By Matt Taylor

​It’s that time of the year again! The most prestigious music awards in the Chinese speaking world, the Golden Melody Awards, will be held at Taipei Arena on June 23, and promise to be the most spectacular to date! This, year, the ceremony will be hosted by superstar Jam Hsiao.

Since their initial broadcast in 1990, the GMA’s have strived to recognize industry leaders and innovators from Taiwan and beyond, and have been credited with being the catalysts which rocketed artists such as Mayday and Jay Chou to stardom. Last year, indie band No Party for Cao Dong 草凍咩有排隊 stormed the awards, becoming the first band ever to win the Best New Artist and Best Group awards

Leading the nominees this year are JJ Lin林俊傑 and A-Mei張惠妹, with an astounding six nominations each, for their 2017 albums Message in a Bottle and Story Thief respectively. Also seeing multiple nominations this year are Crowd Lu盧廣仲(4), Lala Hsu (4) and rock outfit Fire E.X 滅火器 (2).

​​Being rewarded for her near 30 year career is Julie Su蘇瑞芬, who at her peak in the 1980s was considered as equally popular as legendary songstress Teresa Teng. Legendary bassist Joy Kuo郭宗韶 will receive a posthumous award for his near 40 year career and services to pop music development in Taiwan.

The event will also be broadcast live on youtube on the GMA Official Youtube Channel, so wherever you are in the world, make sure to tune in!
See below for a full list of nominees.

Let us know who you think should win!

Nominations List

Major Awards

Outstanding Contribution Award 特別貢獻獎

Julie Su – 蘇瑞芬
Joy Kuo – 郭宗韶

Song of the Year 年度歌曲獎

“To Have, or Not to Have” – Lin Sheng Xiang 有無 – 林生祥
“Southbound Night Bus” – Fire EX. 長途夜車 – 滅火器
“He-R” – Crowd Lu 魚仔 – 盧廣仲
“Guan Yin Shan” – Lo Ta-you 致觀音山 – 羅大佑
“Message in a Bottle” – JJ Lin 偉大的渺小 – 林俊傑

Best Mandarin Album 最佳國語專輯獎

When I Leave Taipei – Leon Zheng 忽然有一天，我離開了台北 – 鄭興
The Inner Me – LaLa Hsu 心理學 – 徐佳瑩
C’mon In~ – Eason Chan 陳奕迅
Story Thief – aMEI 偷故事的人 – 張惠妹
Message in a Bottle – JJ Lin偉大的渺小 – 林俊傑
The Journal – Dean Ting 神經誌 – 丁世光

Music Video of the Year 最佳音樂錄音帶獎

“He’s a Space Deris from the Doomsday Prophecy” – Sandee Chan (Director: TZF) 他是末日預言中的宇宙碎片 – 陳珊妮 (導演 – TZF)
“Thai Cha Cha” – Namewee (Director: Chayanop Boonprakob) 泰國恰恰 – 黃明志 (導演 – Chayanop Boonprakob)
“The Prayer” – LaLa Hsu (Director: Bill Chia) 心理學 – 徐佳瑩 (導演 – 比爾賈)
“Waves” – Vast & Hazy (Director: Birdy Production) 與浪之間 – Vast & Hazy (導演 – 鳥兒映像製作)
“Pseudo-Single, Yet Single” – A-Lin  為單身 – A-Lin (Director: Leo, Jimmy Yao) (導演 – 廖人帥， 姚國禎)
“Yuki Onna” – Waa Wei (Director: MO) 雪女 – 魏如萱 (導演 – MO)
“Left Behind” – aMEI (Director: Lo Ging-Zim)  身後 – 張惠妹 (導演 – 羅景壬

Best Mandarin Male Singer 最佳國語男歌手獎

Xiau Yu – With You 同在 – 宋念宇
Nicky Lee – Will You Remember – 李玖哲
Eason Chan – C’mon In~ 陳奕迅
JJ Lin – Little Big Us 偉大的渺小 – 林俊傑
Haor – HOW – 許書豪

Best Mandarin Female Singer 最女人歌手獎

Amuyi – O_LOVE 呂薔
LaLa Hsu – The Inner Me 心理學 – 徐佳瑩
Faye – LittleOuterspace – 小太空 – 飛
aMEI – Story Thief 偷故事的人 – 張惠妹
Julia Peng – When I Look Back 我想念我自己 – 彭佳慧

Band of the Year 最佳樂團獎

Fire EX. – Begin the Second Half 進擊下半場 – 滅火器
Sweet John – Dear – 甜約翰
EggPlantEgg – Cartoon Character 卡通人物 – 茄子蛋
LEO37+SOSS – Be Well World
The Chairman – The Offering 祭 – 董事長樂團
Mr. Loud Who Chance – I’m Not a Superman 我不是超級人 – 三十萬年老虎鉗

Best Duo or Group 最佳演唱組合獎

Yeemao – Yeemao Song 健康歌曲 – 夜貓組
Astro Bunny – Loneliness, Sadness and a Thank You 謝謝你曾經讓我悲傷 – 原子邦妮
Crispy – Are You Happy 你快樂嗎？ – Crispy脆樂團
MJ116 – Big Thing 幹大事 – 幹大事
Chang and Lee – Chang and Lee, Vol. 2 張三李四 – 張三李四

Best New Artist 最佳新人獎

Leon Zheng – When I Leave Taipei 忽然有一天，我離開了台北 – 鄭興
EggPlantEgg – Cartoon Character 卡通人物 – 茄子蛋
J.Sheon – J.Sheon 街巷 
Jerry Li – Stay Sober 醒著不醉 – 李權哲
Janice Yan – I Have My Self – 我有我自己 – 閻奕格
Paige Su – We’re All Lonely Souls 我們都是寂寞的 – 蘇珮卿
Dean Ting – The Journal 神經雜 – 丁世光

Creator Awards (Non-Instrumental)

Composer of the Year 最佳作曲人獎

Sandee Chan, Waa Wei – “No No” (Performed by Sandee Chan & Waa Wei) 不要不要 – 陳珊妮， 魏如萱 （演唱者 陳珊妮， 魏如萱）
Crowd Lu – “He-R” (Performed by Crowd Lu) 魚仔 – 盧廣仲 （演唱者 – 盧廣仲 ）
Eve Ai – “The Prayer” (Performed by LaLa Hsu) 心理學 – 艾怡良（演唱者 – 徐佳瑩）
Li Jian Qing – “Hometown” (Performed by Li Jian Qing) 在家鄉 – 李劍青（演唱者 – 李劍青）
JJ Lin – “Little Big Us” (Performed by JJ Lin) 偉大的渺小 – 林俊傑（演唱者 – 林俊傑）

Lyricist of the Year 最佳作詞人獎

Wang Chau-Hua – “To Have, or Not to Have” (Performed by Lin Sheng Xiang) 有無 – 王昭華 (演唱者 – 林生祥)
Crowd Lu – “He-R” (Performed by Crowd Lu) 魚仔 – 盧廣仲（演唱者 – 盧廣仲）
Yan Bin, Jonathan Lee – “Hometown” (Performed by Li Jian Qing) 在家鄉 – 嚴彬， 李宗盛（演唱者 – 李劍青）
Ge Da Wei – “Full Name” (Performed by aMEI) 連名帶姓 – 葛大為（演唱者 – ）張惠妹
Song Dongye – “Guo YuanChao” (Performed by Song Dongye) 郭源潮 –  宋冬野（演唱者- 宋冬野）

Arranger of the Year 最佳編曲人獎

Shao-Yong Huang – “With You” (Performed by Xiao Yu) 同在 – 黃少雍（演唱者 – 宋念宇）
Phil Wen – “Grim Reaper” (Performed by Janice Yan) 閻羅王 – 溫奕哲（演唱者 – 閻奕格）
Kenn C – “A Dancing Van Gogh” (Performed by Sun Yanzi) 跳舞的梵谷 – Kenn C（演唱者 – 孫燕姿）
Jerald Chan – “Wake” (Performed by Eason Chan) 床上的黑洞 – 陳哲廬（演唱者 – 陳奕迅）
Chang Shilei – “Piao Bai” (Performed by Isabella Huang) 漂白 – 常石磊（演唱者 – 黃齡）

Best Album Producer最佳專輯製作人獎     

Howard Lee, Sérgio Luiz Brandão, Aaron Chen – Brazilian Essence (Performed by Bossa Negra) 巴西嘉年華 – 李浩桓、賽吉奧．雷斯．布蘭達奧 (Sérgio Luiz Brandão) 、陳忠宏  （演唱者 – 巴西音樂俱樂部）
Jonathan Lee – Still an Outlander (Performed by Li Jian Qing)  仍是異鄉人 – 李宗盛（演唱者 – 李劍青）
Penny Tai – ExtraOrdinary (Performed by Koala Liu) 不特別得很特別 – 戴佩妮（演唱者 – 劉思涵）
Jerald Chan – C’mon In~ (Performed by Eason Chan) C’mon In – 陳哲廬（演唱者 – 陳奕迅）
JJ Lin – Little Big Us (Performed by JJ Lin) 偉大的渺小 – 林俊傑（演唱者 – 林俊傑）

Best Single Producer最佳單曲製作人獎

Lin Sheng Xiang – “To Have, or Not to Have” (Performed by Lin Sheng Xiang) 有無 – 林生祥 (演唱者 – )
Fire EX. – “Southbound Night Bus” (Performed by Fire EX.) 長途夜車 – 滅火器 (演唱者 – 滅火器)
Crowd Lu – “He-R” (Performed by Crowd Lu)  魚仔 – 盧廣仲 (演唱者 – 盧廣仲)
Kenn C, Sun Yanzi – “A Dancing Van Gogh” (Performed by Sun Yanzi) Kenn C， 孫燕姿 – 跳舞的梵谷 (演唱者 – 孫燕姿)
PoeTeK – “MyBong”  (Performed by PoeTek & Julia Wu)  買榜 – 熊仔 (演唱者 -買榜，吳卓源  )

Hokkien Language Awards

Best Hokkien Album最佳台語專輯獎

Cartoon Character – EggPlantEgg 卡通人物 – 茄子蛋
Mend the Dreams – Hsu Fu-kai 縫夢 – 許富凱
Shake the Mountains and Rivers – Chen Ming Chang 撼山河 – 陳明章
Kin – The Village Armed Youth Band 根 – 江育達
Cheers – Ricky Hsiao 人生我敬你一杯 – 蕭煌奇
Best Hokkien Male Singer 最佳台語男歌手獎

Best Hokkien Make Singer 最佳台語男歌手

Only You – I Do Your Patrons 我做你的靠山 – 翁立友
Ric Jan – The Phonograph of Life, Drama Soundtracks Collection 2 人生留聲機-戲劇主題曲精選2 – 荒山亮
Hsu FuKai – Mend the Dreams 縫夢 – 許富凱
Jingjia Tsai – Still Loving You 猶原愛著你 – 蔡佳麟
Ricky Hsiao – Cheers 人生我敬你一杯 – 蕭煌奇

Best Hokkien Female Singer 最佳台語女歌手獎

Joanne Lin – Fragile Heart 玻璃心 – 林喬安
Elly Chang – Elly Love You 艾莉,愛你 – 張艾利
Angel Chu – Deng Tian Guang 等天光 – 朱海君
Hanya Chang – Look Up 望 – 張涵雅
Gigi Wu – True Happiness Indeed 咱攏要幸福 – 吳申梅

Hakka Language Awards

Best Hakka Album 最佳客語專輯獎

Da Ling Jiao Xia 2 – Qiulin 大嶺腳下2 – 秋林
Dim Night – Huang Wei Jie 夜色 – 黃瑋傑
The Dirt Road – Ayugo Huang 黃泥路 – 黃連煜
Hakka Girl – Caleb Hsiao 妹恁靚2017 – 蕭迦勒

Best Hakka Singer 最佳客語歌手獎

Qiulin – Da Ling Jiao Xia 2 大嶺腳下2 – 秋林
Huang Wei Jie – Dim Night 夜色 – 黃瑋傑
Ayugo Huang – The Dirt  黃泥路 – 黃連煜
Caleb Hsiao – Hakka Girl 細妹恁靚2017 – 蕭迦勒

Indigenous Language Awards

Best Indigenous Album 最佳原住民語專輯獎

Sitting Together – Paliulius 圍坐在一起 – Paliulius樂團
Infection – Seredau 渲染 – 桑梅娟
Naomi – CMO Group 直美 – CMO樂團
With You – Siva9 Band 有我陪伴 – 馬詠恩、古伊‧達理瑪勞、高蘇珊、米鴻恩、張理軒

Best Indigenous Singer 最佳原住民歌手獎

Paliulius – Sitting Together 圍坐在一起 – Paliulius樂團
Seredau – Infection 渲染 – 桑梅娟
Magaitan – What’s Going On? 美好的，怎麼了？ – 瑪蓋丹

Instrumental/Technical Categories

Best Instrumental Album 最佳專輯獎

8 – Timeless Fusion Party 8 – 無限融合樂團
Portfolio of BabyC – BabyC, Zeng Cheng, Filmorchester Babelsberg 鍾興民作品集 – Filmorchester Babelsberg, 曾誠, 鍾興民
Daphne Su – Daphne Su, Dong Yun Chang, Ray Huang, Hope Yeh, Owen Wang, Yuying Hsu, Chang Han Chung, Fan Hsu, Jay Cheng, Edric Chang 蘇子茵 – 蘇子茵、董運昌、黃中岳、葉賀璞、王希文、許郁瑛、張瀚中、徐梵、程杰、張譽耀
happened, happening – Yuying Hsu, Alex Sipiagin, Donny McCaslin, Boris Kozlov, Donald Edwards Happening, Happened  – 許郁瑛、Alex Sipiagin、 Donny McCaslin、Boris Kozlov、Donald Edwards
The Persian Infusion – Bazaar 波斯驛站 – 中東爵士樂團

Best Instrumental Album Producer最佳專輯之所人獎

Sheng Fei Lu, Dong Shun Wen – 8 (Performed by Timeless Fusion Party) 8 – 呂聖斐、董舜文 (演唱者 – 無限融合樂團)
BabyC – Portfolio of BabyC (Performed by BabyC, Cheng Zeng, Filmorchester Babelsberg) 鍾興民作品集 – 鍾興民 (演唱者 – Filmorchester Babelsberg, 曾誠, 鍾興民)
Daphne Su, Owen Wang – Daphne Su (Performed by Daphne Su, Dong Yun Chang, Ray Huang, Hope Yeh, Owen Wang, Yuying Hsu, Chang Han Chung, Fan Hsu, Jay Cheng, Edric Chang) 蘇子茵 –   蘇子茵、王希文(演唱者 – 蘇子茵、董運昌、黃中岳、葉賀璞、王希文、許郁瑛、張瀚中、徐梵、程杰、張譽耀)
Yuying Hsu – happened, happening (Performed by Yuying Hsu, Alex Sipiagin, Donny McCaslin, Boris Kozlov, Donald Edwards) Happening, Happened –  許郁瑛 (演唱者 – 許郁瑛、AlexSipiagin、 Donny McCaslin、 Boris Kozlov、Donald Edwards)
Bazaar – The Persian Infusion (Performed by Bazaar)  波斯驛站 –  中東爵士樂團 (演唱者 – 中東爵士樂團)

Best Instrumental Composer 最佳作曲人獎

Sheng Fei Lu – “Swimming in the Green” (Performed by Timeless Fusion Party) 綠色潛泳 – 無限融合樂團 )
BabyC – “Mangrove” (Performed by BabyC, Zeng Cheng, Filmorchester Babelsberg) 紅樹林 – 鍾興民 (演唱者 – Filmorchester Babelsberg, 曾誠, 鍾興民)
Daphne Su – “Passenger” (Performed by Daphne Su, Dong Yun Chang, Yuying Hsu, Jay Cheng, Huang Tzu Yu) Passenger – 蘇子茵 (演唱者 – 蘇子茵、董運昌、許郁瑛、程杰、黃子瑜)
Yuying Hsu – “Catching THE Monk” (Performed by Yuying Hsu, Alex Sipiagin, Donny McCaslin, Boris Kozlov, Donald Edwards) Catching THE Monk – 許郁瑛 (演唱者 – 許郁瑛、Alex Sipiagin、Donny McCaslin、Boris Kozlov、 Donald Edwards)
Will Chieng – “The Crescent upon the Tigris”(Performed by Bazaar) 底格里斯河上的星月 – 錢威良 (演唱者 – 中東爵士樂團)

Best Album Package Designer最佳專輯裝幀設計獎

Joe Fang, FK Wu – Why Is It a Love Story, Wasn’t I Reading a Detective Novel? 為什麼像個愛情故事，明明我看的是偵探小說 – 方序中、吳建龍
FK Wu – Chang and Lee, Vol. 2 張三李四 – 吳建龍
Godkidlla – Brothers Shouldn’t Live Without Dreams 兄弟沒夢不應該 – 廖俊裕
Xiao Qing-Yang – The Offering 祭 – 蕭青陽
Lu Yi-Xuan – Close Your Eyes Before It’s Dark 天黑請閉眼電視原聲帶 – 盧奕軒
Pu-Hui Chang – Immortal Beasts 永生獸 – 張溥輝

Best Vocal Recording Album 最佳演唱錄音專輯獎
Can You or Can You Not Understand My Mandarin (Chief Wang, Recording Engineer; Roman Klun, Mixing & Mastering Engineer) 我的國語 你聽不聽得懂 – 范安婷
Home (III) (Andrew Chu, Lin Si Tong, Craig Burbidge, Plamen Penchev, A-Mon, Luantan Ascent, Recording Engineers; Craig Burbidge, Mixing Engineer; Andrew Chu, Mastering Engineer)家III – 羅大佑
Don’t Make a Sound (Misi Ke, Andy Baker, Martin Lin, Chief Wang, Liu Shih Wei, Recording Engineers; Andy Baker, Liu Shih Wei, Mixing Engineers; Joel Hatstat, Mastering Engineer) 不能發出聲音 – 柯泯薰
Story Thief (Huang Shengfeng, YuHsuan Yeh, Lei Chang Hang, Micky Yang, Recording Engineers; Phil Tan, Mixing Engineer; Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer) 偷故事的人 – 張惠妹
That’s Not Me (Marco Trentacoste, Recording & Mixing Engineer; Brian ‘BigBass’ Gardner, Mastering Engineer) 那不是我 – 謝天笑

Best Instrumental Recording Album最佳演奏錄音專輯獎

Portfolio of BabyC (Falko Duczmal, Yue Song Lee, Recording Engineers; Luca Bignardi, Mixing Engineer; David Wang, Mastering Engineer) 鍾興民作品集 – 鍾興民、曾誠、Filmorchester Babelsberg
happened, happening (Mike Marciano, Recording Engineer; Dave Darlington, Mixing & Mastering Engineer) happened, happening – 許郁瑛、AlexSipiagin、 Donny McCaslin、 Boris Kozlov、Donald Edwards
The Persian Infusion (Lin Shang Po, Recording Engineer; Eric Huang, Sean M. Sinclair, Yin Shao Shien, Arthur Indrikovs, Tzu Yu Lin, Chief Wang, Cheng-Yun Tang, Shou Jhong Yuan, Mixing Engineers; Derek Snyder, Mastering Engineer) 波斯驛站 – 中東爵士樂團
The Village of No Return Original Soundtrack (Lin Shang Po, Zen Chien, Recording & Mixing Engineers; Zen Chien, Mastering Engineer) 健忘村電影原聲帶 – 王希文 
Dion Duan Wuan Sea (Jamie Hsu, Recording Engineer; Blaire Ko, Kai-Yu Huang, Sonic Deadhorse, Mixing Engineers; YiHung Liu, Mastering Engineer) 中壇元帥 – 柯智豪、黃凱宇、鄭各均
Triangular Prism (Chris Benham, Recording Engineer; David Darlington, Yuan Xiang Heh, Mixing Engineers; David Darlington, Mastering Engineer) Triangular Prism – 肖駿