Mandopop megastar Jolin Tsai wins best album at Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards

Mandopop superstar Jolin Tsai clinched the coveted album of the year award at Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards in Taipei. The prestigious ceremony, a significant event in the Chinese-speaking entertainment world, recognized Tsai's concept album "Pleasure," which draws inspiration from the seven deadly sins.

Tsai, a highly popular artist since her debut in 1999, also secured the award for best female Mandarin singer. She described the creation of "Pleasure" as a journey of taking control, stating, "Making this album, for me, felt like I had been comfortably sitting in the passenger seat for a long time, and now I've finally taken the steering wheel myself – driving forward with all the partners who, like me, understand my music."

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Making this album, for me, felt like I had been comfortably sitting in the passenger seat for a long time, and now I've finally taken the steering wheel myself – driving forward with all the partners who, like me, understand my music.

The Golden Melody Awards champion a wide array of musical talent, extending beyond Mandopop to include artists performing in Taiwanese (Hokkien), Hakka, and indigenous languages like Paiwan. Sarah Chan, honored as best Hakka singer for her album "Blue Hour Bloom," emphasized the personal significance of her award, noting it allowed for greater use of the Hakka language at home and fostered family connections.

Despite political tensions between Taiwan and China, which views the island as its territory, Taiwan's music scene thrives with creativity unfettered by censorship. This environment allows for diverse artistic expression, though it has led to the absence of many Chinese artists from the awards ceremony in recent years. While Chinese nominees like Jude Chiu and Shan Yichun did not attend, Hong Kong's Karen Mok made a notable appearance, performing and presenting an award.

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This Hakka-language album gave me the chance to speak more Hakka with my mother at home, and to have more exchanges with my family.