Hsien Ching, Lilium, and Modern Cinema Master wins big at the 16th Golden Indie Music Awards (GIMA)
The 16th Golden Indie Music Awards (GIMA) lit up the Taipei Music Center on November 1, 2025, gathering over 30 artists from Taiwan, Korea, and Thailand in a vibrant celebration of Asian creativity across 22 distinguished categories.
Hsien Ching (陳嫺靜) emerged as the biggest winner, taking Best New Artist, Best Alternative Pop Album, and Best Hip-hop Song on the strength of her genre-bending dual albums.
Robert Swing bagged the Best Band award, while Rising rapper someshiit 山姆 took home Best Hip-hop Album, solidifying his position as one of Taiwan’s most promising new voices.
Blending tradition and experimentation, Lilium (百合花) received double honors with Best Album for “Everything Will Go Wonderfully” and the Jury Award, reflecting the ceremony’s curatorial vision: “To bring music back to its artistic essence and to rekindle a pure love for creation.”
Japan’s ELLE SHIMADA, honored as Best Asian Creative Artist, dedicated her win to “girls with big dreams,” symbolizing the rise of empowered female creators in Asia’s music landscape.
The Performances
Performances throughout the night showcased the theme of “Brave”. Sorry Youth (拍謝少年) opened the night with a breathtaking fusion of 拚場 piànn-tiûnn deity rituals and thundering percussion, igniting the stage with raw energy.
Lilium (百合花) and Siri Lee (李竺芯) joined forces for a gender equality-themed collaboration celebrating freedom beyond boundaries. That’s My Shhh and someshiit 山姆 led a rotating lineup of hip-hop artists, distilling the raw energy of an authentic party into one electrifying performance. I’mdifficult 我是機車少女 and Andr delivered an intimate, emotional performance about courage, empathy, and self-acceptance.
Modern Cinema Master (當代電影大師) won the night’s Best Live Performance after captivating the audiences with an uncompromisingly intense set, reaffirming their reputation for bold, immersive performances.
In a cross-cultural highlight, Thai rapper AUTTA and Taiwanese trio The Chairs(椅子樂團) premiered a Taiwan–Thailand collaboration, merging languages and street imagery into one seamless dialogue. Last year’s Best Asian Creative Artist Winner Silica Gel stunned the audience with the performance of NO PAIN and APEX.
The 16th Golden Indie Music Awards Winners
UNCATEGORIZED AWARDS
Everything Will Go Wonderfully／Lilium – BEST ALBUM
(Album Producer:Cheng Ko-chun、Hsiao He-Shuo )
Robot Swing / IS IT ALIVE? (Live at Yuchen Cinema Studio) – BEST BAND
YILE LIN／True Colors – BEST SINGER-SONGWRITER
Hsien Ching／If we can be happy happy every day, who wants to be sad:＊- BEST NEW ARTIST
BEST INSTRUMENTALIST
Sauljaljui／VAIVAIK／Yuequin(Moon Lute)、Percussion
Cheng Chun Wu／Dual Legendary Rhythms – A New Worldview／Percussion, World Hand Drums, Erhu, Synthesizer
Rich Huang／Dual Legendary Rhythms – A New Worldview／Drumset, Percussion
Modern Cinema Master Tour 2025 / Modern Cinema Master – BEST LIVE PERFORMANCE
LULLABY FOR THR RIVER IN MY BODY ／ELLE SHIMADA – BEST ASIAN CREATIVE ARTIST
CATEGORY AWARDS
Xenobones / FUTURE AFTER A SECOND – BEST ROCK ALBUM
disappoint / Juicy / Cat’s Bile – BEST ROCK SONG
VAIVAIK / Sauljaljui – BEST FOLK ALBUM
Heaven’s Reunion / Bitter-Sweet Playground ／ CHIANG,MENG-HSUN – BEST FOLK SONG
A FOOL / someshiit – BEST HIP-HOP ALBUM
VacuumB (beat by Flowstrong) / If we can be happy happy every day, who wants to be sad: * / Hsien Ching – BEST HIP-HOP SONG
5ENOM ／ FTK – BEST ELECTRONICA ALBUM AND ELECTRONICA SONG
OR ／ Tracy Yang – BEST JAZZ ALBUM
Palette ／ Ctrl+Z ／ Plutato – BEST JAZZ SONG
Heal Me Good ／ Yufu – BEST R&B ALBUM
Praise ／ Qrasun ／ Kumu Basaw – BEST R&B SONG
If we can be happy happy every day, who wants to be sad:)) ／ Hsien Ching – BEST ALTERNATIVE POP ALBUM
Nothing ever stops me / Dance on the Shoreline ／ LÜCY – BEST ALTERNATIVE POP SONG
JURY AWARD
Lilium ／ Everything Will Go Wonderfully
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