Brussels, 19/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, unveiled, on 19 October, the names of the winners of the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA), to reward young talents of the European world of pop music. The event was held in Groningen, the Netherlands, during the European music festival, Eurosonic Noorderslag. “Music is a universal language that touches billions of people, regardless of nationality or background. (…) I hope the awards inspire other artists to think big and break into new markets”, Vassiliou said. The EBBA winners are: Nabiha (Denmark), Ewert and the Two Dragons (Estonia), French Films (Finland), C2C (France), Emeli Sané (Great Britain), Of Monsters and Men (Iceland), Dope D.O.D. (Netherlands), Amor Electro (Portugal), Juan Zelada (Spain), and Niki and the Dove (Sweden).
In order to be eligible for the awards, artists must have enjoyed border-breaking success with their first international release in Europe between 1 August 2011 and 31 July 2012. The winners are selected by Nielsen Music Control, a company specialised in analysis of the music market, on the basis of record sales and broadcast frequency and according to votes by European Broadcasting Union (EBU) radio stations and festivals participating in the European talent exchange programme (ETEP). (IL/transl.jl)