Music of Taiwan

Taiwan is densely-populated and culturally diverse, including a majority of ethnic Taiwanese (including the Holo and Hakka peoples), a powerful faction (around 15%) mainlanders who arrived with Chiang Kai-shek in the middle of the 20th century) and the minority of aboriginal peoples.

With the arrival of the KMT led Republic of China government in 1949, native Taiwanese culture was suppressed, and Standard Mandarin, as the official language of the Republic of China, was promoted. This led to a break in tradition in parts of the island, and ended in 1987, when martial law was lifted and a revival of traditional culture began. Until the 1987 lifting of martial law, Taiwanese pop fell into two distinct categories. Taiwanese pop was sung in a native dialect and was popular among older and working-class listeners; it was strongly influenced by Japanese enka. In contrast, Mandarin pop, due to the assimilation policy of the authoritarian Kuomintang regime (1945-1996) that suppressed Taiwanese languages and culture, appealed to younger listeners.

With the resurgence of interest in native cultural identities starting in the late 1980s, a more distinct and modern form of Taiwanese pop formed. In 1989, a group of musicians called the Blacklist Studio released Song of Madness on Rock Records. Blending hip hop, rock and other styles, the album focused on the issues concerning everyday, modern people. Building on Song of Madness' success, the following year saw Lin Chiang release Marching Forward, which kickstarted what became known as New Taiwanese Song. Pop stars of the 1990s included Wu Bai, Chang Chen-yue, Jimmy Lin, Wakin (Emil) Chau (Choū Huájiàn), Jutoupi (or Jutopi), Chang Hui-mei (A-Mei), and new pop idols like Show Luo, Jay Chou,and Jolin Tsai, while rock group Mayday is said to have pioneered rock music in Taiwan for the generation of youth.
The 1990s and early 2000s also saw the emergence of "underground" bands and artists of diverse styles, such as LTK Commune, Labor Exchange Band, Chairman, Sugar Plum Ferry, Medicine Jar, Backquarter, Ladybug, Feiwu, Sodagreen, Deserts Chang, Fire EX, 8mm Sky, Seraphim, and ChthoniC. The annual Formoz Festival, Spring Scream, and Gung-liao Ho-hai-yan Rock Festival are representative gatherings within Taiwan's indie scene. Of these, Formoz Festival is notable for its international draw, with foreign artists such as Yo La Tengo, Moby, Explosions in the Sky and Caribou headlining the event, while Spring Scream is the largest local band event, and Hohaiyan draws a mixed crowd of beach side party-goers and music appreciators alike.
On the poppier side of music taste, recent Taiwanese popular singers/bands include Cyndi Wang (Wang Xin Ling), S.H.E, F4 - J.V.K.V., A.S.O.S., 5566, Rainie Yang, Da Mouth,Fahrenheit and much more. The popular culture of the Taiwanese people had also influenced Chinese-speaking populations in other places such as mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore. For instance, a significant band, May Day (or Wu Yue Tian) has taken these places by storm.

Taiwanese enjoyment of popular music often manifests itself on a practical level with the obsession for KTV, a variant of karaoke.