Vietnam Idol judge crowned Best Asian Singer at 'East Asian Grammys’

Upon announcing Tam as the winner, the organizer played Tam’s pre-taped acceptance speech, in which she said the award was such an honor, Tuoi Tre reported.

Tam also said she hoped the MAMA would be held in Vietnam soon, allowing her and other Vietnamese singers to perform live.

Tam was unable to attend the November 30 ceremony, as she was busy participating in activities related to her role as a judge on Vietnam Idol, the Vietnamese adaptation of American Idol, the US-based singing reality show.

The 14^th MAMAs, also known as the “East Asian Grammy Awards,” was broadcast live in 45 countries in the world. This is the third consecutive year the event has been held outside Korea since its first show in 1999.

In addition to high-profile K-pop acts such Big Bang, Juper Junior, and rapper PSY, the event featured American Idol Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert and Taiwan-based singer Leehom Wang.

A day after receiving the award, Tam traveled to South Korea to perform at the Busan Culture Festival, part of the 20^th anniversary celebrating diplomatic relations between Vietnam and South Korean.

Last August, the 31-year-old singer was the first Vietnamese artist to become partnered with YouTube, local news media reported. By this agreement, the world’s leading video sharing site protects the copyrights of all her works posted on the site and she also receives part of the proceeds generated by the advertisements on her YouTube channel.

The deal was made after the site noticed that her two music videos – Chuyen nhu chua bat dau (A love that should have never begun) and Sai (Wrong) – both accumulated over a million views within one week of being posted YouTube.