Tanya Chua crowned best Mandarin female singer at Golden Melody Awards

Singaporean Tanya Chua won big at the 33rd edition of Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards yesterday.

The event is known as the Chinese equivalent of the Grammy Awards.

The singer-songwriter won Best Female Singer (Mandarin) for the fourth time. This makes her the singer with the most wins in the category, beating Taiwan's A-mei, who has won three times.

Chua clinched four awards in total yesterday - her album Depart was named Best Album in Mandarin, Album of the Year and also given the award for Best Vocal Album Recording.

During her acceptance speech as Best Female Singer (Mandarin), Chua, 47, recalled that when she first entered the industry in the late 1990s, she knew how to sing only English songs.

She said: "When I tried singing Mandarin songs, I had to flip through the dictionary. At one point, I really wanted to give up."

Referring to her first Golden Melody Award win in 2006 - also in the Best Female Singer (Mandarin) category - she said: "The award saved me. It reached out its hand, told me to keep singing."

Her Best Vocal Album Recording win was unexpected, Chua said, given that the album - her 12th - was recorded with a guitar and a microphone amid the Covid-19 pandemic, when movement restrictions were still in place.

Almost 30 awards were given out at the ceremony, which took place at the Kaohsiung Arena and was hosted by veteran television host Daniel Lo.

Hush won Best Composer for his number Shadow Song. When accepting his prize, the 37-year-old, who wrote the song's melody and lyrics, thanked its arrangers, and said: "I think a song's lyrics, melody and arrangement are like a coat, coat hanger and cover. Thanks for creating a sturdy cover, so I can hang this coat in it."

Among the night's award presenters were Taiwanese diva A-lin, and Taiwanese singer ?te.

The audience was also treated to performances, such as a medley of songs by Taiwanese singers Eve Ai and Lala Hsu, including Ai's Forever Young and Hsu's Do You Dare.

AMONG THE WINNERS

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Album of the Year: Depart

Best Mandarin Album: Depart

Best Male Singer (Mandarin): Cui Jian

Best Female Singer (Mandarin): Tanya Chua

Best Album Producer: Jerry Li

Best Song Producer: Lala Hsu and Howe Chen

Best Composer: Hush

Best New Artist: Collage

Song of the Year: Oh Love, You Are Much Greater Than I Imagined, performed by EggPlantEgg