Splendid Moments in the 23rd Golden Melody Awards

2012年6月23日，素有中国格莱美之称的第23届金曲奖在台北小巨蛋举行。尽管近年来关于金曲奖成鸡肋的声音不绝于耳，但当晚的颁奖盛况却是惊喜不断。

All eyes were on the 23rd Golden Melody Awards—the Chinese equivalent of the Grammys—June 23rd, held at the Taipei Arena in Taiwan.

Although some say that the Golden Melody Awards have become boring in recent years, the ceremony brought many surprises. Here, we’ve picked several highlights.

No. 1 Mayday’s clean sweep

The biggest winner of this year’s Golden Melody Awards was definitely Mayday. The pop band made a clean sweep taking home six of the top honors including best band, best song and best mandarin album.

In many people’s opinions, the three?year wait for Mayday’s eighth album Second Round was totally worth it.

The five?member band has long become a legend in the Chinese music world. More importantly, they are an inspiration. Their perseverance and hard work inspire so many artists to keep making music, even under gloomy circumstances in the music industry. Their songs also inspire listeners to remain positive.

No. 2 S.H.E. steals the show

It was three?piece girl group S.H.E. who stole the show with its first performance since 2010, when Selina, suffered burn injuries in an accident.

The three members each performed their own singles, before coming together to perform a remix of the group’s hits Shero and Super Star. Selina was visibly moved as she shed tears during her performance.

Yes, it was probably the most touching moment of the night. The three members have been through a lot since their debut in 2001, especially in the past two years. So the reunion was memorable for the group and its fans.

The ten?minute performance not only showed off the achievements of the three members’ solo careers, it also announced something more exciting: S.H.E. is back.

No. 3 Luantan Ascent got the title of best male artist

The title of best male artist came as a jaw?dropping surprise. Taiwanese rocker Luantan Ascent(乱弹阿翔) beat four better?known rivals—including Eason Chan, last year’s winner Jay Chou and rising talent Yoga Lin—to be crowned best male singer.

To many people, the first reaction must be: who is Luantan Ascent?

Luantan Ascent (real name Chen Tai?xiang) is an aboriginal songwriter/producer in Taiwan. He began to step into the spotlight after winning the best original song for the film Jump! Ashin!at last year’s Golden Horse Awards.

It’s clear that the judges here want to give the audience something fresh in this category and encourage Taiwanese aboriginal singers to make mainstream music.

No. 4 Tanya Chua won the best female singer award for the third time

Singaporean singer?songwriter Tanya Chua(蔡健雅) got the best female singer award, her third win in this category in six years. Chua has equaled the record of accomplished Taiwanese singers Sarah Chen(陈淑桦) and Stella Chang(张清芳), who each have three wins to their names.

Compared with the male category, this award came with no surprise at all—even a little clichéd—because Chua has been nominated seven times for best female singer. Her competitors, such as A?Mei Chang and Stefanie Sun were strong enough to beat her.

However, the judges favored Chua. And this award, according to Chua herself, was partly a gift to her father, who passed away last year, and to whom Chua’s album Sing It Out of Love is dedicated.