The 1st Wave Music Awards, organized by the Wave Music Committee and hosted by Tencent Music Entertainment Group, took place in Chengdu, China, on August 24th. This inaugural event celebrated and recognized excellence in Chinese music, presenting a total of 35 awards in various categories, including song of the year, album of the year, best male artist, and best female artist.
The coveted title of “Song of the Year” was awarded to Eason Chan for his track “Homo Sapiens.” The “Album of the Year” honor went to G.E.M. for her album “Revelation,” while Jay Chou’s “Greatest Works of Art” claimed the title of “Record of the Year.” Qingfeng Wu and G.E.M. were also honored as the best male and female artists, respectively.
The event featured captivating live performances by six groups of artists, including Qingfeng Wu, Jia Lei, and Vinida Weng, showcasing their charisma and musical prowess for the enthusiastic fans in attendance.
One notable aspect of this year’s Wave Music Awards was its live streaming on four platforms: QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music, and We Sing, all under Tencent Music Entertainment Group. This allowed a broader audience of music enthusiasts to share in the excitement of the Wave Music Awards.
The Wave Music Awards encompassed seven distinct fields, including artists, creation and engineering, genres, and languages. The Wave Music Committee, comprised of numerous prominent Chinese music professionals, dedicated several months to curate and select the highest-quality Chinese music works of 2022.
The most anticipated accolades of the evening — “Song of the Year,” “Album of the Year,” and “Record of the Year” — went to Eason Chan’s “Homo Sapiens,” G.E.M.’s “Revelation,” and Jay Chou’s “Greatest Works of Art,” respectively. In terms of individual achievements, Qingfeng Wu was celebrated as the best male artist of the year, while G.E.M. claimed the title of best female artist. Oaeen received recognition as the best duo/group, and Yichun Shan was acknowledged as the best new artist.
Furthermore, the Wave Music Awards recognized excellence in various music genres, including rock, folk, rap, jazz, and world music. Notable winners included Accusefive for “You Are My Magic” (best pop song), Jackson Wang for “MAGIC MAN” (best pop album), Lexie for “3.14159” (best electronic song), GAI for “Tales of Weiyuan” (best rap song), Dou Wei and Chao Jian for “XianwenXiayue” (best world music album), Julia Peng Peng for “Living Room Dreaming” (best dialect album), and Jia Lei for her contribution to the theme song of the TV series “A Lifelong Journey” (best film and TV song), which she also performed live.
To acknowledge and encourage the often unsung heroes of the music industry — the songwriters and engineers — special awards were presented in the “Creation & Engineering” category. These included “Best Lyrics” awarded to Lei Zhao for “I Remember,” “Best Composition” to Jay Chou for “Greatest Works of Art,” “Best Song Arrangement” to Howe Chen for “None of the Above” (arranged for LaLa Hsu), and “Best Album Production” to Penny Tai for “The Passive Audience.”
The 1st Wave Music Awards were not only a celebration of outstanding musical achievements but also a response to the growing emphasis on quality-driven music creation in the Chinese music scene. The innovative combination of an awards ceremony and a songwriting forum aimed to recognize top songwriters while fostering ideas and directions for the music industry’s future. The Wave Music Awards will continue to focus on honoring exceptional music pieces each year, emphasizing the importance of quality content creation in the industry and fully appreciating the value of good music.
