The 2014 Dutch Eurovision representatives The Common Linnets have been awarded the 2015 European Borders Breakers Award (EBBA).
The Common Linnets represented The Netherlands at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest with their entry Calm after the storm, achieving an honorable 2nd place in the grand final in Copenhagen.
The winners of the 2015 European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA), celebrating the best new pop, rock and dance acts in Europe which have achieved cross-border chart success, were announced today by the European Commission and Eurosonic Noorderslag, the European music conference and showcase festival.
The 10 winners are:
- Klangkarussell (Austria)
- Melanie De Biasio (Belgium)
- MØ (Denmark)
- Indila (France)
- Milky Chance (Germany)
- Hozier (Ireland)
- The Common Linnets (Netherlands)
- Todd Terje (Norway)
- Tove Lo (Sweden)
John Newman (United Kingdom)
My warmest congratulations to the winners of this year’s EBBA – I wish them great success in their future careers. The awards have proved an excellent launch-pad in the past for artists from Adele to Zedd, helping them to reach audiences beyond their home base and to increase their international visibility and sales- Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.
In addition to Adele (2009) and Zedd (2013), former winners of the EBBA also include Stromae, Emeli Sandé, Gabriel Rios, Of Monsters and Men, Woodkid, Mumford & Sons, Caro Emerald, Lykke Li, Disclosure, Katie Melua, The Ting Tings, C2C, Tokio Hotel, The Script, Zaz, Nico & Vinz, Saybia, Damien Rice, KT Tunstall, Alphabeat, Milow and Afrojack.
Europe’s cultural and linguistic diversity is a strong part of its cultural appeal, but linguistic barriers sometimes make it harder for artists to work internationally and achieve cross-border sales success. The EBBA seek to help them overcome these obstacles.
To be eligible for the awards, the artists must have achieved border-breaking success with their first international release in Europe between 1 August 2013 and 31 July 2014.
