Thousands of screaming fans braved the rain last night to catch a glimpse of their favorite music stars walking down the red carpet for the 18th annual Golden Melody Award held at the Taipei Arena.
Taiwan's Jolin Tsai opened the show with an elaborate and "flaming" performance of the hit song from her album "Diva." Variety show queen Momoko Tao and former news anchor turned entertainer Patty Hou teamed up this year to host the event.

One of the most anticipated moments in the event was to see how Hou and Tsai would interact on stage. Hou and Tsai are rumored to be former "love rivals" because they both dated Taiwan's R&B prince Jay Chou. It is believed that Chou cheated on Tsai in order to be with Hou.

While it is indisputable that Tsai is one of the most phenomenal dancers and that her songs are not half bad, her fashion taste, however, has at times seemed somewhat questionable. Last night, Tsai appeared to be shrink-wrapped in what could only be described as purple plastic that accentuated her reportedly surgically enhanced breasts, and cinched her waist to a circumference that made the proportions of her body similar to that of a Barbie doll.

Chou, surprisingly, was not nominated in the Best Mandarin Male singer category, but managed to grab the award for Best Producer for a Single for his song "Huo Yuan Jai."

The Golden Melody Awards, sponsored by the Government Information Office, is the Taiwanese pop music industry's equivalent of the Grammy Awards in the United States. It is held annually to recognize outstanding music achievements in 34 categories in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka, and any of Taiwan's aboriginal languages.

This year, the lifetime achievement award went posthumously to Chang Hung-yi, the composer of over 400 songs and a four-time Golden Horse winner for his movie soundtracks. His wife accepted the honor on his behalf.

Apparently not all the contenders fancied the golden statue. Best Hakka Singer Lin Sheng-hsiang, who also bagged the Best Hakka album, said he refused to accept the award because he does not believe music should be categorized into different ethnic groups.

"Music transcends all national boundaries, races, and ethnic groups. I do not think it is appropriate to name the categories according to the ethnic groups."

Cheng Ching-yi, one of the most respected Taiwanese singer/songwriters of all times, criticized the event and questioned why no Taiwanese artists were included among the performers.

"This time we had performances of Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Hakka, and aboriginal language songs, but zero Taiwanese songs. If you [the organizers] feel Taiwanese songs are beneath your tastes, then there is no need for any of us from the Taiwanese music industry to come next year."

Award-winning songstress Tsai Chin took the entire audience on a blissful drive down memory lane as she sent chills down their spines with the classics "Unforgettable," "Just like Your Tenderness," and "Who?."

But the oldie goldies did not stop there. Hong Kong's most beloved 70s pop group "The Five Winner" brought the house down with three of their popular songs. Even some youngsters who had never heard of the group before were on their feet, gyrating to the tempo of tambourines and screaming their hearts out.

Nicky Lee, who won the Best Mandarin Male Singer, made history by becoming the first Korean to be nominated and to win in the category.