The Golden Melody Awards (GMA) are the most prestigious music awards for Mandopop and Chinese-language music, organized by the GMA Foundation in Taiwan since 1990. Often called the "Chinese Grammys," the ceremony recognizes excellence across Mandarin, Taiwanese (Hokkien), Hakka, and Indigenous language music. The 37th ceremony took place on June 27, 2026, in Taipei, with Jolin Tsai and Chang Chen-yue each winning three awards.
The 37th ceremony was broadcast live on the official GMA YouTube channel, with acceptance speeches from all major categories published separately. Jolin Tsai won Album of the Year and Best Mandarin Female Singer for "Pleasure," her first win in the female singer category in 19 years. She told the audience that working on the album was "a major milestone" and that she "challenged myself and accomplished something that 20 years ago I never would have imagined I could do as a singer."
How the Golden Melody Awards Work
The GMA follows a jury-based selection process that emphasizes artistic merit over commercial performance:
- Submissions: Works released in the previous calendar year are eligible. For the 37th ceremony, submissions were accepted from December 1, 2025 to January 2, 2026. Record labels, independent artists, and producers may submit entries.
- Jury Evaluation: A professional jury of music industry experts, critics, and producers evaluates submissions through multiple rounds of discussion and voting. The jury chairperson leads the process. For the 37th ceremony, Kay Huang served as jury chair.
- Categories: Awards are presented across approximately 29 categories in four groups: vocal/record label awards (Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Mandarin Album, Best Taiwanese Album, Best Hakka Album, Best Indigenous Language Album), individual vocal awards (Best Mandarin Male/Female Singer, Best Band, Best Vocal Group, Best New Artist), instrumental awards, and technical awards (Best Album Producer, Best Arranger, Best Music Video, Best Album Design).
- AI Policy: Starting from the 37th edition, generative AI may be used as an assistive tool in music creation and production. However, works in which all components (composition, lyrics, arrangement, vocals) are entirely AI-generated are not eligible.
The ceremony honors music in four Chinese languages: Mandarin, Taiwanese (Hokkien), Hakka, and Indigenous languages. This multilingual structure sets the GMA apart from other Mandopop awards that focus only on Mandarin releases.
Real-World Example: 37th Golden Melody Awards (2026)
The 37th ceremony was held on June 27, 2026, in Taipei. Jolin Tsai received nine nominations, the most of any artist, for her album "Pleasure," inspired by the seven deadly sins. She won Album of the Year and Best Mandarin Female Singer. Chang Chen-yue also won three awards, including Song of the Year for "Surfer's Love Story," Best Mandarin Album for "Go With the Flow," and Best Mandarin Male Singer.
Other winners included Enno Cheng for Best Taiwanese Album with "Moon Phases," Justin Su for Best Taiwanese Male Singer, Shan Yichun for Best New Artist with "Lil Sis," and Sunset Rollercoaster for Best Band. A-Mei was nominated for Best Mandarin Female Singer with "My Existence Is to Love You."
Karen Mok made her first GMA appearance in a decade as both performer and presenter. The ceremony featured performances from A-Lin, Hebe Tien, Nick Chou, and the Japanese band Hitsujibungaku.
Warner led all submitting organizations with 16 nominations. The nominees were announced on May 13, 2026, generating significant attention across the Mandopop industry.
Past Winners by Category and Year
The Golden Melody Awards have been presented annually since 1990. Below is a reference table of winners across major categories from the last four ceremonies. The GMA is the only major award that recognizes music in Mandarin, Taiwanese (Hokkien), Hakka, and Indigenous languages.
| Year (Edition) | Album of the Year | Song of the Year | Best Mandarin Album | Best Mandarin Female Singer | Best Mandarin Male Singer | Best New Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (37th) | Jolin Tsai (Pleasure) | Chang Chen-yue (Surfer's Love Story) | Chang Chen-yue (Go With the Flow) | Jolin Tsai | Chang Chen-yue | Shan Yichun (Lil Sis) |
| 2025 (36th) | Siri Lee (Sui) | Energy (Friday Night) | Trout Fresh (Good Sound With Attitudes) | Waa Wei | Trout Fresh | (see note) |
| 2024 (35th) | No Party for Cao Dong (The Clod) | Accusefive (It's Getting Dark Again) | No Party for Cao Dong (The Clod) | Sun Sheng-xi | MC HotDog | (see note) |
| 2023 (34th) | Wu Qing-feng (Mallarme's Tuesdays) | Anpu (A Flash and How It Lasts) | Kumachan (PRO) | A-Lin | HUSH | Hung Pei-yu (Silver Lining) |
Note: The Best New Artist category has separate nominations and winners that vary by year. In 2023, Hung Pei-yu won for "Silver Lining." In 2026, Shan Yichun won for "Lil Sis." The 2024 and 2025 Best New Artist winners are listed in the full GMA records.
The 2026 ceremony produced several historic firsts. Jolin Tsai won Best Mandarin Female Singer for the first time in 19 years (her previous win was in 2007 for "Dancing Diva"). Siri Lee's 2025 Album of the Year win for "Sui" was the first Hoklo (Taiwanese) album to win the top prize since 1999, when Wubai and China Blue won for "Lonely Tree, Lonely Bird." No Party for Cao Dong won three awards in 2024 for "The Clod" (Album of the Year, Best Mandarin Album, Best Band), but the band was not present at the ceremony and their manager accepted on their behalf.
The GMA YouTube channel published the Best Mandarin Female Singer award moment from the 37th ceremony, showing Jolin Tsai receiving the award and delivering her acceptance speech.
Jolin Tsai's album "Pleasure," which won Album of the Year in 2026, was released in 2025. The title track's music video has been viewed millions of times on YouTube. The album was inspired by the seven deadly sins and was produced by Tsai alongside Starr Chen and Richard Craker.
Why It Matters for Independent Artists
The Golden Melody Awards are the only major awards that recognize music across all four Chinese languages. This creates opportunities for artists working in Taiwanese, Hakka, and Indigenous languages who are overlooked by Mandarin-only ceremonies. The Best New Artist category specifically targets emerging talent. Shan Yichun won in 2026 for her debut "Lil Sis."
The jury-based process means artistic quality matters more than commercial sales or fan mobilization. Independent artists who produce critically strong work can win over major label acts with bigger promotional budgets. The new AI policy also ensures that human creativity remains at the center of evaluation.
If you are an independent artist creating Chinese-language music, submit your work through your label or directly to the GMA Foundation during the submission window. Works in Taiwanese, Hakka, and Indigenous languages have dedicated categories with less competition than the Mandarin categories. Check the GMA website for submission guidelines and eligibility requirements.
Related Resources
- Streaming Royalty Calculator - Track streaming performance across Mandopop platforms
- Performance Rights Organizations - Taiwanese PROs like MUST collect royalties for GMA-winning songwriters
- Sync Licensing Companies - Explore sync opportunities for award-winning tracks
- Publishing Royalty Split Calculator - Calculate splits for collaborators on award-winning albums
- Grammy Awards - The American equivalent, also a peer-voted music award
- MAMA Awards - The leading Asian pop music award, focused on K-pop
- Japan Record Awards - Japan's longest-running music award, another East Asian national prize
- Golden Disc Awards - South Korean music award for album and song achievements
- Melon Music Awards - South Korean music award based on digital performance and jury voting
- Korean Music Awards - Korean jury-based music prize, similar in spirit to the GMA
- Official website: gma.tavis.tw
