Singer Minh Hang’s performance at the opening of the Dancing with the Stars 2012, on March 18, used a portion of a recording by the singer Lan Anh without prior permission.

Minh Quan and Minh Hang in The Phantom of the Opera

In response to the public criticism, the programme’s organising board made an apology to Lan Anh.

“Minh Hang should not be blamed for the incident. She 'performed' the song with the help of Minh Quan, who arranged the last version used during the launch. We were not aware of the incident until it was exposed by the audience,” the board said in a statement.

At the launch, Minh Hang and Minh Quan performed an extract from The Phantom of the Opera. Despite getting a lot of attention for her performance, Minh Hang was subsequently exposed to criticism for having used Lan Anh’s recorded voice.

The organising board claimed that Minh Hang’s voice dominated the track, and that the use of Lan Anh’s vocals were just aimed to complement Minh Hang for the climax. Lan Anh’s voice was taken from a recording made with Minh Quan.

Minh Quan also admitted that he alone decided to add Lan Anh’s voice in Minh Hang’s recording.

Quan explained that he had advised Minh Hang to perform The Phantom of the Opera together, but she was afraid that her voice was inadequate for the song. He assured her that he would help to produce a good performance, which led to the lifting of the other singer's voice.

After the intense public criticism, on March 21, Minh Quan personally apologised to Lan Anh, who graciously showed forgiveness.

Organisers spoke in support of Minh Hang

Both organisers and Minh Quan apologised to Lan Anh