The Freshmusic Awards (FMA) has announced its slate of nominees ahead of the 15th edition of the awards this June.
The FMA is organised by Freshmusic, an online music review site based in Singapore. It seeks to celebrate the best of the local Chinese music scene. To be eligible for the awards, artists must be at least half-Chinese ethnically, while bands should have at least half of their members being ethnically Chinese.
This year marks the FMA's partnership with Taiwan Asean Music Action (TAMA) to present two new awards for the first time: Freshmusic x TAMA Regional Album of the Year and Freshmusic x TAMA Budding Artist. TAMA is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Culture Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia.
This year, a total of 15 Singaporean acts are nominated across all categories, including Subsonic Eye, lewloh, Shye, Tanya Chua, BGourd, The Steve McQueens, Krysta Joy all in contention for Freshmusic X TAMA Regional Album of the Year.
Jasmine Sokko, Kekko, and Linying are each nominated for EP of the Year, while Benjamin Kheng is shortlisted for Top 10 Singles of the Year with 'Fresh Feelings', his collaborative single with Taiwanese artist J.Sheon. Another familiar local artist is nominated in the category as well: ShiGGA Shay for his rap track 'uTopia reimagined: chasing', featuring Aisyah Aziz.
Several rising homegrown artists were nominated for the 'Freshmusic X TAMA Budding Artist award, namely Cayenne, Khally, and Yung Raja.
BGourd, The Steve McQueens, and Tanya Chua are the most nominated Singaporean acts, with three nominations each.
Check out the full list of nominees below.
Freshmusic X TAMA Regional Album of the Year
- Tanya Chua, DEPART
- Krysta Joy, Embrace the Progress
- The Steve McQueens, The Observer
- Ichu, Ini Kisah Benar
- BGourd, Beansprouts, Veggie Wraps, Vol 3.
- Haezee, Love Maze
- Tay Cher Siang and WVC Jazz Ensemble, Purnama
- Shye, hello TRINITY
- lewloh, michigan/missinghim
Freshmusic X TAMA Budding Artist
- Haezee
- babychair
- Khally
- Yung Raja
- BGourd
- Krysta Joy
- Cayenne
Breakthrough Artist of the Year
- Oh! Dirty Fingers
- Amber Kuo
- Huang Yuhan
- I Mean Us
- Fool and Idiot
- Wang Hui Chu
- Sung Xiaoyu
- Faye Zhan
Best New Band/Group
- The Loophole
- FloruitShow
- babychair
- i'm difficult
- Neci Ken
- Tsng-kha-lâng
- Entropy+
- Collage
Best New Artist
- Matt Lv
- Deng Jia Yu
- NIO
- Haezee
- Greg Han
- L8Ching
- Voision Xi
- Griff
Best Band
- Subsonic Eye
- Flesh Juicer
- Sorry Youth
- Oh! Dirty Fingers
- Hai Gui Xian Sheng
- Oaeen
- Lilium
- The Steve McQueens
- Undecimber Fin.
- LO SIRONG & GOMOTEU
Best Group
- FloruitShow
- Power Station
- SENZA A Cappella
- Rainbow Chamber Singers
- Wu Tiao Ren
- Vast and Hazy
- TriPoets
- Collage
Best Female Vocalist
- Waa Wei
- Tanya Chua
- Charmaine Fong
- Wang Hui Chu
- Gina (Gina's Can)
- Tia Ray
- Faye Zhan
- Susan Huang
Best Male Vocalist
- Ma Nien-Hsien
- BGourd
- Cui Jian
- Sung Xiaoyu
- Lin I-shuo (Lilium)
- Crowd Lu
- Jude Chiu
- Ayugo Huang
EP of the Year
- Lu1, Intro
- Finn Huang, Grudging Love
- Kekko, Dreaming Life
- Love & Rose, False Negative
- SENZA A Cappella, Circle of Fifths
- Yufu, To My Penpal
- Ginger Root, City Slicker
- Jasmine Sokko, θi = θr
- Cold Dew, Yuyu
- Linying, Good Behaviour
Top 10 Singles of the Year
- Benjamin Kheng, J.Sheon - 'Fresh Feeling'
- Flesh Juicer feat. ØZI - 'Mt. Jade'
- Finn Huang - 'Grudging Love'
- Kumachan - '88BARS'
- Ivana Wong - 'The Pink Room'
- Sorry Youth feat. Ke Jen-chien - 'Justice in Time'
- Julia Peng - 'Delusions'
- Ma Nien-Hsien - 'Taipei New York'
- Wong Hin Yan - 'Drifting'
- Cui Jian - 'Shi Jian De B Mian'
- Vincy - 'Sea of Thorns'
- Rainbow Chamber Singers - 'Zui Gui De Jing Jiu Qu'
- EggPlantEgg - 'Oh Love, You Are Much Greater Than I Imagined'
- Gao Jia Feng - 'Ai Ni Ai Dao'
- Lala Hsu - 'None of the Above'
- ShiGGA Shay, Aisyah Aziz - 'uTopia reimagined: chasing'
- Fishdoll - 'Xi Shun'
- Weibird Wei - 'Red Scarf'
- Sung Xiaoyu - 'If You Forget Me'
- Lilium - 'Bai Liu'
Top 10 Albums of the Year
- Sung Xiaoyu, Be Nothing
- Jerry Li, Ai Ching
- Crowd Lu, healism
- Greg Han, 1st Album
- Faye Zhan, Zai Yun Cai Shang Tiao Wu Ji Ji Zha Zha
- Ayugo Huang, Mountain of Doom
- Undecimber Fin., One That Reminds Me of You
- Fishdoll, Moonsense
- Lilium, Road to...
- The Steve McQueens, The Observer
- Wang Hui Chu, FAC:E
- Panther Chan, Honesty
- Deng Jia Yu, How We Answer This World in Our Prime
- My Little Airport, Sabina's Tears
- Rainbow Chamber Singers, The Star River Tavern A Rediscovery
- Cui Jian, A Flying Dog
- Tanya Chua, DEPART
- Pauldull, Pongso no Tao
- Ma Nien-Hsien, Mama Jeans and Daddy Shoes
- Sorry Youth, Bad Times, Good Times
Stay tuned for the final results of the 15th Freshmusic Awards, to be announced on 24 June on their YouTube channel.
