Na Ying speaks at the launch ceremony of the 10th Music Chart Awards in Beijing, March 9, 2010. [sina.com.cn]

Chinese mainland pop diva Na Ying has been named jury chairwoman of the upcoming 10th Music Chart Awards, which will take place in Shenzhen on April 11, the website ent.sina.com.cn reports.

At the launch ceremony held in Beijing on Tuesday, the newly appointed chairwoman delivered her inaugural speech in front of a host of A-list musicians and critics, pledging to make efforts to reverse the long downturn of Mandopop's influence.

Multiple-award-winning singer Sun Nan, top music producer Zhang Yadong and veteran rocker Wang Feng each presented a special gift to mark the tenth anniversary of the domestic music awards event.

Na Ying, absent from the Mandopop scene for almost seven years, is the female singer who has won the most honors at the Music Chart Awards since its launch in 2001.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the prime time of her career, she released seven studio albums and had been a frequent award winner at various music awards events on both the Chinese mainland and in other Chinese-speaking regions of Asia. Her 2001 tour went beyond the mainland to Hong Kong and Malaysia.

The Music Chart Awards, calling itself China's Grammys, is sponsored by Beijing-based Enlight Media. Started in 2001, it has become the most recognized annual event in the mainland pop music scene.

Previous chairpersons of the Music Chart Awards jury include Taiwan musician Jonathan Lee, Hong Kong's prolific lyricist Albert Leung and veteran mainland singer Liu Huan.