On the evening of 15/8, during episode 7 (performance two), the Chien Ma team—comprising Dai Nghia, Thanh Duy, Nguyen Van Chung, and BB Tran—reinvented a familiar love song.

The performance featured Nguyen Van Chung's creative new lyrics, which spoke of a love for art. He likened artists to a mynah bird yearning to transform into a phoenix, asking: "Singing loudly in the sky/ Mynah bird, must you stay in your cage forever?". The arrangement blended pop and contemporary folk with traditional melodies.

Dai Nghia proposed incorporating water puppetry into the stage act, aiming to honor silently dedicated artists. To perfect the performance, the group spent two days rehearsing at the Rong Vang Water Puppet Theater. Nguyen Van Chung shared that team members had to immerse themselves in cold water for hours to learn how to control the puppets. "Only by doing it myself did I truly understand the immense effort artists put into breathing life into each puppet's movement", he stated.

Beyond the water puppetry, the performance also impressed with Nguyen Van Chung playing the flute and performing silk acrobatics, while Dai Nghia played the dan tranh (Vietnamese zither). Thanh Duy took on the main vocals and provided backing harmonies for his teammates.

In this episode, four teams competed head-to-head. The Chien Ma team faced Hien Nhien (Dinh Manh Ninh, Will, Toki Thanh Tho, Duy Khanh), while Long Ma (Tung Mint, Mew Amazing, Dong Hung, It’s Charles) competed against Tham Hiem (Tho, Thom from Da LAB, Hoang Ton, Le Xuan Tien).

Dai Nghia (left) and BB Tran performing water puppetry. Photo: provided by the organizers

As a result, Chien Ma led performance two with 4,210 points. Both Chien Ma and Long Ma were deemed safe, maintaining their full teams. Tham Hiem and Hien Nhien entered the danger zone. Based on individual scores, model Le Xuan Tien (from the Tham Hiem team) was eliminated. Previously, in performance one, Vuong Anh Tu and 14 Casper were the first two contestants eliminated.

'Anh trai vuot ngan chong gai' is the Vietnamese adaptation of the Chinese television show 'Call Me By Fire'. The show features male celebrities over 30 years old. Through various rounds, contestants perform in teams, with the 17 highest-scoring individuals forming a group called Gia Toc Toan Nang. In its first season, the program aired 15 episodes, consistently leading viewership ratings (rating) during its weekly prime time slot. Many artist performances quickly trended on YouTube and generated lively discussions on social media. Beyond television broadcasts, producers organized eight concerts, attracting tens of thousands of spectators in TP HCM and Hung Yen.

Hoang Dung