Veteran Singaporean singer Tanya Chua took home four major awards at Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards, one of the most prestigious entertainment events in the Chinese-speaking world.
Chua, whose first English album was “Bored” in 1997 and whose Mandarin record was “Tanya” in 1999, won album of the year for “Depart,” as well as best Mandarin album, best female singer in Mandarin and for Best Vocal Album Recording.
At the ceremony on Saturday night, Chua expressed his amazement that more than two decades after his debut, people were still enjoying his music.
“To be honest, I think I’ve been singing for many years. I am very afraid that people will get bored,” she said at the ceremony in the southern Taiwan city of Kaohsiung, bringing her mother as her escort.
In a surprise, Chinese rocker Cui Jian, whose song “Nothing to My Name” became an anthem for students protesting in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, won the award for best Mandarin male singer. He was not there in person and a thank you message was read to him on stage.
Although Taiwan has only 23 million inhabitants, its music scene has enormous influence in the Chinese-speaking world, not only in China but also among the diaspora, in part due to creativity that is not hindered by censorship.
The Golden Melody Awards celebrate not only mandopop, but also artists who sing in Taiwanese, also known as Hokkien, Hakka and indigenous languages, a visible sign of the government’s efforts to promote languages other than Mandarin.
The song of the year went to the Taiwanese song “Oh Love, You Are Much Greater Than I Imagined” by the band EggPlantEgg.
The award for best indigenous singer was won by Osay Hongay, 83, an Amis ethnic group from Hualien County in eastern Taiwan. She delivered her acceptance speech in her native language, which was translated for her into Mandarin.
‘ www.wionews.com ‘
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