HCM CITY — Amateurs throwing heart and soul into their performances impressed judges more than trained counterparts from art and music schools at the Viet Nam Idol reality show auditions for the northern region.

The four days of auditioning that ended in Ha Noi on Saturday gave the judges a tough time.

"We were under high pressure and strain in making decisions in Ha Noi because there were so many competitors coming from professional art colleges," said one of the judges, composer Quoc Trung.

But, several of them "inclined towards highlighting their voice and technique, and forgot the most important thing – the feeling".

Another judge, director Quang Dung, said a lot of amateur competitors who were writers, painters, businesspeople were able to evoke more emotion within him than competitors from art schools.

Competitors who won the "golden tickets" will now enter the Theatre Round with competitors from other regions. — VNS