Taipei: Legendary Singaporean singer Tanya Chua has won four top prizes at Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards, one of the most prestigious entertainment events in the Chinese-speaking world.
Chua, whose debut album was the English-language "Bored" in 1997 and whose breakthrough Mandarin record was "Tanya" in 1999, won Album of the Year for "Department", as well as Best Mandarin Album, Best Mandarin Female Vocalist and Best Vocal. album recording.
At a late Saturday night ceremony, Chua expressed some surprise that more than two decades after her debut, people were still enjoying her music.
"To be honest, I think I've been singing for many years. I'm very afraid people will get bored of it," she said, bringing her mother as a plus one to the ceremony in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung.
In a surprise, Chinese rocker Cui Jian, whose song "Nothing to My Name" became an anthem for student protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, won the award for Best Mandarin Male Singer. He was not there in person and a message of thanks was read out to him on stage.
While Taiwan only has 23 million people, its music scene has a major influence in the Chinese-speaking world, not only in China, but among the diaspora, thanks to creativity unhindered by censorship.
The Golden Melody Awards celebrate not only Mandopop but also singing artists in Taiwan – also known as Hokkien – Hakka and indigenous languages, a view of the government's efforts to promote languages ??other than Mandarin signal.
Song of the Year by the band EggplantEgg went to the Taiwanese-language track "Oh Love, You're Much Greater Than I Imagined".
The award for Best Indigenous Singer was won by 83-year-old Ose Hong, an ethnic Amis from Taiwan's eastern County Huilien. He gave his acceptance speech in his native language, which was translated for him into Mandarin.