“Listen to your heart,” Thanh Bui says when asked what advice he’d give a young artist starting out. “Don’t be afraid to dream, you can do anything. And don’t be afraid to break stereotypes.” \r \r Thanh knows all about that. In 2008, he became the first Australian of Vietnamese background to reach the Top 10 on Australian Idol.\r \r In 2009, Thanh collaborated with Grammy-award winning producers such as Charlie Midnight (James Brown, Britney Spears), Jim Marr (Hilary Duff, Anthony Callea), Michael Jay (Eminem, Kylie, Celine Dion), Andy Goldmark (Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Paige, Michael Bolton) in a 3 month songwriting trip. Once again in 2010, Thanh Bui travels to L.A/Canada to write with other award-winning producers and writers.\r \r Thanh was born in Adelaide and moved to Melbourne when he was seven. Three years later, after seeing Michael Jackson perform at the Grammy Awards, he began lessons in classical piano and voice. “My parents worked 100-hour weeks to give me the opportunity to do what I love doing.”\r \r Along with Michael Jackson, Thanh considers Stevie Wonder as one of his idols – “an amazing vocalist, writer and musician” – and his mum and dad, who came to Australia as refugees after the Vietnam War. “To hear their story, when it was literally life and death, puts everything into perspective,” Thanh says. \r \r Thanh found fame in Asia in the Australian group North, who released two albums – 2004’s self-titled set (on Universal) and 2006’s Straight Up (on EMI). They had three number one hits in Thailand and Indonesia, and two chart-toppers in Malaysia. North toured Asia twice, and also did the Commonwealth Games song I Am Strong. \r \r Thanh and his North band mate Alfred Tuohey formed the production company Yin Yang Productions. Working with some of Australia's leading singers (Dean Geyer, Paulini) and having written songs for chart-topping albums in Japan and Korea, Thanh recently received his first gold album from Germany after working with teen sensation Jimi Blue. Recently, Thanh’s song License to Thrill was picked up by American MTV series The Real World. \r \r Other than his singing career, Thanh also runs a successful talent school in Melbourne - the International Artist Academy, the home to more than 100 students. He says being a singing teacher “is one of the best jobs in the world”. \r \r What can one expect from his upcoming album? Thanh's debut solo album is a reflection of his life. "I can't categorize the music into any genre - it's a bit of soul/pop with edge combined with a mixture of organic and electronic sounds.”\r \r As ’80s legend Cyndi Lauper said, “Thanh needs to experience a lot of things, but he’s on his way.”\r \r 2010 has been an incredibly exciting year for Thanh. It sees him release his first single in Vietnam, ‘Lang Tham Mot Tinh Yeu’, featuring superstar Ho Ngoc Ha and also featuring the song in the film ‘De Mai Tinh’ releasing on 23 April 2010. Thanh is also working on the complete album for Vietnam as well as his English record set for release at the end of this year. As a songwriter this year, he has had over 10 cuts worldwide with song placements in the US, Australia, Japan, Russia, Hong Kong and Germany.