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| (Image Source: Starmometer/Golden Indie Music Awards) |
The Golden Indie Music Awards (GIMA), one of Taiwan’s leading award-giving bodies dedicated to original music, has announced the nominees for its 17th edition. This year, GIMA received 4,242 submissions while the Best Asian Creative Artist category, dedicated to artists from across Asia outside Taiwan, drew a record-high 105 entries, the highest in the award's history. The milestone underscores GIMA’s growing reach and deepening connections with music communities across the region.
The theme of the 17th GIMA is “觸 TRUE”, pairing the Taiwanese expression 觸 (chù) with the English word “TRUE”. In Taiwan, 觸 describes the feeling of being emotionally struck by something or finding that it deeply resonates. The theme highlights authentic creative expression and its ability to resonate across cultures. This year’s jury is chaired by Fang Q, bassist of Taiwanese band Cosmos People, who said the record 4,242 entries submissions reflect the vitality and creative diversity of Taiwan’s music scene. Among this year’s most internationally recognizable nominees is Sunset Rollercoaster. The band’s latest album,《QUIT QUIETLY》, is nominated for Best Album, Best Band and Best Alternative Pop Album while〈Bluebird〉is nominated for Best Alternative Pop Song. Tseng Kuo Hung is also nominated for Best Singer-Songwriter for《QUIT QUIETLY》. Across the categories, this year’s nominees span jazz, electronic music, hip-hop, and works rooted in different languages and local cultural traditions, highlighting the range of Taiwan’s contemporary music scene. On the other hand, Filipino artists ena mori (Ore) and SHNTI (Melting PT.) are among the nominees in the Best Asian Creative Artist category, created to recognize outstanding original music from artists across Asia outside Taiwan, alongside KIKI (Death of a Daisy & Birth of an Oyster), N.Y.P.D. 南洋派對 for (DON’T LIKE 我鍾意), and NAMDO CALLING — Jung Eunhye, CADEJO and Yechan Kim — (NAMDO CALLING). Outside of the competitive categories, the Jury Award will be presented to Yuhan Su for Over The Moons. The GIMA Impact Award, meanwhile, will honor Blue Note Taipei and founder Tsai Bop for their longstanding contribution to Taiwan’s jazz culture and live music community.
GIMA LIVE will precede the awards as the official showcase event of the Golden Indie Music Awards, taking place on October 21-22, 2026 at CORNER MAX in Taipei. The showcase will feature the final performances of nominees in the Best Live Performance category with the winner determined following the performances. The 17th Golden Indie Music Awards Ceremony will be held on October 31, 2026 at 7:00 pm at the Taipei Music Center and is slated to be livestreamed for international audiences, giving music fans and industry observers outside Taiwan a chance to join the celebration. The complete list of nominees, the GIMA LIVE lineup, and additional information about the 17th Golden Indie Music Awards are available on the awards’ official Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube accounts.
