Music awards weather the pandemic

Milestone album

The fourth edition of the CMA also saw awards presented to rock singer-songwriter Zheng Jun, who won Male Singer of the Year, and Yu Kewei, who was Female Singer of the Year. Other key winners included pop star Jay Chou and pop-rock band Mayday's lead vocalist Ashin, both from Taiwan, who co-wrote Won't Cry, which was voted Song of the Year. Mr. Sea Turtle won the Band of the Year award.

Inside the Cable Temple, an album by indie band Omnipotent Youth Society, won Album of the Year award at the fifth edition of the CMA. It was the second album for the band, which was founded in 2002. Some 50,000 copies sold in just 21 minutes of the album being released online, grossing more than 1.1 million yuan ($174,130). Inside the Cable Temple is considered a milestone for a Chinese indie band.

The Song of the Year award at the fifth edition went to Tan Weiwei for Xiao Juan, which highlights the plight of women experiencing violence and abuse. Tan also won the Female Singer of the Year award. Xue Zhiqian was Male Singer of the Year, while the Best Jazz Instrumental Album award went to 21-year-old pianist Abu, who released his third album, One Step East, last year. The song Teen Spirit, written and performed by Jiulian Zhenren, a four-piece rock band from Guangdong province, won the Best Rock Single and Best Lyrics awards.

Xu Yi, president of the CMIC Music Awards Committee, said: "What matters to us is that we need to ensure equality, authenticity and variety. These awards truly represent the music scene in China. Although we can no longer celebrate together at galas like we used to each year, we are very proud to carry these awards on, which has not been easy."

Since the fourth and fifth editions of the awards were held at the same time, the committee members worked tirelessly to determine the winners. This process, which started on Nov 17, began with hundreds of record companies, music studios and independent musicians submitting entries, covering 752 albums and 2,408 singles. The entries were then verified for eligibility and category placement.