Taiwan singer Jay Chou won the Best Male Vocalist Award for his album “Opus 12” while Hong Kong’s Karen Mok picked up the Best Female Vocalist Award for her album “Somewhere I Belong” at the Singapore Hit Awards 2013 (SHA) on Friday.

SINGAPORE: Taiwan singer Jay Chou won the Best Male Vocalist Award for his album “Opus 12” while Hong Kong’s Karen Mok picked up the Best Female Vocalist Award for her album “Somewhere I Belong” at the Singapore Hit Awards 2013 (SHA) on Friday.

“I’m thrilled. I’m happy to be here! Getting an award is great, but I am especially happy because … I won with an English Jazz album. Creating this album has been a dream of mine,” said Mok of her win.

“I hope to continue experimenting with different genres of music … to blend East and West.”

Mok, a first-time SHA attendee, also picked up the Asia Influential Artiste Award and Charismatic Female Performer Award at the SHA, an event that recognises the best talents in the Mandopop industry.

Lucky hairstyle

Other notable winners include Taiwan band Magic Power, which won Best Band, Bai Ann, who won Best New Artiste, Penny Tai, who won Best Album and Alien Huang who took home the Most Popular Male Artiste Award along with two others awards.

“Winning the Most Popular Male Artiste Award means a lot to me. Every word in the title is meaningful,” said Huang.

He explained that he feels very grateful his fans in Singapore recognise his efforts as a male artiste, despite him being known mostly as a television host, and said his hairstyle is his secret to success.

“I think my bowl cut hairstyle brings me luck! Whenever I have a breakthrough in Singapore, whether it’s my first film role or my first television drama, I have this hairstyle!" said Huang.

“Today, I have this hairstyle again and I won three awards!”

Dazzling performances

This year’s SHA, which was held at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, was a star-studded affair, with performances by Taiwan’s Wilber Pan, Denise Ho and Julian Cheung.

Singaporean acts like Serene Koong, The Freshman, Ruth Kueo and MICappella also drew thunderous applause when they took to the stage to entertain the 4,500-strong audience.

But the loudest applause was reserved for Hong Kong veteran pop trio Grasshopper, which belted out songs like “Baby, I’m Sorry” after receiving The Honorary Award for their contributions to the Mandopop music industry.

The trio is set to return to Singapore in March next year for a concert.

- CNA/ha

Jay Chou Discography

                   Jay Chou Discography

• Jay (2000)
• Fantasy (2001)
• The Eight Dimensions (2002)
• Ye Hui Mei (2003)
• Common Jasmin Orange (2004)
• November's Chopin (2005)
• Still Fantasy (2006)
• On the Run (2007)
• Capricorn (2008)
• The Era (2010)
• Exclamation Mark (2011)
• Opus 12 (2012)

Who is Jay Chou?

Jay Chou (born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and actor.

In 2000, Chou released his first album, titled Jay (2000), under the record company Alfa Music. Since then his music has gained recognition throughout Asia, most notably in regions such as Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and in western Asian communities such as in the United States and Australia. He has sold more than 30 million albums since his debut. Chou continues to write songs for other artists, work on his album and went on to win numerous awards in the music industry. In 2003, he was the cover story of Time magazine (Asia version), acknowledging his influence on popular culture. He has since held five world tours, performing in cities such as Taipei, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, Sydney, Las Vegas, Toronto and Vancouver.

Chou debuted his acting career and made his film debut in Initial D (2005), and also since ventured into many movie projects. His first Hollywood debut is in the movie The Green Hornet, starring along with Seth Rogen and Cameron Diaz. Chou also manages his own record and management company JVR Music.(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)