Intermittent rain over Taipei couldn't dampen the atmosphere for approximately 2,000 screaming fans who turned up last night outside the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall to watch their favorite pop singers arrive at the 15th Golden Melody Awards, where Taiwanese singer Jay Chou (周杰倫) took the top honors for best album of the year.
His capturing the award came as little surprise to spectators and fans, who have watched Chou come to dominate the Chinese pop-music scene with four albums. Chou has won Golden Melody Awards each of the past three years. In accepting the award, Chou thanked his mother, after whom his winning album was named.
Much of the evening's excitement took place on the red carpet outside the venue, where the wild throng of mostly teenagers pressed against guard rails screaming at the sight of almost the entire pantheon of Mando-pop and Canto-pop stars who filed into the hall.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
For most fans, however, the Golden Melody Awards marks the high point on the Mandarin pop music calendar.
At one point, an unidentified man stormed onto the red carpet to try to confront the Korean singer Boa, who performed at the ceremony, but was immediately pushed back and after a short scuffle with security personnel, the man disappeared into the crowd.
The Golden Melody Awards -- Taiwan's equivalent of the Grammys -- recognize the best singers, bands and music professionals whose work is done in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka and Taiwan's Aboriginal languages. Nominees for the awards come from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand and are reviewed by a panel of 30 judges made up of music industry professionals.
PHOTO: TAIPIE TIMES
Along with best album, other major categories at the awards include best male and female singers, best singing group and best band.
In the night's biggest surprise, Sky Wu (
Hong Kong Mando-pop diva Faye Wong (
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Mandarin female singer for her album To Love (
As many expected, pop rock group Mayday (
The best band category, however, is the only one that recognizes work by rock 'n' roll bands. "We needed this award. It tells us that we didn't choose the wrong path in making our kind of music," A-hsin said backstage.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
The second big surprise of the evening, after Sky Wu winning the best Mandarin male singer award, came with the relatively new duo Ah-bao (
The mother of the best lyricist awardee, Shawn Song (
Peng Shui-kuang (
Popular music garners the greatest amount of attention at the awards, with 16 categories, but 10 awards are also given to artists working in religious music, children's music, and classical styles of music.
This year's awards tried to put the best face on an industry that has seen its revenues decline by almost two thirds since its peak in 1998.
The decline in album sales as a result of pirating is the most important issue facing the industry, but no mention of these ills throughout the evening's proceedings.
15th Golden MelodyAward Winners
Best Album: Yeh Huei-mei by Jay Chou (
Best musical director: Kuang Sheng (
Best instrumental album: Crystal Boys (
Best composer: Hsieh Hsiao-juan (
Best lyricist: Shawn Song (
Best arrangement: Chong Hsing-min (
Best producer: Lee Hom Wang (
Best Mandarin male singer: Sky Wu (
Best Taiwanese male singer: Chang Yu-wei (
Best Mandarin female singer: Faye Wong (
Best Taiwanese female singer: Showlen Maya (
Best Hakka singer: Xie Yu-wei (
Best Aboriginal singer: Peng Shui-kuang (
Best band: Mayday (
Best singing group: Ah-bao (
Best newcomer: Lin Junjie (
April 14 to April 20 In March 1947, Sising Katadrepan urged the government to drop the “high mountain people” (高山族) designation for Indigenous Taiwanese and refer to them as “Taiwan people” (台灣族). He considered the term derogatory, arguing that it made them sound like animals. The Taiwan Provincial Government agreed to stop using the term, stating that Indigenous Taiwanese suffered all sorts of discrimination and oppression under the Japanese and were forced to live in the mountains as outsiders to society. Now, under the new regime, they would be seen as equals, thus they should be henceforth
Last week, the the National Immigration Agency (NIA) told the legislature that more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) risked having their citizenship revoked if they failed to provide proof that they had renounced their Chinese household registration within the next three months. Renunciation is required under the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), as amended in 2004, though it was only a legal requirement after 2000. Prior to that, it had been only an administrative requirement since the Nationality Act (國籍法) was established in
With over 80 works on display, this is Louise Bourgeois’ first solo show in Taiwan. Visitors are invited to traverse her world of love and hate, vengeance and acceptance, trauma and reconciliation. Dominating the entrance, the nine-foot-tall Crouching Spider (2003) greets visitors. The creature looms behind the glass facade, symbolic protector and gatekeeper to the intimate journey ahead. Bourgeois, best known for her giant spider sculptures, is one of the most influential artist of the twentieth century. Blending vulnerability and defiance through themes of sexuality, trauma and identity, her work reshaped the landscape of contemporary art with fearless honesty. “People are influenced by
The remains of this Japanese-era trail designed to protect the camphor industry make for a scenic day-hike, a fascinating overnight hike or a challenging multi-day adventure Maolin District (茂林) in Kaohsiung is well known for beautiful roadside scenery, waterfalls, the annual butterfly migration and indigenous culture. A lesser known but worthwhile destination here lies along the very top of the valley: the Liugui Security Path (六龜警備道). This relic of the Japanese era once isolated the Maolin valley from the outside world but now serves to draw tourists in. The path originally ran for about 50km, but not all of this trail is still easily walkable. The nicest section for a simple day hike is the heavily trafficked southern section above Maolin and Wanshan (萬山) villages. Remains of
RSS