Outspoken Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jay Chou Chieh-lun (right) has spilled the beans on the 'surprise' element of music awards.
The multiple award winner said at many ceremonies the awards were pre-arranged and the recipients knew in advance. 'There have been times when I have attended music awards ceremonies knowing which award I was about to receive,' Chou said.
But he said this week's Beijing Pop Music Awards was totally different. 'I think the competition was quite fair,' he said.
'All the singers waited equally for the results to be announced. None of us knew the outcome until the person's name was called during the ceremony,' Chou said, adding he enjoyed the excitement of not knowing the results in advance.
Chou scooped five major music awards, including most popular male singer, best singer-song writer (in Hong Kong and Taiwan) and best producer. He has not previously won at Beijing. 'Winning the best producer award felt like I was being rewarded for creating something beautiful,' he said.
The Beijing Pop Music Awards are similar to the MTV Music Awards in the US. It was held at the Beijing Worker's Stadium.
