The brightest stars in the Mandarin pop music industry once again gathered for a night of celebrating Asian talent at the 26th Golden Melody Awards (GMA). Leading the roster of big winners are Taiwanese indigenous singer and songwriter A-Mei, who won Best Mandarin Female Singer, and Hong Kong crooner Eason Chan, who bagged Best Mandarin Male Singer.

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Chan, who first earned the said award with his 1024 album "Rice & Shine," won against fellow Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung by a mere one point. The "God of Songs" was included in the list of nominees just days before the ceremony, making him the fifth and last contender, according to Strait Times. Chan garnered 10 points from the jury, while Cheung had only nine. One judge reportedly abstained from casting his or her choice.

During the awards night, reports highlighted how Cheung has exhibited sportsmanship as he patted Chan's head after the winning nominee turned to him for a hug when the announcement was made.

Meanwhile, the night's Best Mandarin Female Award became A-Mei's third clinch of the title with her album "Faces of Paranoia." Queen of C-Pop Jolin Tsai took home three awards for her "Play" album, namely Best Mandarin Album, Best Vocal Recording Album, and Best Single Producer for the track "Lip Reading."

Taiwan's punk band Fire Ex emerged victorious with Song of the Year for "Island's Sunrise." The single was written by the group in the spirit of the Sunflower Movement student protests last year, cited Asia One. Pop rock group Buddha Jump, led by its Malaysian Chinese singer Penny Tai, grabbed the Best Band Award.

Other winners include Karen Mok with Best Album Producer for "Departures" and William Wei as Best Composer for his February 2014 single "Wolf." Taiwanese rap-rock band BOXING walked away with the Best New Artist Award, reported China Daily.

According to Want China Times, 2015 saw 131 nominations in 26 categories. The esteemed presenters include travel show host Janet Hsieh, Jay Chou, JJ Lin, Karen Mok, Penny Tai, and American music producer Randy Jackson.

The accolade is Taiwan's very own Grammy Awards and is presented by China's Ministry of Culture. Founded in 1990, GMA recognizes the contributions of music artists in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka, and Formosan languages.

Tags26th Golden Melody Awards, a-mei, Jacky Cheung, Eason Chan