By Jocelle Koh
The Golden Melody Awards this year was an unconventional one; with social distancing and masks galore firmly in place during the proceedings. But this was not the only trend that made the night memorable. Aside from stunning stage decor and performances by the likes of 9m88 and OZI, Hebe Tien and Fish Leong, there was a heartening amount of diversity on display in this years’ winners’ list.
Aboriginal powerhouse Abao took home three much-deserved awards for her groundbreaking album ‘Kinaikaian’, including the most coveted ‘Album of the Year’ award, and Taiwanese folk singer Hsieh Ming-Yu went home with two, in the ‘Best Lyricist’ and ‘Best Single Producer’ category. Hakka chanteuse Misa took over the Hakka category with her stunning album ‘THE SHIP OF FOOLS’ with two wins in Best Hakka Album and Best Hakka Vocalist.
The night also saw indie darling Waa Wei 魏如萱 win for the first time ever (despite consistent nominations) in the Best Mandarin Female Vocalist category for her painstakingly beautiful album ‘Hidden, Not Forgotten’, while effortlessly making her debut as host of the evening. Sodagreen (now Oaeen) frontman Wu Qing Feng also notably took home the ‘Best Mandarin Male Vocalist’ award for his debut solo work ‘Spaceman’, with the sweet Joanna Wang winning ‘Best Mandarin Album’ for her milestone record ‘Love is Calling’.
Vocal Awards
Album of the Year
kinakaian 母親的舌頭／ELEVENZ PRODUCTION & PUBLISHING CO., LTD. (Artist：Abao阿爆（阿仍仍）)
Song of the Year
Thank You 感謝《kinakaian 母親的舌頭》／ELEVENZ PRODUCTION & PUBLISHING （ELEVENZ MUSIC十一音樂）﹙ Artist：Abao 阿爆（阿仍仍）﹚
Best Mandarin Album
Love is Calling愛的呼喚／Sony Music Taiwan (Artist：Joanna Wang王若琳)
Best Taiwanese Album
Makeover/Tsong-Hong裝潢／HOVE (Artist：LTK Commune濁水溪公社)
Best Hakka Album
THE SHIP OF FOOLS戆仔船 ／Foothills Folk LLC (Artist：Misa米莎)
Best Aboriginal Album
kinakaian 母親的舌頭／ELEVENZ PRODUCTION & PUBLISHING CO., LTD. (Artist：Abao阿爆（阿仍仍）)
Best Music Video
Red 紅《Somewhere in time, I love you我肯定在幾百年前就說過愛你》／B’tween Music﹙Director：Yin Chen Hao殷振豪﹚
Best Composer
Jen Jen余佩真／The Wedding昏你 feat. Luantan Ascent 乱彈阿翔《Jen Jen真真》／AsiaMuse ﹙Artist：Jen Jen余佩真﹚
Best Lyricist
Hsieh Ming-Yu 謝銘祐／Road路《Road路》／KAWA Music Co. Ltd.﹙Artist：Hsieh Ming-Yu謝銘祐﹚
Best Arrangement
KOBUDO 古武道／Ikusa戰《Hypnocity失物之城》／Ice Studios Inc﹙Artist：Peggy Hsu許哲珮﹚
Best Album Producer
Sandee Chan陳珊妮／Juvenile A／Hele Music ﹙Artist：Sandee Chan陳珊妮﹚
Best Single Producer
Hsieh Ming-Yu謝銘祐／Road路《Road路》／KAWA Music Co. Ltd.﹙Artist：Hsieh Ming-Yu謝銘祐﹚
Best Male Mandarin Vocalist
Wu Qing Feng吳青峰／Spaceman太空人／Universal Music
Best Female Mandarin Vocalist
Waa Wei魏如萱／Hidden, Not Forgotten藏著並不等於遺忘／Sony Music Taiwan
Best Taiwanese Male Vocalist
Su Ming-Hsieh/Justin Su 蘇明淵／We all have good nature善良的歹人／Red Bean Entertainment Company Limited
Best Taiwanese Female Vocalist
Angel朱海君／Touch a star花開的時／HAO SHENG RECORD CO.,LTD.
Best Hakka Vocalist
Misa 米莎／戆仔船 THE SHIP OF FOOLS／Foothills Folk LLC
Best Aboriginal Vocalist
Ceko盧靜子／Ceko Tribute To Falangaw盧靜子 尋樂／Thirty-Seven Productions
Best Musical Group
FIRE EX滅火器（楊大正 Sam、鄭宇辰 ORio、陳敬元 JC、柯志勛 KG）／Stand Up Like A Taiwanese無名英雄／FIRE ON MUSIC
Best Vocal Collaboration
Chick en Chicks（Chicken Tsai蔡奇龍；Kartina Flavia Hai）／Beat Maker作弊人生／Copy & Paste Music Production Ltd.
Best Newcomer
Chih Siou持修／Elephant In The Room房間裡的大象／Mei Entertainment
Instrumental Awards
Best Instrumental Album
Ciao Bella／Feeling Good Music Co.﹙Performer：Sam Su蘇聖育；Doris Lin林冠良；Mike Tseng曾增譯﹚
Best Album Producer
Non-Confined Space 非／密閉空間／Flow, Gesture, and Spaces／Paradise Records﹙Performer：Non-Confined Space 非／密閉空間﹚
Best Composer
Ken Ohtake 大竹研／Okinawa《Ken》／Foothills Folk LLC﹙Performer：Ken Ohtake 大竹研﹚
Best Album Graphic
Ho Chia-Hsing何佳興／Awakening海光之聲／Lu Wei Hua Kai
Best Vocal Recording Album Award
The Younger Me 少年／Rock Records
（Main Recording Engineers：Wilson Teng 鄧緯聖、Zach Hung 洪浚程／Main Mixing Engineer：Jerry Lin 林正忠、Keller Wang 王俊傑（小K）／Main Mastering Post-Production Engineer：Sun Chung Shu 孫仲舒）
Best Instrumental Recording Album Award
鍾興民作品集 Initial Value／Goahead Music Co., Ltd.
（Main Recording Engineers：Li Yuesong 李岳松、Wang Jia Dong 王家棟／Main Mixing Engineer：Baby Chung 鍾興民／Main Mastering Post-Production Engineer：Bernie Grundman）
Jury Award
City Zoo摩天動物園《City Zoo摩天動物園》／Sony Music Taiwan﹙ Artist：G.E.M.鄧紫棋﹚
Special Contribution Award
Rich Huang黃瑞豐
