Vietnamese American singer-songwriter thủy welcomed fans to an intimate album release party at DIDI WeHo in celebration of her new album, “wings” on October 4. The album, a collection of nine musical tracks that explores themes of relationships, confidence and freedom, is the singer’s newest project.
thủy entered with chic long red hair, a preppy outfit and a radiant smile. Without hesitancy, she greeted around 150 fans one by one, thanking them for coming, and making sure to have a conversation with as many people as possible.
As thủy continued to make her way to the second floor of the restaurant, her fans enjoyed DIDI’s menu, which included regulars such as the Crispy Lobster Curry and the Crab Fried Rice (Com Chien Cua), as well as launch party specials: the “thủy’s wings” and the “cloud 11″ cocktail, referencing thủy’s album title and song.
Throughout the night, thủy makes two more rounds to each table, once to deliver her “wings” special cupcakes, and once more to do a toast and picture with her fans. Fans also got to take photo booth pictures with her at the end of the event.
An Album of Empowerment
thủy, who graced Coachella as the first Vietnamese American singer earlier this year, shared at the event that “wings” were largely impacted by her cultural upbringing.
“For a very long time, I felt like I couldn’t be confident, and I felt like I had to dim my light. I know that a lot of children of immigrants can understand where I am coming from […] not feeling like you could talk about sex or your body or feeling like you’re confident, and all these things. So this project was really a way for me to break that and to show that we can do this and be in mainstream media,” thủy said. “I am Vietnamese American and I am proud of it.”
After graduating college, thủy briefly worked at an optometry clinic shadowing a physician’s assistant at Stanford before leaving the job to pursue music. She said in a 2022 interview with The Real that she hopes aspiring Asian musicians are inspired by her journey.
“I hope that my journey really just inspires other boys and girls that look like me to say ‘she’s doing it, I can do it too.’ I wish I had more of that growing up because,” thủy said. “Maybe I would have started a little bit earlier just being able to see people who look like me.”
Today, her success in breaking cultural barriers and pursuing an “unconventional career” has inspired many others of Asian descent.
Lilly Tran, an attendee at thủy’s launch party said in a follow-up text interview with Annenberg Media, “I think it is extremely important to see those of my ethnicity embracing their culture and shouting it from the rooftops to allow for the culture to stay alive. The way she collaborated with another fellow artist (MIN) and hosted her launch party at DIDI, which is Viet-owned, goes to show how much she wants to uplift and showcase Vietnamese culture. She is an inspiration and she never ceases to amaze me. When I’m listening to her music, she isn’t making music for music’s sake but for herself and just having fun as she should.”
The thủy-Tuệ Partnership
The event was a joint venture between thủy and her close friend, Tuệ Nguyễn. Tuệ is an influential voice in the digital food space and founded DIDI to add to the Vietnamese dining scene in L.A.
When asked to describe DIDI in one sentence, she says, “DIDI is an offline love letter to the Vietnamese community in a place where it doesn’t get celebrated often. Right in the middle of West Hollywood, there is a high end Vietnamese restaurant. It is so sweet to see an Asian family, with their mom, dad and grandparents, getting together to come to DIDI.”
Speaking about the partnership, Tuệ says, “It was such an amazing feeling to even be there (at the event) and to get to celebrate my friend in my own space like that.”
The two first got to know each other when they were introduced to each other through a mutual friend. The two respected each other and kept in touch ever since.
As an up-and-rising star in the music space, thủy has already been making waves in the AAPI community and beyond through her music and partnerships with other inspirational figures. With both her music and her outlook on life, she pushes her listeners to chase their dreams.