KKBOX, the leading digital music subscription services provider in Asia, held its 12th Music Awards at Taipei Arena earlier this month and I was honoured to be invited as a VIP guest at the awards!
KKBOX Music Awards is one of the most important music events in Asia, with awards generated on the basis of 9 billion streaming and download clicks all over Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand and etc in the year.
It shows the trend of pop culture and the influence of music, making KKBOX Music Awards not only a representation of the voices of the audience, but also acting as an indicator of market trends, especially in the Chinese music field!
This year, we were super fortunate to have an AMAZING line-up of performances for KKBOX Music Awards 2017, with famous artistes such as Mayday (五月天), JJ Lin (林俊杰), Hebe Tian (田馥甄), Weibird (韋禮安), Eric Chou(周興哲), G.E.M(鄧紫棋), Joey (容祖兒), Andrew Chen (陳勢安), Jess Lee (李佳薇), Kenji Wu (吳克群) and many more!
Singapore to Taipei – Let’s go!
Thanks to the team at KKBOX for putting us up at FX Hotel, great location and very comfortable beds!
We had no time to waste once we landed and checked in at the hotel, all freshened up and ready for the KKBOX Music Awards Before Party – Electronic Night Out!
We first had a lovely dinner at Italian-themed restaurant Vapiano, with a gorgeous view of Taipei 101.
Meet all these lovely folks from the Singapore press team as well as the charming and hospitable folks from KKBOX! From left to right: Boey, Tina, Bao Zhu, Kwee Siong, Miao Ying, Andrew, Sheryl, Elaine, YZ and myself 🙂
Before Party – Electronic Night Out
The Before Party – Electronic Night Out was fabulous!
The KKBOX Music Awards – Before Party kicked off on a high note with popular mandarin and international tracks featuring EDM by well-known DJs from Taiwan such as Machi DiDi (麻吉弟弟), DJ Cookie and DJ Noodles, as well as internationally acclaimed Diamonds DJs from Poland and Germany –
The DJs getting the crowd hyped up and grooving along to the beat!
It was a great warm-up to the KKBOX Music Awards and the crowd was totally loving the upbeat tracks and energy!
KKBOX Music Awards 2017 第12屆KKBOX風雲榜
I can’t tell you how excited I was for evening to come so that I could attend the KKBOX Music Awards 2017! The moment we reached Taipei Arena, there were already huge crowds of people milling about outside the arena and you could sense the anticipation and palpable excitement in the air.
Look at the entire Taipei Arena packed to the brim with music lovers and KKBOX fans! Every year’s KKBOX Music Awards is well-known for its stellar line-up of performers and this year’s was no different.
Two exhilarated Mandopop-loving people waiting for the eargasm to begin!
Needless to say, we both enjoyed the entire show from start to end immensely and were blown away by the fantastic performances and singing! It was entertaining and engaging throughout, with humorous dialogues by well-known hosts Jiao Jiao and former S.H.E. member Selina who shared funny banter and kept us amused during the show.
I may be biased, but my favourite act was easily JJ Lin (林俊杰), who wowed the crowd with his impressive vocals and musical prowess! SINGAPORE REPRESENT!
The crowd went absolutely wild when a surprise act by JJ and three members of Mayday was unveiled – A stunning tribute to three legendary musicians, David Bowie, Prince and George Michael in the form of a medley that had everyone cheering and clapping at the end.
What a incredible collaboration! That rare collaboration by two A-list Mandopop acts from different record labels certainly stole the show away and brought the show to a whole new level of high.
The night ended with everyone’s favourite band – Mayday as they brought the crowd to a rousing ovation and came back with two encore songs! It was a great end befitting a great night and everyone couldn’t get enough of it, remaining energetic and exuberant throughout the entire three hours of performances!
We certainly enjoyed every single moment and can’t wait for the next KKBOX Awards in 2018, I definitely want to be back in Taipei to witness the next show!
Opening act by Hebe 田馥甄
Andrew Chen (陳勢安) and Jess Lee (李佳薇) both impressed first with their own song, and then doing a cover/duet of each other’s famous top hits 煎熬 and 天后!
韋禮安 also had the enthusiastic crowd cheering with his soulful renditions!
Another artiste I admire for her powerful vocals – G.E.M. (鄧紫棋)!
JJ Lin – The highlight of the show!
The surprise collaboration with Mayday that blew everyone away!
Rocking the stage with the age-old classic Careless Whisper. Phenomenal!
Joey Yung (容祖兒) could certainly groove to the beat and sing perfectly well – Both at the same time!
I was awed with the choreography and her sleek dance moves!
Indie group Under Lover – My first time hearing of them but they definitely have a strong presence in the local music scene.
玖壹壹 911 that brought a different genre to the table with their hip-hop rap infused with local 台語 and lingo.
兄弟本色 G.U.T.S was also another indie group that was very interesting with none of the good looks and “idol” traits you’d attribute to Mandopop artistes and yet it was clear that their music had a strangely addictive and enjoyable quality to it!
Of course, the one and only Mayday that got the entire crowd on their feet and singing along – These guys are unbelievable!! So fortunate that they decided to satisfy the audience with two encore songs that ended the night on an extremely high note!
We even got backstage for a mini press conference with Mayday and it being my first time seeing them in person, I was really really thrilled!
The entire KKBOX Music Awards was a treat for the senses from beginning to end, and I love how it celebrates social media and digital music streaming by recognising all of the most popular artistes on KKBOX!
Watch KKBOX Music Awards Live Replay here via KKBOX’s website/app and download KKBOX on the App Store to watch the show with multi-camera and 360-degree panorama!
xx