Blind 52-year-old guitarist Thanh Điền is not your average YouTube star, but 10 million viewers just couldn’t get enough of the Vietnamese talent’s acoustic guitar genius. Thanh teamed up with songbird Diễm Hương to cover 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up.” Diễm delivered some gorgeous vocals on the ‘90s alt-rock favorite, but all everyone could talk about in the comments was Thanh’s guitar skills.
Thanh plays rhythm, lead, and percussion all by himself. No looping pedals needed – he does it all on one acoustic guitar. In addition to his impressive technique, Thanh delivers a brilliant original arrangement of the song, which really shows great taste and style. The performance is also quite heartwarming as you can really see how much they both love what they do. The Music Man readers will definitely want to tune into Thanh’s show-stopping solo in the bridge at 1:40.
Thanh and Diễm make quite the duo, as their “What’s Up” performance is one of three duets from the pair that hit in excess of 10 million views on the YouTube channel Music Entertainment. Viewers raved about the performance, adding comments such as “He is playing lead, rhythm and drums at the same time. Amazing” and “This guy doesn’t need a band. He IS the band. Mind-blowing. Also we should never forget that singing in a language that isn’t your own is also a talent.”
Another of Thanh and Diễm’s viral performances is their take on Scorpions’ ballad “Still Loving You.” This cover hit 15 million views, and the enigmatic melody of the song gives plenty of room for Thanh to work his guitar magic. He also delivers the goods with a clever arrangement that builds the tension expertly as the song progresses. The Music Man has to say that Diễm also shines on this number, as it shows off her husky low register and soaring high range to great effect.
Lê Thanh Điền was a Vietnamese guitarist who often performed under the name Thanh Điền Guitar. He was born on May 4, 1967, in Cần Thơ, Vietnam, and he was 52 years old when he performed the “What’s Up” cover. He passed away at age 56 on December 25, 2023, from anemia. Thanh was born blind and learned how to play guitar at around age 10. His musical skills go beyond guitar, as he can also play mandolin and the Vietnamese traditional instruments đàn nhị and đàn nguyệt. Thanh made a living as a performer at parties and weddings. From 2017 onwards, he began scoring a number of viral videos on YouTube, which he continued to upload until 2021.