GRONINGEN, Holland (VIP-NEWS) — The winners of the 2018 European Border Breakers Awards (the ‘EBBA`), the European music awards for emerging artists, were honored last night at the Eurosonic Noorderslag festival in the Dutch city of Groningen. Kristian Kostov came out as the big winner of the evening, taking away the ‘Public Choice Award’ after an overwhelming number of online voters chose him.
Kostov, known for the hits Beautiful Mess and The One (I Need You), has been singing since the age of 6, first in the group Neposedy, and after 2011 as a solo artist. He finished as runner-up in X Factor Bulgaria, the country which he represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. His voice earned him comparisons to singers like James Arthur, Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran. Kristian Kostov takes over from last year’s winner Dua Lipa.
The EBBA show also featured outstanding performances by the following EBBA 2018 winners: Alice Merton, Alma, Blanche, Kristian Kostov, Off Bloom, Sigrid, Skott and Youngr. Salvador Sobral couldn’t attend the show due to his health condition, but his manager accepted the award on his behalf.
Over the coming year, the EBBA TV show will be broadcast by several European public channels. Highlights of the show can be watched through the EBBA`s Youtube channel.
The 15th edition of the EBBA
EBBA celebrates new and groundbreaking artists who create the music of today and tomorrow. The list of EBBA winners features many remarkable European artists of the last few years, like: Adele, Christine & the Queens, Dua Lipa, Stromae, Gabriel Rios, Hozier, Of Monsters and Men, Mumford & Sons, Aurora, Disclosure, John Newman, C2C, Tokio Hotel, The Script, Years and Years, Robin Schulz, Carnival Youth, MØ and Melanie di Biasio.
From enthusiastic music fans to an industry that devotes itself to making the music that you love; ‘Music Moves Europe’. The EBBA is one of the ways in which the EU celebrates European musical diversity and unites fans, artists, and the industry.
Each year ten European artists receive an EBBA for the success of their first release outside their home territory. This success is measured by airplay, sales and live shows in Europe and the position on the European Border Breakers Charts. Artists that qualify for EBBA 2018 have experienced groundbreaking success with their first international release in Europe between August 1, 2016, and July 31, 2017. Alongside that, they have to come from a country that participates in the EU’s Creative Europe programme.
EBBA, now in its 15th year, is an EU prize, set up by ESNS in co-operation with the European Commission (Creative Europe) and the European Broadcasting Union, supported by Buma Cultuur, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the province of Groningen, the city of Groningen and MartiniPlaza.
