, passing through Houston, Santa Ana and New York. What is noteworthy is not only that a Vietnamese singer organizes a tour in the US, but also at the time she chose to do so.
My Anh was once advised to succeed domestically first and then move towards internationally. But the female singer chose to develop two parallel markets instead of waiting to reach a milestone in views or popularity.
My Anh's way of going is not the only case showing the new thinking of a few Vietnamese artists.
There is no single way
For a long time, the story of Vietnamese singers "going international" has often been associated with major goals such as signing contracts with foreign record labels, creating cross-border hits, entering major charts or standing on stage with tens of thousands of people.
My Anh is an example. From Head in the Clouds in Los Angeles in 2021, she continued to appear on stages in Australia, Philippines, Taiwan (China)... In 2026, My Anh also collaborated with Australian singer Matthew Ifield in the All Ears: Focus Australia project.
The US tour is therefore more like a next step in the accumulation process than a declaration of "conquering the US market".
While My Anh travels by touring and connecting the music listening community, Phuong My Chi chooses another door.
In 2025, the female singer participated in Sing! Asia, a competition gathering artists from many Asian countries and territories, and then won third place. Notably, Phuong My Chi did not completely change her music to get closer to the outside market but brought cai luong, folk songs and Vietnamese cultural materials into her performances.
Another direction that can be seen in tlinh. In 2025, the female rapper was announced as the first Vietnamese artist to hold the main performance position at Sabaidee Fest in Los Angeles. In the same year, she appeared alongside many international artists at 8Wonder and had a collaboration with J Balvin.
The three artists do not represent the entire V-pop, but show that young artists do not necessarily have to follow the same path to find audiences outside of Vietnam.
Find 1,000 viewers before thinking about a million people
Spotify, YouTube and social networks make a song released in Vietnam immediately listened to in many countries. Festivals (music festivals), showcases (artists' introduction shows) or small and medium-sized tours help artists verify whether those listens can turn into real audiences.
A stage of a few hundred or a few thousand people cannot prove that Vietnamese artists have succeeded in the international market.
But if a group of audiences continues to listen to new products, buy tickets when artists return and form a stable community, that is already the foundation of a market.
According to the Overview Report of the Vietnamese Music Industry 2025-2026 by RMIT University, 2025 witnessed an increase in the international presence of Vietnamese artists, from the achievements of Phuong My Chi, Duc Phuc to performance activities and cross-border cooperation.
This also shows that "internationalization" does not necessarily mean singing entirely in English or trying to create a product similar to the European-American market.
However, appearing at a festival or performing a few nights abroad needs to be distinguished from building a market.
Artists still have to solve the problem of touring costs, visas, media, distribution partners, crews and especially the ability to get audiences back.
An international performance can create a buzz for a few days. A market only forms when an artist can return for the second, third time and there are still ticket buyers.
Therefore, what is noteworthy in My Anh, Phuong My Chi or tlinh is that not everyone has "conquered the international community". These cases show that the door to try their hand outside Vietnam is becoming more diverse.
Artists no longer necessarily have to follow the order of becoming famous domestically, becoming big stars before going abroad.
They can simultaneously build many audience groups in many places, starting from a festival, a contest, a collaborative product or a few hundred ticket buyers.
