Sunset Rollercoaster, Hyukoh lead Golden Melody Awards nominations

Taipei, May 14 (CNA) Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year's Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday.

The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording.

"Young Man," a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, "Antenna," also received a best music video nomination.

Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album The Dreamer (夢想家), which has also received a nomination for best Mandarin album.

He was also nominated for song of the year, best composer, and best lyricist for the track "Twenty Three" (才二十三).

On March 1, Fong's talent agency announced that the singer had died on Feb. 21 after years of poor health.

The nominees in the Mandarin male singer category are PoLin (柏霖), Ricky Hsiao (蕭煌奇), Terence Lam (林家謙), Trout Fresh (real name Lu Shih-hsuan 呂士軒) and Li Ronghao (李榮浩).

Tanya Chua (蔡健雅), Penny Tai (戴佩妮), Vicky Chen (陳忻玥), Karencici (林愷倫) and Waa Wei (魏如萱) are nominated for best Mandarin female singer.

Meanwhile, 23 albums across the Mandarin, Hakka, Taiwanese and Indigenous-language categories have been shortlisted for the coveted album of the year award.

The jury also named Taiwanese composer-producer Weng Xiao-liang (翁孝良) and the late Taiwanese singer Ma Chao-chun (馬兆駿) as winners of the special contribution award.

Weng made his debut on Taiwan's music scene in the 1960s, quickly establishing himself as one of the country's finest guitar players. He wrote several well-known classics, including "My Future is Not a Dream" (我的未來不是夢), "Dreamland" (夢田) and "Devotion" (奉獻).

He is also credited with discovering young talent who would later become household names in Taiwan, including Tom Chang (張雨生), Yuki Hsu (徐懷鈺) and Matilda Tao (陶晶瑩).

Ma was a mainstay of Taiwan's "campus folk songs" movement from the 1970s to the early 1980s, during which he notably composed folk classics such as "Kapok Road" (木棉道) and "July, At the Liang Mountain" (七月涼山) with songwriting partner Hung Kuang-ta (洪光達).

Ma also produced albums for several superstars, including Liu Wen-zheng (劉文正), Fong Fei-fei (鳳飛飛), and Tracy Huang (黃鶯鶯). His legacy continued into the 21st century, when he frequently served as a judge at singing contests to discover up-and-coming musical talent. He died in 2007.

Organizers announced this year's nominees at a press event in Taipei on Wednesday. Vice Culture Minister Hsu Yi-chun (徐宜君) said the jury had a tough job reviewing 846 submissions across 27 categories.

Ting Hsiao-wen (丁曉雯), who heads the jury, said the submissions are marked by their diversity and ingenuity, representing a clear departure from traditional notions of songs.

Ting noted that many of the submissions are from overseas, highlighting Taiwan's diverse pop music scene.

Ting added that the jury took into account the works' artistic achievement, potential impact on the music industry and public reception when compiling a "balanced" list of nominees.

Now in its 36th year, the Golden Melody Awards, hosted by Taiwan's Ministry of Culture, remain the most prestigious music awards in the Mandarin-speaking world. In 2014, Billboard described the awards as the "Grammys of the Mandarin pop world."