Mandopop megastar Jolin Tsai won album of the year on Saturday in Taipei, at one of the most prestigious entertainment events in the Chinese-speaking world, Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards.

Taiwan’s Pop Music Scene

While Taiwan has only 23 million people, its pop music scene has an outsized cultural influence across East Asia, especially in China, thanks to creativity unfettered by censorship or government control.

Tsai, who cites the likes of Madonna and Kylie Minogue as influences, won for her concept album “Pleasure”, which was inspired by the seven deadly sins. She also won best female Mandarin singer.

“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,” she told the audience.

Celebrating Mandopop and More

The awards celebrate not only Mandopop but artists singing in Taiwanese – also known as Hokkien or Hoklo – Hakka and indigenous languages like Paiwan, once suppressed but now supported and promoted by Taiwan’s government.

Best Hakka singer Sarah Chan, who gave her acceptance speech in Hakka, Mandarin and English for the album “Blue Hour Bloom”, said the recording had a much broader meaning for her.

“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,” she said.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.