Singapore's Stefanie Sun wins Golden Melody Award for best female artist

Singaporean favorite Stefanie Sun on Saturday was named best female artist at the 16th annual Golden Melody Awards, Taiwan's premier musical competition.

The victory marked the singer's comeback, achieved with "Stefanie," in the Chinese-language music competition which has a format similar to the U.S. Grammys.

In the best male artist category, Taiwan's Stanley Huang won for his metal-tinged rap rock album "Shades Of My Mind." Huang first gained fame in the hip-hop boy band the L.A. Boyz before striking out on his own.

His latest album was up for five awards.

Taiwanese singer Sandee Chan won best album of the year and best producer for "Then We All Wept in Silence."

Earlier, Taiwan's ethnic minority Hakka band Sheng Xiang/Water 3 won the prize for best rock group.

The victory was the third for the group. The win constituted a breakthrough for the band, which has been trying to gain a foothold in the top tier of the vibrant Taiwanese music scene.

Earlier, Sheng Xiang/Water 3 won in the best lyrics and best Hakka album categories.

The band's music describes the travails of farmers and workers using traditional instruments and singing in Hakka, a dialect spoken by an ethnic Chinese minority scattered throughout mainland China as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and other parts of Asia.

Though its potential for commercial appeal might seem limited, Sheng Xiang/Water 3 had the highest number of nominations _ seven _ of any participant in Saturday's awards.

Hakkas, of ethnic Chinese origin, make up about 15 percent of Taiwan's population of 23 million. They are also well represented on the Chinese mainland.

In other key Golden Melody award, the Taiwanese aboriginal duo Power Station emerged victorious in the best vocal group category.

Aboriginals constitute less than 2 percent of Taiwan's population, but led by female pop icon A-mei, hold a prominent position in the island's musical culture.

The award for best new artist went to Taiwan's F.I.R., a rock trio with a female vocalist, for its debut album "F.I.R."

The Golden Melody Awards is distributing prizes in 33 categories, ranging from "best Taiwanese dialect vocal" to "album of the year."

The competition has a distinctly Asian accent, featuring three Chinese dialects and several aboriginal dialects from Taiwan.