Nothing boring about Tanya's voice

Veteran Singaporean singer Tanya Chua took four top prizes at Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards, one of the most prestigious entertainment events in the Chinese world.

Chua, 47, whose first album was the English-language Bored in 1997 and whose breakthrough Mandarin record was Tanya in 1999, won album of the year for Depart as well as best Mandarin album, best Mandarin female singer and best vocal album recording.

Chua voiced astonishment that more than two decades after her debut people still enjoyed her music. "I'm afraid people get bored by it," she said at the awards in Kaohsiung.

In a surprise, 60-year-old Beijing rocker Cui Jian won for best Mandarin male singer, but he was not at the awards.

Song of the year went to the Hokkien-language Oh Love, You Are Much Greater Than I Imagined by the band EggPlantEgg.

And best indigenous singer was won by 83-year-old Osay Hongay, an ethnic Amis from Taiwan's eastern county of Hualien.

The Golden Melody Awards celebrate not only Mandopop but also artists singing in various languages.