2006-06-11 / Tanya wins Golden Melody award
The Singaporean is named best female Mandarin singer at glittering ceremony in Taipei
By Foong Woei Wan
SINGAPORE'S Tanya Chua, 31, has won the Golden Melody Award for best female Mandarin singer for her album Amphibian.
It was the first win at one of the biggest events in Chinese music for the singer-songwriter, who started out in English-language pop in the 1990s.
She beat strong competition at the glittering ceremony in Taipei last night from fellow Singaporean Stefanie Sun as well as Malaysia's Penny Tai and Fish Leong and Taiwan's Cheer Chen.
The best male Mandarin singer award went to Chinese-American pop star Wang Lee Hom for his record, Heroes Of Earth.
As Wang's name was announced at the ceremony at the Taipei Arena, his fans in the audience - mostly young women - shrieked with joy.
Taiwan's David Tao won the best Mandarin pop album award for The Great Leap 2005.
One top winner was Kimbo, an aboriginal singer and social activist who took two prizes - for song of the year and best lyricist - for Pacific Wind.
Also known as Hu Defu and nicknamed Taiwan's Bob Dylan, he was popular in the 1970s. But he spent the past few decades fighting for the rights of Taiwan's minorities and released his first solo record, In A Flash, only last year.
Taiwanese indie pop star Cheer Chen's album, Adventure, was another major winner. Her collaborators went home with the best album producer and best music video director prizes.
Malaysian singers had a good night too. Tai won for best composer for Crazy Love, while Lim Yee Chung was named best new artist.
Accepting her award from Sun, a teary-eyed Chua thanked her fellow nominees as well as her mother, who was in the audience. 'My mum got her Mother's Day gift today,' she said.
A highlight of the show was when Wang won. In a mix-up last year, he had gone on stage to accept an award after presenter Karen Mok misread the name of the winner, Stanley Huang Li-hsing.
When he won this time, he praised presenters Mok and Huang for their Mandarin pronunciation.
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