TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's premier music awards ceremony has revealed its contenders for 2025, setting the stage for a high-profile competition among the Chinese-speaking world's most celebrated recording artists. Organizers announced the nominees for the 36th Golden Melody Awards (金曲獎), often described as the Grammy Awards of Chinese-language music, at a press conference in Taipei on Wednesday (May 14). Veteran performers Hsieh Huang-chi (蕭煌奇) and Li Rong-hao (李榮浩) headline the Best Mandarin Male Singer category, while Singaporean-Taiwanese superstar Tanya Chua (蔡健雅) seeks an unprecedented fifth trophy in the female category.
The full slate of male vocalist nominees features a mix of established stars and rising talents, including PoLin Tung (柏霖), Hsieh Huang-chi, Lin Jia-qian (林家謙), Lu Shi-xuan (呂士軒), and Li Ronghao. In the female category, Chua faces formidable competition from Penny Tai (戴佩妮), Vicky Chen (陳忻玥), American-Taiwanese artist Karencici, and previous winner Waa Wei (魏如萱). The Best Vocal Group category showcases Taiwan's veteran rock duo Power Station (動力火車) alongside Japanese ensemble ATARASHII GAKKO! and Taiwanese pop group Energy.
The 2025 ceremony, slated for June 28 in Taipei, reflects the robust state of Chinese-language music production, with organizers processing a remarkable 1,648 album submissions containing 23,486 individual entries. After a rigorous three-month evaluation period, the judging panel narrowed the field to 169 nominations spread across 27 distinct award categories. Cross-cultural collaboration proved particularly successful this year, with the joint project "AAA" from Taiwan's psychedelic rock outfit Sunset Rollercoaster and acclaimed South Korean indie band HYUKOH leading all contenders with seven nominations.
The announcement carried emotional weight with multiple posthumous nominations for Khalil Fong (方大同), the influential Hong Kong-American artist who received recognition in four major categories — Song of the Year, Best Composer, Best Lyricist, and Best Arranger — for his final work "Dreamer" (夢想家). Jury Chairwoman Ting Xiao-wen (丁曉雯) highlighted the increasingly international character of this year's submissions, praising entries that seamlessly integrate diverse linguistic and cultural influences. Ting also detailed the comprehensive evaluation criteria employed by judges, which balanced artistic merit with commercial relevance and broader impact on the music industry. ◼
