Jay Chou (周杰倫) and Hong Kong’s Eason Chan (陳奕迅) swept the top awards at the 20th Golden Melody Awards on Saturday night, as organizers paid tribute to late pop legend Michael Jackson with a round of applause.
Chou won Best Male Singer for his 2008 album Magic Jay Station, as well as Song of the Year and Best Music Video, while Chan clinched Mandarin Album of the Year for Don’t Want to Let Go.
Chou, a 30-year-old Taiwanese pop star, however, didn’t show up for the ceremony and instead sent collaborator Gary Yang (楊瑞代) to collect his trophies.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“Jay wanted me to say that it’s very cool that besides his music, his video work is also honored,” Yang said.
Chan, who lost to Chou in the Best Male Singer category, appeared surprised that he had won best album. He said he felt honored to receive the prize from “my idol,” referring to presenter Jacky Cheung (張學友), one of the biggest names in Chinese pop, as his fans chanted “Eason.”
Organizers also paid tribute to Jackson — who died on Thursday in Los Angeles, California — with host Momoko Tao (陶晶瑩) asking the audience to give him a round of applause.
“I believe many of the singers attending today’s ceremony were influenced by him,” she said.
Sandee Chan (陳珊妮), who started her career as a composer, clinched Best Female Singer for the album If There Is One Thing That’s Important.
“I don’t think I’m someone with a naturally gifted voice or someone who knows how to sing very well, but I spent a lot of time trying to do a good job at singing,” she said.
Cheung sang his 1993 hit Farewell Kiss, which was voted by fans as the most popular song to compete in the first 10 Golden Melody Awards ceremonies.
South Korea’s Super Junior drew wild shrieks at the 15,000-capacity Taipei Arena with their fast-paced hit songs It’s You and Sorry, Sorry. The 13-member boy band donned white suits with black dress shirts and danced in unison.
Ouyang Fei Fei (歐陽菲菲) — known for her Tina Turner-like disheveled hairdo and successful Japanese recording career — and veteran Hong Kong singing trio Grasshopper also performed.
The Special Achievement prize went to Rock Records’ Sam Duann (段鍾潭).
The founder of one of Chinese pop’s most respected labels held aloft a yellow banner that said “Long Live Music.”
The Jury Prize was awarded to a compilation of covers of songs by famed Taiwanese folk singer Li Shuang-ze (李雙澤).
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS