Abao (musician)

Abao (Chinese: 阿爆) is an Indigenous Taiwanese singer and songwriter.^[1][2][3] Born Aljenljeng Tjaluvie in Taitung County,^[4] she is of the Paiwan people and performs in their language. Additionally, she is fluent in Taiwanese Hokkien and Mandarin.^[5] In 2003, she debuted with the group Abao & Brandy and won the Golden Melody Award for Best Vocal Ensemble.^[6] As a solo artist, she released an album entirely in the Paiwan language, Vavayan ("Woman") in 2016, and won the Golden Melody Award for Best Aboriginal Language Album the following year. On October 3, 2020, Abao won the Golden Melody Award for Best Aboriginal Language Album and the Album of the Year for Kinakaian ("Mother Tongue"),^[7] as well as the Song of the Year Award with "Thank You".^{[8][9][10][11]}

Abao
Born	Aljenljeng Tjaluvie (1981-08-25) 25 August 1981 (age 42) Jinfeng, Taitung, Taiwan
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, actor
Years active	2003–present
Spouse	Tsai Chao-chen ​ (m. 2017)​
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	阿爆
Hanyu Pinyin	Ābào
Musical career
Also known as	Aljenljeng Tjaluvie
Genres	Mandopop, Pop, Rock, R&B
Instruments	Voice, guitar and piano

Abao has stated that her music is meant to increase the pride of Taiwanese indigenous peoples in their cultures and languages, citing her own lack of fluency in Paiwan as a motivating factor. She collaborates with her mother to write the lyrics and correct her pronunciation. Additionally, she has established the label Nanguaq (meaning "good" in Paiwan) to distribute music from indigenous artists.^[12][13] Abao wrote an autobiography (Ari帶著問號往前走; "ari" meaning "let's go" in Paiwan) that was released in 2022.^[14]

References

1. . Focus Taiwan (CNA English News). Central News Agency. 2020-10-04. Archived from the original on 2020-10-06. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
2. "Taiwanese Artists Grab Top Prizes at Golden Melody Awards". South China Morning Post. Associated Press. 2020-10-05. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
3. Feng, Emily (2023-01-01). "One of Taiwan's biggest pop stars is challenging the boundaries of Taiwanese identity". NPR. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
4. . Mata Taiwan. 2014-07-28. Archived from the original on 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
5. Feng, Emily (2022-12-28). "One of Taiwan's biggest pop stars sings in an Indigenous language". NPR. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
6. Chia-hsuan, Ku (2020-09-04). "Abao Shatters Boundaries in Taiwan's Mainstream Music Scene". The News Lens International Edition. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
7. . www.cna.com.tw (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2021-01-05. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
8. . www.cna.com.tw (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
9. . Bella.tw儂儂 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
10. . Marie Claire 美麗佳人 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2020-10-03. Archived from the original on 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
11. . 噓！星聞 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
12. Huang, Karen (13 September 2023). "Indigenous popular music and language revitalisation in Taiwan". Taiwan Insight. University of Nottingham. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
13. Chong, Yoke Ming (2 July 2021). "How 'N1: Nanguaq No. 1' Is Paving the Way for Future Generations of Indigenous Music". Retrieved 2023-11-19.
14. Chiang, Dominique (26 April 2022). 阿爆，從戶頭只剩十元到金曲歌后：「人就是帶著問號往前走的生物，我跟你是相同的！」. Elle (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2023-01-27.