Singaporean singer Tanya Chua took dwelling 4 high prizes at Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards, one of the crucial prestigious leisure occasions within the Chinese-speaking world.
Chua, whose first album was the English-language Bored in 1997 and whose breakthrough Mandarin document was Tanya in 1999, received album of the yr for Depart, in addition to finest Mandarin album, finest Mandarin feminine singer and finest vocal album recording.
At the ceremony late on Saturday (July 2), Chua expressed some astonishment that greater than twenty years after her debut, folks have been nonetheless having fun with her music.
“To be trustworthy I believe that I’ve been singing for a few years. I’m very afraid that individuals get tired of it,” she mentioned at the ceremony within the southern Taiwanese metropolis of Kaohsiung, having introduced her mom as her plus one.
In a shock, Chinese rocker Cui Jian, whose track Nothing To My Name turned an anthem to pupil protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, received for finest Mandarin male singer. He was not there in particular person and had a message of thanks learn out for him on stage.
While Taiwan has solely 23 million folks, its music scene has an outsized affect within the Chinese-speaking world, not solely in China however amongst the diaspora, partially as a result of creativity unhindered by censorship.
The Golden Melody Awards rejoice not solely Mandopop but additionally artistes singing in Taiwanese – also referred to as Hokkien – Hakka and indigenous languages, a visual signal of the federal government’s efforts to advertise tongues aside from Mandarin.
Song of the yr went to the Taiwanese-language Oh Love, You Are Much Greater Than I Imagined by the band EggPlantEgg.
Best indigenous singer was received by 83-year-old Osay Hongay, an ethnic Amis from Taiwan’s jap county of Hualien. She gave her acceptance speech in her native language, which was translated for her into Mandarin. – Reuters
