Check out this exclusive interview with songstress Mai Phuong about her success in the U.S. with her smash hit ‘I’ll Give My Soul” from the new silver screen flick She Kings.
What is the concept behind the title of the song?
The song was originally conceived as part the entire She-Kings project. There were 7 main princess generals who are real ancient heroes and each one had their own compelling stories so the producers wanted each song to be a voice of the generals. I’ll Give My Soul is about the female general Bat Nan and she lost her betrothed and parents to an enemy. This made her desperate and initially she was buried in a lot of vengeance and pain. Her soul ended up being buried beneath it but then there were people who still stayed beside her, monks at the temple she escaped to and she realised she couldn’t keep destroying herself. So through their love and support, she looked beyond herself to a broader love of her friends and her nation. She realised it was her responsibility to herself to live well and well, Bat Nan doesn’t do things in half measures so if she’s going to live and love and protect, she’ll give her soul to it.
Was the She Kings movie in mind when making this song?
Absolutely. Every ancient female has their own story, their own personality and their own voice. What they’ve been through and continued to fight for the producers and creators wanted the audience to listen to these songs and understand more about their real and raw heroines before finally seeing the She-Kings movie.
How does it feel as a Vietnamese citizen to bring this much recognition to your country through music?
To be honest I was a bit surprised and shocked because at the beginning I didn’t expect it would be this big. I sort of just walked in thinking: ‘Oh, cool, I can sing.’ And then one day I get the news from TNA Entertainment saying, ‘You’re on billboard.’ Once that settled a bit more than the pleasure and proudness started to sink in and yeah, it’s a great feeling to be able to bring recognition of my country’s music to the people around the world, especially during this trying time and year. It’s also helping everyone to understand more about Vietnam’s history and culture, and most importantly our identity so I’m very grateful.
When did you decide that music was your passion? When did you begin professionally?
I loved music since I was a kid. Music kept growing inside me and ‘I’ll Give My Soul for it.’ [laughs]. I started to go professional about a year ago, through the She-Kings project. It’s a big step in my career and I’m very thankful for all the support everyone has given me. The encouragement keeps me motivated for the next projects and I hope I can keep giving the best I can for everyone to enjoy.
How did you connect with TNA Entertainment to land a spot on the movie soundtrack?
Last year, a friend of mine saw the voice casting call for She-Kings animation series. I went to the auditions without really knowing too much. He just said it would suit. To be honest I thought I would just get a little part for a small soldier or something so when the producer Janet called me back the next day and said I got the voice for Bat Nan, one of the main female generals, I was very surprised. And then from there, both sides found a shared connection to the music, the artistry and even the history (I’m from Bat Nan’s hometown) and then just went from there.
How did Concore Ent contribute to this track getting on the soundtrack? What is their role in your career?
Concore Entertainment was really supportive and loved the track when it was sent to them from the beginning. So a good partnership grew with TNA Entertainment and Concore. Charve, the CEO, is great because he’s really excited and looks out for the best in the artist to push them in the right way so he was able to push the soundtrack to it’s next level. So I’m very thankful for Concore Entertainment’s great partnership with TNA Entertainment and all work he’s done to promote and distribution the tracks and they’re also a great friend.
When can we expect a full length project from Mai Phương?
I want to be able to make my own music to keep inspiring young generations, and in particular, keep encouraging others to keep searching and understanding about Vietnam through music. She-Kings will be releasing it’s next track soon and there’s still the remaining 5 generals so I’m looking forward to those. It’s going to be a while yet so riding the journey (wink).