December 05, 2008
By D. Allan Kerr
the_culling@hotmail.com
Portsmouth Herald News (New Hampshire, USA)
Here we are again, celebrating the season of peace and thanksgiving, counting our blessings and spreading joy to the world. It’s a time to reflect on – well, hell, you know how it goes by now.
This is that time of year when people tell us how lucky we are to live in the greatest, most freedom-loving country in the history of mankind. It’s when we’re encouraged to remember those less fortunate than us – the poor, the oppressed, the fearful and the damned. So in that spirit, here we go again:
I currently work with some fine outstanding American citizens who happen to be of Cambodian origin. The other day they brought in a CD of Cambodian music, mostly from previous decades. It was pretty catchy stuff, more modern than I had expected but also with what sounded like more traditional native influences. I was struck by the stylings of one guy in particular. He would croon a heart-ripping ballad in one number and then deliver a rousing rocker in the next; as warm and familiar as your grandfather’s sweater one moment and then as fresh as last week’s Top 40.
This man was the most famous singer of their old country, my co-workers said. Was he still around, I asked. No, they said – he had passed away. Then a bit later they elaborated – he had actually been exterminated by the Khmer Rouge back in the 1970s.
In fact, they said, the famous singer had been brought in by leaders of the Khmer Rouge and asked to compose a song celebrating their ascendancy. When he finished the song and then performed it, he was promptly executed.
In my homegrown American naivete I was kind of stunned by this. I asked one of my younger colleagues what artist in the United States had a comparable status. Elvis Presley, he said. I think I blinked and did a kind of double-take.
“So if our government had executed Elvis, that would have had the same kind of impact here as when this guy was killed in Cambodia?” I asked.
“That’s right.”
“Wow.”
The artist in question was Sinn Sisamouth. I of course had never heard of him, but in Cambodian culture he is indeed considered a giant. And as we continued listening to the CD, my co-workers pointed out that several of the other singers we heard had also been murdered by the Khmer Rouge. One of them, a female artist named Ros Sereysothear, performed many duets with Sinn.
Knowing this totally changed the listening experience for me. The more melancholic songs were suddenly swathed in tragedy, while the rollicking uptempo tunes took on an epic poignancy. It was almost unsettling, listening to the music of these doomed artists who at the time had no way of knowing what was to befall them. In essence, they were singing their own death song.
Sure, we have our Kurt Cobains and Janis Joplins and Jimi Hendrixes, but these foreign superstars were the first I knew of who had died BECAUSE of the music they created. Our tragic artist-heroes tend to fall victim to their own excesses.
I’ve since researched Sinn Sisamouth a bit. I learned that as a singer and song-writer he helped usher in a whole new modern culture for his country, developing an innovative style that combined rock-n-roll with the more traditional classics of his heritage. He wrote more than a thousand songs over his career and is perhaps most beloved for his odes to the ecstasies and agonies of love. Classic hits like “Champa Battambong” have become part of Cambodia’s heritage. But to this day there is no clear evidence as to how his life came to an end.
During the dark and bloody days of the Khmer Rouge, vanishings were not uncommon and the infamous “Killing Fields” were put to frequent use. Led by the notorious madman Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge essentially sought to develop a society of farmers and laborers, and so proceeded to eliminate urban dwellers, intellectuals, capitalists, artists and so on. The regime is believed to have wiped out anywhere from 800,000 to 2 million people in the 1970s, or roughly one-fifth of the country’s population.
Just about every atrocity you can imagine has been attributed to Pol Pot’s followers, including the use of children to implement torture and executions. Celebrities made easy targets. While the scenario described to me of Sinn Sisamouth’s death has been widely circulated, there are other reports that he was in fact tortured, and that his famous tongue was cut out.
Another story suggests that it was he who asked to sing a song to his executioners, and performed a musical plea for justice. But his audience, consisting of ignorant barbaric rustics, was unmoved, and shot him anyway. By all accounts it seems he had too sweet a soul to survive this brutal era. Sinn was only 40 years old when he is believed to have died.
His old singing partner Ros Sereysothear also vanished during the regime. One rumor maintains that Pol Pot forced her to marry one of his assistants, who routinely abused her. Others imply that she died in a labor camp or was executed.
Yeah, I know – not exactly a storyin keeping with the holiday spirit. But Americans taking their liberty for granted is a well-worn cliché by now, and all too often it takes stories like these to sort of snap us into reality. We live in a country where singers, poets, artists, writers and moose hunters are free to express their thoughts and feelings through their talents and creativity without fear of imprisonment or torture. Think about how lucky we are.
The simple shock we experience when hearing tragic tales like the fate of Sinn Sisamouth – and the songs haunting us afterward in a foreign tongue -- remind us how alien such circumstances may be for most of us.
LOSER OF THE WEEK: Then on the other extreme we have Stephon Marbury, the $22 million-dollar point guard for the New York Knickerbockers. Here’s a man who has made an absolute fortune playing a game, and when asked to suit up to help out his teammates, he refused.
There’s a reason Marbury has never won an NBA championship. There’s a reason Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Marbury’s ex-teammate Kevin Garnett have. Chances are, Marbury will never figure that out in time to actually call himself a winner.
D. Allan Kerr has never understood how despots like Pol Pot can finish out their lives without ever having to face the consequences of their horrific actions. Kerr may be reached at the_culling@hotmail.com.
This is that time of year when people tell us how lucky we are to live in the greatest, most freedom-loving country in the history of mankind. It’s when we’re encouraged to remember those less fortunate than us – the poor, the oppressed, the fearful and the damned. So in that spirit, here we go again:
I currently work with some fine outstanding American citizens who happen to be of Cambodian origin. The other day they brought in a CD of Cambodian music, mostly from previous decades. It was pretty catchy stuff, more modern than I had expected but also with what sounded like more traditional native influences. I was struck by the stylings of one guy in particular. He would croon a heart-ripping ballad in one number and then deliver a rousing rocker in the next; as warm and familiar as your grandfather’s sweater one moment and then as fresh as last week’s Top 40.
This man was the most famous singer of their old country, my co-workers said. Was he still around, I asked. No, they said – he had passed away. Then a bit later they elaborated – he had actually been exterminated by the Khmer Rouge back in the 1970s.
In fact, they said, the famous singer had been brought in by leaders of the Khmer Rouge and asked to compose a song celebrating their ascendancy. When he finished the song and then performed it, he was promptly executed.
In my homegrown American naivete I was kind of stunned by this. I asked one of my younger colleagues what artist in the United States had a comparable status. Elvis Presley, he said. I think I blinked and did a kind of double-take.
“So if our government had executed Elvis, that would have had the same kind of impact here as when this guy was killed in Cambodia?” I asked.
“That’s right.”
“Wow.”
The artist in question was Sinn Sisamouth. I of course had never heard of him, but in Cambodian culture he is indeed considered a giant. And as we continued listening to the CD, my co-workers pointed out that several of the other singers we heard had also been murdered by the Khmer Rouge. One of them, a female artist named Ros Sereysothear, performed many duets with Sinn.
Knowing this totally changed the listening experience for me. The more melancholic songs were suddenly swathed in tragedy, while the rollicking uptempo tunes took on an epic poignancy. It was almost unsettling, listening to the music of these doomed artists who at the time had no way of knowing what was to befall them. In essence, they were singing their own death song.
Sure, we have our Kurt Cobains and Janis Joplins and Jimi Hendrixes, but these foreign superstars were the first I knew of who had died BECAUSE of the music they created. Our tragic artist-heroes tend to fall victim to their own excesses.
I’ve since researched Sinn Sisamouth a bit. I learned that as a singer and song-writer he helped usher in a whole new modern culture for his country, developing an innovative style that combined rock-n-roll with the more traditional classics of his heritage. He wrote more than a thousand songs over his career and is perhaps most beloved for his odes to the ecstasies and agonies of love. Classic hits like “Champa Battambong” have become part of Cambodia’s heritage. But to this day there is no clear evidence as to how his life came to an end.
During the dark and bloody days of the Khmer Rouge, vanishings were not uncommon and the infamous “Killing Fields” were put to frequent use. Led by the notorious madman Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge essentially sought to develop a society of farmers and laborers, and so proceeded to eliminate urban dwellers, intellectuals, capitalists, artists and so on. The regime is believed to have wiped out anywhere from 800,000 to 2 million people in the 1970s, or roughly one-fifth of the country’s population.
Just about every atrocity you can imagine has been attributed to Pol Pot’s followers, including the use of children to implement torture and executions. Celebrities made easy targets. While the scenario described to me of Sinn Sisamouth’s death has been widely circulated, there are other reports that he was in fact tortured, and that his famous tongue was cut out.
Another story suggests that it was he who asked to sing a song to his executioners, and performed a musical plea for justice. But his audience, consisting of ignorant barbaric rustics, was unmoved, and shot him anyway. By all accounts it seems he had too sweet a soul to survive this brutal era. Sinn was only 40 years old when he is believed to have died.
His old singing partner Ros Sereysothear also vanished during the regime. One rumor maintains that Pol Pot forced her to marry one of his assistants, who routinely abused her. Others imply that she died in a labor camp or was executed.
Yeah, I know – not exactly a storyin keeping with the holiday spirit. But Americans taking their liberty for granted is a well-worn cliché by now, and all too often it takes stories like these to sort of snap us into reality. We live in a country where singers, poets, artists, writers and moose hunters are free to express their thoughts and feelings through their talents and creativity without fear of imprisonment or torture. Think about how lucky we are.
The simple shock we experience when hearing tragic tales like the fate of Sinn Sisamouth – and the songs haunting us afterward in a foreign tongue -- remind us how alien such circumstances may be for most of us.
LOSER OF THE WEEK: Then on the other extreme we have Stephon Marbury, the $22 million-dollar point guard for the New York Knickerbockers. Here’s a man who has made an absolute fortune playing a game, and when asked to suit up to help out his teammates, he refused.
There’s a reason Marbury has never won an NBA championship. There’s a reason Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Marbury’s ex-teammate Kevin Garnett have. Chances are, Marbury will never figure that out in time to actually call himself a winner.
D. Allan Kerr has never understood how despots like Pol Pot can finish out their lives without ever having to face the consequences of their horrific actions. Kerr may be reached at the_culling@hotmail.com.
47 comments:
Foreigners in Cambodia and around the world recognize Mr. Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Sereysothea, Pov Vannary for their beautiful songs.
After listening to just a few songs we know that their music is equal to the best of any country.
yes, these extraordinary talented khmer singers of the golden era of the "sangkom reastr niyom" are comparable to any worldly famous artists anywhere in the world, if only people get to know them and their works. they were the best of the best that cambodia had produced, perhaps unmatched of in cambodia history. i just hope and praise that cambodia can produce more of these talented people like in those happy days. they are sorely missed by the people of cambodia. imagine, only if they were still living today, of how much more records of beautiful songs they can produce! unimaginable, to say the least. may their good spirit help to guide cambodia in the right direction in future to come. god bless cambodia.
Meas Soksophea is a young talented singer who does well in the kind of songs that were done by Ms. Ros Sereysothea. Sok Sophea does not just have a great voice, but her nice sentimental acts and physical appearance also complimet and complete the package. She melts me every time I watch and listen to her singing performance!
The credits are due to those who wrote those beautiful music and songs in the good old days.
good to hear this. yes, talented singers can't do it all alone; there were bery talented group of men and women too who contributed to the a good song like the instrument players, the conductor, the song writer, the teacher, etc..., etc... yes, everyone helped to make it a big hit. and all of them deserve credit as well. i hope cambodia will with the help of people who adore them and love the music industry to encourage more young khmer artists, performers, singers, etc... to come out to show their god given talent so, they too could perhaps replace these great people of the last generation. i think when people have natural or even trained talent, they will be famous and rich without much afford. people will become fans and support them and be drawn to them like water flowing form the high mountain slope down to the low valley bellow, naturally speaking. god bless cambodia.
what did sin sisamouth, ros sereysothea, pen ron, etc... do that the KR regime hated them and had them killed? where is the justice for all those who perished under the stupid KR regime?
The communist KR hated stars, singers,actors and intellectuals the most.
They want to kill especialy Sin Sisamouth because , in one of his song, he said tha Sihanouk was the traitor of the nation and worked for the vietcong.
"singh aeng sass eiy? ban chea euv chuoss mao tse tung..."
singh aeng sass eiy
was a song of Som Neang Rithy who was
one of Khmer Song Writer.
He had wrotten so many songs until he died in KR regime.
The best way to go back like Mr.Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Sereysothea's time is up to our current Khmer song-writers. The modern songs make really short meaning, some have no any meaning all at. It goes just with the flo.
No any meaning to support our Khmer culture, not educate Khmer society at all. So, I would point out to all any Khmer Son-Writer, if you write a song which has no meaning, not educate Khmer society, please DO NOT put in the public and Khmer society. It makes our Khmer Society down.
Thank you for your consideration. It is very important for Khmer culture both inside and outside country.
Look at Khmer Movie: Kror-Mom-Chol-Mlop. It made no meaning at all, but instead, it makes Khmer culture down. Movie describes all about Khmer women bertay their own husband. This is not right movei to sell in the public. The meaning of Kror-Mom-Chol-Mlop makes is about a purity Khmer girl follow with Khmer culure, but this movie all about Khmer women betray the husbands. This is bad for Khmer Society.
TO 4:15 AM
I think the song "I'm died but my soul still alive" was written by sin sisamouth himself.
The songwriters now, like kheave samphet, are nothing but immature and money makers, they just copy thai, english, chinese stuff, translated into khmer, then get preap sovath, meng pichta, etc to sing and jump like idiots on stages.
most of the time, i switch off, vomitting, running to hopsital after watching a few minutes.
Sin Sisamouth is unequalled and irreplaceable. He he a Cambodian icon. It is sad that he has died tragically under the hands of his fans- the barbaric Khmer Rouge. May his soul rest in peace.
There is a documentary about the Cambodian music talents during the late 1960's-1970's era Cambodia. I think the documentary is in post-production status. But here is the link to the website:
http://cambodianrock.com/
oh...and here're the link to the official trailer for that documentary called "Don't Think I've Forgotten" about 1960's-mid 1970's Cambodian music scene.
http://cambodianrock.com/trailer/trailer-large.htm
It is wonderful to hear that many people still like the songs in the 1960's and 70's. As a young Cambodian, I also like those songs. Most of them are not only entertaining but also educating and inspiring.
Unfortunately, some of those songs have been sung by the contemporary singers like Preb Sovath, Noy Vannet, etc. in which they tried to change the melody and also the lyric.
I think those songs are the heritage for Cambodia; therefore, we must preserve them. The re-singing by the recent artists will ruin the authentic values of those songs and there will the problem of the identity of the singers for the next generation.
Chanroeun, Canberra
It is a generational issue. Even in the US, old songs got re-mixed and sung by new, young singers.
As long as credits are appropriately given, it is an honor to have both young and old people remember what was good. I have to admit, some of the young singers now can be just as good.
The challenges we have now is to have song writers and music composers that can continue the legacy with their own creativity.
Any Khmer who do well in any kind will be execute do to the ennemie plan who wanted to swallow Khmer's land. It's happen up to now a day don't you see??? If you want to save Khmer you all got to be together. It's kind sad I don't see the educated Khmer get along well than CPP who don't have any high education. Why??? You all should rethink ten times more. You all got to put our Country fisrt in mind not just self power.
does anyone know if there's any live documentary about sin sisamouth, ros sereysothea, pen ron, etc? it's hard to believe that there are no live concert or live video on these famous singers in thos days. don't they film them while they sing and dance? i sure like to see them because i'm was very little when these singers were still alive. i'd to see they dance and sing on stage live. does anyone have any movie clip or videa tape to show sin sisamouth, ros sereysothea, pen ron, huy meas, etc while they were performing? if so, i like to buy a copy to keep for my classic khmer collection. thank you.
don't forget ms. so savoeun was one of these talented singers from the contemporary of ros seresothea, sin sisamouth, pen ron era. in fact, she was fortunate enough to escape the KR and still alive living in france. i'm wondering why she doesn't sing anymore? in fact, she has one of the most beautiful khmer singer voice, perhaps second only to ros sereysothea. i like her and i'm one of her fans as well. but i never get to see her singing and dance all my live. is she alright? how's her singing career these days? she used to sing duet with sin sisamouth and group singing with ros sereysothea, pen ron, meas samon, etc... i like to know her biography as well. does anyone know anything about her? i'm interested to know about her life and singing career. thank you.
and what about ms. sien dee. she was anothe famous and talented khmer singers even before ros sereysothea became famous. she also escaped and spared from the KR and is still living today. does anyone know anything about her as well. a few of her songs are well known and famous as well. is she still singing? does anyone know? thank you.
I used the sneak out of class and peek to see Ms So Saveun practicing with her Dontrei Yothea Phirum when I was in primary school. They used to practice in an apartment on Nehru Blvd near Kampuchea Krom street and Darasastr private high school. She was good with folksy type songs, especially "saravann" songs. Both she and Mr Meas Samon sang for the same band.
Var Sarun was a newer singer at the time (early 1970's) from the band of First Infantry Brigade. He used to sing rock and Santana's songs. Ou Laraing, another rock singer was with Infantary Batallion 13 band.
I admire Sin Sisamouth a great deal for his uncomparable talent: he composed hundreds of songs that he himself could find beautiful ways of singing to please most of the old and the young liteners.
to 8.50 am re Sien Dee (Sieng Dy) - i was surprised to see Sieng Dy at a party in Phnom Penh in 1994. i heard she has links with the royal family. Her voice is often mistaken for Keo Montha and vice versa.
I wonder what Cambodia could become like if there were no Vietnam War and the Khmer Rouge...
i saw ms. sieng dy too in 2002 on a live tv show in phnom penh with ms. dy saveth. they both are still very beautiful considered their age now. but i never get to see ms. so savoeun, yet. i'm interested in reading about the khmer past famous people and stars, if anyone can share what they know or saw would be greatly appreciated here as well. thank you.
to each generation its own heroes. for those who grew up (doeng k'dey) between 1970-75 it's Ros Sereysothea, Pen Ron and Peou Vannary who are their idols. musically i believe that was a period of decline for Khmer pop, just as our society was going through the meat grinder. there was wholesale borrowing of international pop tunes, like now there's even more mindless imitations. And i say this with the greatest sympathy - but our artists had to borrow to produce abundantly and stave off poverty.
my school was behind the ministry of information (krasuong khosnakar, a stone throw from today's brand new US embassy compound). i used to see these artists coming and going and blare out their songs in the studio as they taped their work for the national radio. Back in 1967 or so i witness Im song seum having a fracas with others, including Chea Savoeun at the corner where they sell toeuk kork chouss and sach ko aing. bottles were thrown around. bad boys with great voices!
Contemporary and rock music are shared worldwide. However, the Sisamouth and Sereysothea era was remarkable because despite many copied tunes, the musicians from that era were still creative and able to write and produce many of quality and uniquely Khmer songs and tunes.
As a person who was in the generation that looked up to those artists for inspiration in music, I can also accept and enjoy the quality of some of our current young Cambodian singers. I appreciate the fact that some of them are actually able to evoke my memerories and emote my feeling by beautifully rendering the old songs (minus the cheesy karaoke background scenes, of course.) I understand the financial desparation and needs that lead to the sloppy reproduction.
Samouth was indeed quite versatile in reaching out to successive generations of listeners until his untimely death. the trouble was (as has been said of some past indian politicans) that under a bodhi tree, nothing much can grow. and that was exactly the case with Samouth. when Sothea achieved fame, she kind of influence every other female khmer artists towards this very high pitch singing, underlined by reverbing guitars. a bit hard to say that that's native khmer culture! i'm however thinking of talents like Ta Salouth, Saram Pak, Saing Sarun, Chek Mach, Pouthao Day, etc.. who eked out a living doing what they loved to do. And how talented they were, yet unrecognised because modern youths at the time enjoyed "modern" artists like Samouth, Sothea etc... in my youth i watched my dad entranced by the chapey singing of Pouthao Day. i now understand why, and how beautiful the art of improvisation is.
If one is the one who love music and singers of the old days, one must bear to listen (traom sdabb)to Sieng Dy singing!
Yes, 10:15 AM, the music of Sisamouth and Sereysothea are not purely native of Khmer culture, but even the arts of chapey playing and lakhaon bassak of of Saing Sarun could also have been influenced by other cultures who passed through ancient Cambodia as well. For me, I like all kinds music, particularly, any tunes and lyrics that my senses and soul. And naturally, the younger people now like to listen to noisy, high bass, fast beat. However, some of them also appreciate jazz or classical, just as I sometimes also enjoy chapey or tror sounds.
I believe the young artists of today can grow their own proverbial "bodhi" tree one day if they are truely dedicated to the art and stretch their creative mind further.
continued from 12:35 PM
it was not necessary that both Sereysothea and Sisamouth had the best vocals, but it was about the whole package of good music that was connected to events and time that profoundly affected my generation. These Americans and Westerners somehow share a bit of the history of that era. The good time of rock-and-roll and the Vietnam War and the tragic story of Cambodia inexorably created this connection.
Only, if Khmer of today speak the way Mr. Sinn Sisamouth had spoken. Remember his voice had influented the way high school and college student spoke during the 60's and 70's across Cambodia. It was the best influence ever I thought. Whose man wouldn't want to sound like him? My dad is in his late 60's at the present time,his voice still remind me very much of how Cambodian people spoke back then. I think that his is astounding. A great Cambodian men's voice. I always admire him. He also happened to be Mr. Sinn Sisamouth's class mate back in the late 50's. Today, I come across few people speak like my dad and mostly younger men. Sorry... guys..you're missing class and politeness. May be you have lost your great influence or the greatest men in your life ( your father ) thru pol pot era, but keep working at it and never forget their wonderful way of speaking. You can do it. The lead vocal in men of Mayura Production hits the home run. His is just marvelous! May be it wouldn't such a bad idea trying to immitate him. You'll never know who will be your next leading lady and good luck!
Of all the today singers i love only CHHORM CHORPUM.She's petit,very beautiful,good singer.I am so in love with her.My question is ,is she single ?
The oldies of sin Sisamuth, Ros Sereysothea, Meas Samon, In Yen, touch Sambath, Eng Nary Pen Rom an and...are so ice when hear to them. If we were tiered from work and when wehave heard all of those songs we allways relaxed and we fell free.But what I dislike e.g. the remix of all those songs from some producr like: ChlangDen and more.they destroyed of those songs. It is too stupid that pepeole can not keep the originall. And if you want tolisten tothe song you would get a hesdache.SHAME ON YOU CHANG DEN AND CO.
Agreed with 4:23!
Samples from Meas Soksophea - I love this singer so much!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzn9qTnmeKw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uhK7jTS3TQ&feature=related
I love music. It doesn't matter from what country or where they were made as long as it sounds good to my ears, but at the end of the day, it was this man's music that really rescue me. I would play " I love you 365 days a year" by of course our greatest singer Mr. Sinn Sisamouth and tell my husband that it was him singing it to me. We both ended up looking at the bed and see whose will get there first? Now that is a realy really good music! love it! love it so much and forever :)
8:50 PM,
I wish my lady life-partner is so musically affected. I have a huge collection of Mr. Sisamouth's love songs! I have to then listen to these lady singers and take the initiative...
TO 4:23PM - i couldn't agree more to your post. i find Chlangden's so called work quite obtuse (translation: DUMB) because they add this totally "chhkorng" (incongruous) drumming that sticks out like a migraine. if they only respected the original copies and try & improve their clarity etc.. that would have been a huge credit to them. Elsewhere, remember Song Seng Horn's work in the mid 1990's with many of her songs inspired by Mao Sareth's old hits. i wish she comes back to sing again because she has that pathos so distinctive of our classic stars ranging from, yes Mao Sareth, to Chhunn Vanna and Huy Meas. Please come back and teach younger khmers how to sing!
yes, Chlang Den's work is the most grotesque...
i know, acording to by parents (thank god both of them had survived the KR era and living) khmer society in the 1950, 1960s and up until the KR took over were very polite and respectful. however, since the KR time, our khmer society had changed, good or bad is up to the individual interpretor. according to my parents (mom was teacher, dad was md), they had very fond memories of cambodia of the 1960s. they said, there were no fear of crime, even for my mom to walk the streets of phnom penh at night. of course, that has changed since the KR times already.
anyway, what i love most about these talented singers are their beautiful, clear, fluent khmer voices when they sing. so, for me, when i want to learn khmer, i listen to their beautiful singing voices which is full of excitement. in those days, khmer society were very selective and picky, even in career choices like singing, acting, etc... you almost have to be very talented and have beautiful voices for you to sing and become famous like sin sisamouth, ros sereysothea, pen ron, so savoeun, etc... same with acting on screen. but nowadays, it's not so much of beauty anymore; it's more of talent and skillful. god bless.
It's understandable that a singer such as Sin Sisamouth had better measured up to the par. Why? Check out his famous fan such Princess Bopha Devi. When she was young and striking, this beautiful Princess was his notorious #1 fan. Therefore leading him to produce his #1 hit song " Devi Kampuchea ". Find that out and enjoy!
No one can measure up to Loke Sin Sisamouth! I wish i had lived among his time...just to sit and listen to him singing. He's truely the king and is greatly missed among us all. My daughters are only 5 years old and are already adoring his music. I make sure that they know who this great man is.
Meas Sok Sophea is not possible to compare with Ms. Ros Serey Sothea!
Ms. Sothea's voice is very clear and when I'm listening to her voice I imagine she is very beautiful woman.
For Meas Sok Sophea I did not feel that!
Ms. Sothea's voice is match with Mr. Sinn Sisamouth.
You cann't compare Ros Serisothea to anyone in our land. Not yet. You just cann't. She stood out above the crowd and good enough to be the one and only. Same goes with Neang Huy Meas. Huy Meas ruled the talking soap opera in the evening on the radio when Ros Serisothea became famous. She had a very lovely Princess's voice, but did a better job talking than singing or at least our people prefered Ms. Sothea most for singing at the time. She just charmed the pants out of everyone and by doing duet with Lok Sin Sisamouth, everyone else just had to move over!
In the pass, the best singer that might be came close to Ms. Serisothea was Ms. Chek Mach. She was the star of Lkoun Basak. Chek Mach regularly sang and stared opposit of Lok Sang Sarun, but never in popular music.
Today, there is none. Not even Ms.Touch Sunich.
Want to hear someone with sweet- gentle and beautiful woman's voice like Ms. Sothea or Ms. Huy Meas? Try Oliver Newton John and Mandy Moore of the United States or Alexandra Bounzuxei of Loas. Our people have yet to produce someone very special like all of those women above. Still waiting...
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