Taipei, June 23 (CNA) Musicians across the Chinese-language world will gather in Taipei on Saturday to vie for the top honors at the annual Golden Melody Awards, the biggest music awards show in Taiwan.
Many viewers are expected to tune in to see some of the biggest names in the Mandarin music scene as well as the star-studded performances and tributes to music legends.
This year's performers include pop diva A-mei, Japanese rock band GLAY, and Taiwanese rock band Mayday, which is leading Golden Melody nominees with eight nods.
A-mei will perform several songs by Chang Yu-sheng, including "Miss You Everyday," as a tribute to the late singer-songwriter, who was posthumously named a recipient of the Special Contribution Award in May.
The tribute to Chang is expected to draw much attention, as Chang is regarded to be one of the most talented artists of Mandarin music with his diverse musical styles, wide vocal range and avant-garde music composition.
Chang, who produced A-mei's first two albums, was credited for helping launch the pop diva's successful music career. He died at the age of 31 in a car accident in 1997.
The other special contribution award will be given to 81-year-old Taiwanese singer Chi Lu-shyia, who has released more than 1,000 Mandarin and Hokkien-language songs since the 1950s.
In the awards competition, Mayday's album "History of Tomorrow" leads the nominees with eight nods, followed by Eve Ai's "Talk About Eve," with seven nods, and Taiwanese band No Party for Cao Dong's debut album "The Servile," which had six nominations.
"History of Tomorrow" is Mayday's 9th studio album and their first one in close to five years. Formed in the late 1990s, the band is known for its roots as a student band and for capturing the spirit of Taiwanese youth. Dubbed the "Chinese Beatles," the five-member band has grown to become one of the most famous in the Chinese-speaking world.
Ai, 30, began her music career in 2011 after winning the talent show "Super Idol," where she was dubbed by a judge as "Taiwan's Adele." "Talk About Eve" is her third studio album.
No Party for Cao Dong, considered a "dark horse" contestant this year, has been touted for the dynamic energy in their music. Its album "The Servile" has been said to reflect the voices of the frustrated young generation who suffer from low wages and a lack of opportunities.
"History of Tomorrow" and "Talk About Eve" will compete in the category of Best Album in Mandarin, along with Khalil Fong's "Journey to the West," Guo Ding's "The Silent Star Stone," Waa Wei's "Run! Frantic Flowers!" and Xu Jun's "Million Songs Hill."
In the category of Best Female Vocalist-Mandarin, Ai and Wei will be up against competitors Jia Jia, Ellen Loo, Faith Yang, and Miss Ko. Yang has previously won the award in 2000, while Miss Ko, a Taiwanese-American singer, is the first rapper to compete in the category.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese Mandopop king Jay Chou will be vying for his third win in the category of Best Male Vocalist-Mandarin. He will be pitted against Fong, Guo, Namewee, Crowd Lu, Yoga Lin and Dwagie.
Another closely watched award is the Album of the Year, a new category that was created this year to select the best album, regardless of whether it's in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka or indigenous languages.
A total of 24 titles will compete in the category, including all nominated titles for Best Album in Mandarin, Best Album in Taiwanese, Best Album in Hakka and Best Album in an Aboriginal Language, as well as "The Servile" and Sheng-xiang band's "Village Besieged."
The awards ceremony will be held at the Taipei Arena and broadcast live by Taiwan Television Enterprise. The ceremony will be hosted by TV presenter Mickey Huang.
