Mandopop’s shining moment

TAIPEI — The 25th Golden Melody Awards — Taiwan’s equivalent of the Grammys — spared no expense in mounting a show befitting the stellar works and artists it honored from the world of Mandopop (or Mandarin pop). Taiwan is regarded the “leader” in the Mandarin pop scene, but through the years, the Golden Melody Awards has also paid tribute to singers, songwriters and composers from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.  

The Philippine STAR scored an invite from Warner Music Asia to this year’s edition of the annual music awards ceremony that started in 1990, along with journalists from Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong where the markets for Mandopop are huge.

In the Philippines, it’s K-pop (Korean pop) that rules, but Mandopop has streamed into our mainstream consciousness in recent years, thanks in part to the Meteor Garden/F4 phenom.

The attendance at the Golden Melody Awards proved to be an eye-opening lesson on how influential Mandopop is, how rich it is with talent and how appreciative the local market is.

Although the rise of the Mandopop industry is traced to the ’70s and ’80s, making it the veteran in Asian pop culture, according to a recent article published in the Singapore-based Strait Times, Mandopop has been however having trouble attracting new markets overseas because of the overpowering K-pop wave.

 Still, it wasn’t hard to notice at the Golden Melody Awards held at the full-house Taipei Arena that one thing great going for it, is the homegrown loyalty and support. While the show was in Mandarin and we don’t speak the language, we felt the love of the Taiwanese audience for their music and artists.

The show’s sole international act Jason Mraz and his performance of his luscious new single Love Someone from his forthcoming album Yes! were a hit, but the loudest cheers were reserved for the late music producer Peng Kuo-hua, who was bestowed a posthumous lifetime award as received by his wife Chang Hsiao-yeh.

 Eugene Low, regional marketing director of Warner Music Asia-Pacific, told The STAR that Peng Kuo-hua discovered and helped launch the successful careers of many a Taiwanese singer in the ’80s and ’90s. Not a few people in the audience were touched over her speech, wherein Chang Hsiao-yeh, who happens to be a popular TV presenter as well, said that being the wife was actually the best part of her life.

Over 20 other awards were handed out that night that celebrated all aspects of music-making, including the best in lyrics and arrangement aside from the composition itself. We were told that there’s a separate ceremony that acknowledges the finest in choral music, children’s choirs and sacred/religious music, among others. The show, which tapped the expertise of Laurence Estrin (who was a consultant at the Sydney Olympics, The China Post reported), featured high-tech visual pageantry. 

Singapore’s JJ Lin and Malaysia’s Penny Tai (both of whom are now based in Taiwan) bagged the top honors as Best Male and Female Mandarin singers. It was also JJ Lin who shared the stage with fellow Warner Music recording artist Mraz for a medley number.

Another shining moment was when the Taiwanese aboriginal musician Chang Chen-yue’s I Am Ayal Komod was declared Best Mandarin Album of the Year. Interestingly, the singer has already done successful rock albums and even crossed over to hip-hop in the past, but has returned to his indigenous roots on his new album. We learned that the success of Chang Chen-yue, who came to the ceremony in tribal wear that reminded of the traditional Igorot costume, simply speaks of an ongoing revival of ethnic pride (for one, Taiwan has a radio station playing only aboriginal music) which has made superstars of several aboriginal musicians.

With the Golden Melody Awards hitting its diamond year, it goes to show that Mandopop remains to be a force to be reckoned with.