On a high note: Pham Thi Huong Tram (right) duets with her coach, diva Thu Minh, during the finale of The Voice. The 18-year-old was named The Voice of Vietnam. — Photo baomoi.com

HCM CITY (VNS)– The 18-year-old girl Pham Thi Huong Tram beat three other finalists to win the first season of reality television singing competition The Voice of Vietnam at its grand finale last night in HCM City.

Tram also received a cash prize of VND500 million (nearly US$25,000) and a recording contract with Universal Republic Records.

Tram's win was not a big surprise for judges or the audience as she showed off her outstanding voice and performing skills throughout three phases: the blind audition, the battle phase, and live performance shows.

A native of Nghe An central province, Tra performed three songs, including the folk-tune song Tren Dinh Phu Van (On the Phu Van Summit), the English song Queen of the Night, and the Duong Cong (The Curve), which she duetted with her coach, singer Thu Minh.

Unlike previous rounds of the final phase, where the coaches have the right to save one contestant that had not received the public's vote that week, the result of the finale depended totally on the public's vote.

Tram said she was lucky to be born and grew up in a family with artistic tradition. She received huge support and assistance from her former folk singing father and her older brother, who is now a vocal student of the Music Academy in Ha Noi.

"Absolutely, I'm a lucky person. However, the luck won't stay with me forever. I acknowledge that I need to try my best to be able to step forward with my singing career," she said.

After the competition, Tram will join the three other finalists to travel to South Korea, where she will meet several in-vogue local artists and bands such as SNSD, DBSK. – VNS