Singer-songwriter Siri Lee (李竺芯) bagged the coveted Album of the Year award at the 36th Golden Melody Awards (GMA) on Saturday with her Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) album Sui (水), a feat not seen since 1999.
“The concept of this album is a physical, psychological and spiritual adventure of women’s self-exploration,” Lee said.
However, the album is dedicated to everyone, she said, adding that it aims to encourage people to break free from society or self-imposed stereotypes.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Its title means “beautiful” or “nicely done” in Hoklo. The songs had several plays on words, with Lee delivering Hoklo lyrics that were homophonous with French and Italian phrases.
The album showcases her versatility as a singer in a range of music styles, including Japanese enka and French chanson.
The last Hoklo album to win the award was Lonely Tree, Lonely Bird (樹枝孤鳥) by rocker Wubai (伍佰), and his band, China Blue, in 1999.
Photo: Billy Dai, AP
Sui also won best Taiwanese album and Lee was named Best Female Taiwanese singer.
Meanwhile, AAA, a collaborative album by Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster (落日飛車) and South Korean band Hyukoh, also took home three awards: Best Vocal Album Recording, Best Album Design and Best Music Video for the song Antenna.
Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was posthumously awarded the jury award for his The Dreamer (夢想家) album. His friend and mixing engineer Eric Lau accepted the award on his behalf.
Photo: Billy Dai, AP
The Dreamer was mostly recorded by Fong at home while he was in poor health, capturing his reflections on life.
Singer-songwriter Waa Wei (魏如萱) bagged the Best Female Mandarin Singer award, while Lu Shih-hsuan (呂士軒), also known as Trout Fresh, won Best Male Mandarin Singer and Best Mandarin Album with his album Good Sound With Attitudes (好聲豪氣).
The Best New Artist award went to rapper “someshiit” (山姆), whose real name is Hsueh Jung-hsuan (薛融暄), for his album A Fool (愚公).
Duo Power Station (動力火車) clinched their second GMA win, getting the Best Vocal Group award with their Always With You (Deluxe Edition) (「結伴」豪華版) album.
Weng Xiao-liang (翁孝良), a renowned figure in the Taiwanese music industry, and late singer-songwriter Ma Chao-chun (馬兆駿) were honored with the Special Contribution Award.
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