Back after 5 years, the aboriginal singer Samingad returns to the stage at the 2016 Golden Melody Awards on June 25. Taking inspiration and a stage persona from Mother Earth, Samingad will reinterpret the environmental and social problems that now face Taiwan. She has prepared three songs, one in Mandarin, one in Taiwanese, and one in Puyuma—an aboriginal language of Taiwan’s aboriginal languages. Memorization of the songs in multiple languages was not a problem, says the singer. It was translating the emotions and the tone of each language which stumped the singer. “One of the songs, ‘Lullaby,’ was so frustrating for me because I just couldn’t find the deep emotional component. I shut myself in my room everyday worrying over it. Until, one day, I just intuited how it was to be a mother: holding a baby in you for 10 months, having a baby girl, doting over her every day until, at the age of four, you lose her right in front of your eyes.” The multilingual arrangement was done by Hung Ching-yao, a Taiwanese musician already known for his compositions and arrangements. Samingad enjoyed her first pairing with Hung: “Hung was very nice. There was no pressure at all working with him. He was very detailed in his singing instructions. He is a musician who understands respect, so it was worthwhile to trust him.”
Samingad, known in Taiwan as the “Queen of Vocals,” was born into the Puyuma tribe, one of Taiwan’s aboriginal peoples. A natural singer from birth, she possesses a penetrating, forceful voice. It was this haunting beauty in her voice that won her an array of awards, including Best New Artist at the 1999 GMAs, followed by the Best Dialect (Non-Mandarin Language) Female Vocalist in 2002; that same year she was also invited to perform “Cradle Song” at the award ceremony. In 2008 she teamed up with Jiajia, also from the Puyuma tribe, to sing a medley of songs in Mandarin, Taiwanese, English, and Puyuma. In 2011 she was invited to sing her hit song “Myth,” a performance which garnered high praise. About this year’s performance, Samingad quipped: “Don’t think I’ll lose weight for the performance. And please don’t mistake me for Jiajia’s mother.”
This year, the 27th Golden Melody Awards Ceremony will take place on June 25th at Taipei Arena. The Red Carpet starting 5pm and the Ceremony starting 7pm will be broadcasted live on TTV Main Channel by Taiwan Television Enterprise, the event’s executive organizer. Rebroadcast will be aired on TTV’s digital channel. The 2016 Golden Melody Festival will take place on June 22nd through June 24th at hotel Humble House Taipei. The Festival is a 3-day B2B event that brings together industry representatives from a range of fields including but not limited to cinema, television, telecommunication, gaming and digital technology. It aims to facilitate cross-border and cross-industry business matching opportunities through its series of events: Conference, Business Matching Center, Pitching, Speed Meeting, Exhibition, Showcase, GMA Talk, Workshops and Golden Melody Academia.
