Although there have been many foreign artists singing Vietnamese music, Dalena
is probably one of the most successful, well-received and well known of all.
Dalena has been involved with music all her life. According to her, she has
been singing since before she can remember. At the age of three, Dalena with the
encouragement of her mom, sang in front of the congregation of her church. In
subsequent years, Dalena continued singing at church. In 1991, she quit her job
at Disney World to devote her time as a professional singer, singing Vietnamese
music.
One of Dalena's appeal besides her angelic beauty is her flawless Vietnamese
accent. Although she is American, when she performs Vietnamese songs, it is
quite hard to tell her origin. Today, Dalena enjoys the same billing as many
other famous Vietnamese stars. She has quite a strong following both in the
Vietnamese community abroad as well as in Vietnam.
When asked about her favorite kind of music, Dalena reverts back to her
beginning in saying that she tends to listen to Christian music, especially the
type that has been set to rock or dance style beat. Dalena also likes love
ballads or those songs that are soulful. When it comes to choosing songs for a
performance, Dalena says, she often finds it difficult to chose since to her,
all the selections are very appealing.
Dalena has been to San Jose to perform on many occasions. She thinks that San
Jose is a very beautiful city and she always enjoy singing here
because the audience is so personal and responsive.
When asked, "What are your thoughts about your 1st time in the San Jose Arena?"
she responded, "I'm very excited about performing at the Arena! I think it's
every performer's dream to be able to perform in a place of such beauty and
magnitude. It's an auspicious occasion, and I count it an honor that I
was asked to be included on that night."