All three are competing for best Mandarin album, best composer, best lyricist and best arranger, while Chua and Mayday have also been nominated for song of the year and best album producer, according to a Government Information Office statement released May 15.
The judging committee sifted through 10,018 submitted works from 370 albums to come up with 120 finalists in 24 categories, the GIO noted.
A lifetime contribution award will be presented to veteran vocalist and movie actor Wen Hsia, who has recorded more than 1,000 tunes, mostly in Holo and Japanese. Born in 1928, he was one of Taiwan’s most beloved entertainers in the 1950s and 1960s.
Pop diva Fong Fei-fei, who died early January from lung cancer, will also be recognized at the awards ceremony for her career achievements, GIO sources said.
This marks the last time for the GIO to announce the finalists. As part of government restructuring, the agency will be disbanded May 20, and responsibility for the awards will shift to the Ministry of Culture, which merges an upgraded Council for Cultural Affairs and former GIO departments.
Since its debut in 1990, the GMA has been the country’s foremost annual music event, honoring Mandarin pop musicians from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. This year’s awards will be presented at Taipei Arena June 23, organizers said. (THN)
Write to Kwangyin Liu at kwangyin.liu@mail.gio.gov.tw