TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese singer Eve Ai (艾怡良) apologized to her fans on Saturday night (July 1) after accidentally announcing the wrong producer as the winner of a Golden Melody Award.
At the 34th Golden Melody Awards, Ai and American singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy presented the nominees for Best Song Producer. When it came time to open the envelope and announce the winner, Ai struggled to read a name printed in Chinese cursive script, and could only make out the surname and part of the first name "Chen Chien..."
She asked for help reading the name and the show's announcer said Chen Chien-wei (陳建瑋, Jacky Chen), another nominee. Chen then took the stage, but halfway through his acceptance speech, Ai came back on to say that the wrong winner had been announced.
Ai explained she had struggled to read the name of the head judge, Chen Chien-chi (陳建騏), written on the card, not the actual winner. Ai shouted "sorry" in English and hugged Jacky Chen, who volunteered to help announce the correct winner.
She then said the actual winners were Kyle Lu (嘟嘟) and Itun Chou (周已敦) for "Telephone" from the album "Snow White" performed by JADE. Chen took the mishap in stride and said, "I have become an award presenter, thank you everyone!"
Later that evening, Ai issued an apology on her Instagram account saying:
"I really cherished the opportunity to present the awards given by the organizer. I accept all opinions with humility, and I will personally apologize one by one. Thank you generous brother Chien-wei! Tutu, whom I often work with, I also feel very embarrassed. I also apologize again to Itun Chou."
Also on her Instagram page, Ai held a livestream during which she cried and again apologized for the mistake. She expressed her hope that everyone could give her another chance.
Meanwhile, Facebook user Designsurfing posted an image of the card for Best Indigenous language album and said having Chen Chien-chi's name in the largest font could lead to confusion. Chen Chien-chi also responded by saying "I have apologized to the organizer for making my signature too big," reported SET News.
Example of signature on card for Best Indigenous language album. (Facebook, Designsurfing photo)
