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Nominees for the 31st Golden Melody Awards (GMA) have been announced by the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development (BAMID), Ministry of Culture. Thank You《kinakaian MOTHER TONGUE》dominates with a whopping 8 nods while Rich Huang, the "King of Drum," was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution Award. This year, 1,348 albums and extended play records with 19,461 works from 231 companies/organizations were submitted for consideration. The list of nominees was determined by an 83-member jury. According to a statement issued by BAMID, a total of 163 works, 20 of which are from Sony Music Entertainment Taiwan Ltd., will compete in 27 categories at the 31st Golden Melody Awards.
According to the jury, Rich Huang, a 70-year-old jazz drummer, has contributed over 100,000 tracks throughout his career for the past 50 years and continues to influence and inspire young musicians in Taiwan today. More than that, Rich Huang was the first Taiwanese pop-music singer to hold his own concert at the National Concert Hall.
This year, there were 315 works submitted for the Best Vocal Recording Album Award and 5 were nominated. The jury stated that the styles of the nominees are various, including pop-music, world music and bands. These nominees brought audiences new experiences by featuring singers and instruments displaying superb technique. As for the Best Instrumental Recording Album, 66 works were registered for competition and 5 were nominated. The nominees made breakthroughs in music which inspired people.
With 751 works submitted, there were 7 nominees in the category of Best Music Video. The jury said the works had created a new chapter in Chinese music. In addition to strong visual styles, the works express diverse possibilities and focus more on our homeland. More than that, by combining different perspectives, the creators use visual language and music which allow our stories to be better seen and heard.
The Best Album Design Award has 277 works registered this year and 5 of them were nominated. According to the jury, the nominated works are various. Based on an album’s music, album designers not only have designs combining traditional aesthetics, folk culture and current affairs but also create ideas which are expressed simply and exquisitely. All in all, the album designers utilize the concept of book binding in album design.
In the instrumental categories, there were 66 works submitted for the Best Album Award and 5 of them were successfully nominated. Best Album Producer has 64 works and 5 of them were nominated. Best Instrumental Composer has 586 works registered for competition and 5 of them were nominated. The jury stated that participating works this year are diverse and the judging is difficult. Some albums are singers’ personal work and some are created by bands. No matter what kind of music, creators all showed their creative and experimental spirits in their works which included jazz, folk music, electronic and orchestral music. The jury also emphasized that the musicians performed exquisitely and creatively in their productions. They are excellent regardless of their music’s originality or adaptation. Eventually, works that were both popular and artistic were nominated!
BAMID has also announced that Isaac Chen, who has worked for Taiwan’s entertainment industry for over 30 years, will serve as the chairman of the jury for the 31st Golden Melody Awards. Isaac Chen has established companies such as Younghope, Live Holic, Tian Di He Entertainment, and Mei Entertainment. Throughout Isaac’s career, he has worked as a concert director, celebrities’ manager, lyricist, troupe director, TV program producer, concert originator and agent.
Covid-19 has changed peoples’ lives but music can still bring positive energy to everyone. The Golden Melody Awards Ceremony is an annual event that everyone is looking forward to. The 31st GMA ceremony, which is late but not absent, will take place at 7 p.m. on October 3, 2020 at the Taipei Music Center and the Red Carpet broadcast will begin live on Taiwan Television (TTV) at 5 p.m.
