Swedish songwriter Seinabo Sey was unveiled this evening as the seventh winner of the 2016 European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA), the European music awards for emerging artists. The announcement was made during the Kulturnyheterna show on national television.
Seinabo Sey became a household name when Kygo’s remix of her song ‘Younger’ became a viral hit. The Stockholm-based pop phenomenon, known for her powerful voice and captivating stage presence, inherited her immense talent from her father, West African musician Maudo Sey.
Initially influenced by the likes of Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys, Seinabo has developed her very own R&B /electro sound. Her much-anticipated debut LP Pretend was an instant success after being released in October and she has just announced a European tour in early 2016, with dates in Scandinavia, Finland, Germany, France, UK, Belgium and Switzerland.
Seinabo, who grew up in Södermalm and Halmstad, had academic aspirations but moved to the Swedish capital at 16 to attend a music school programme at Fryshusets. In an interview she recalled: “I was really academically tracked… I tried to push away the whole music dream and thought I had to do something more in line with that, like becoming a lawyer or something. But then I realised I couldn’t really [do that] so I moved to Stockholm.”
Background
The winners are selected on the basis of data from Nielsen Music Control research, the European Broadcasting Union, EBU radio stations, and from festivals participating in the European Talent Exchange Programme.
The winners will receive their awards in a ceremony hosted by TV personality and musician Jools Holland at the Eurosonic Noorderslag festival in Groningen, Netherlands, on January 13, 2016. The ceremony will feature performances of the winning acts.
One of the winners will receive a Public Choice Award based on votes cast on the EBBA website from December 1, 2015 until January 1, 2016. Up to 15 voters, chosen at random from different countries, will be invited to the award ceremony: each will be able to bring a friend and the prize includes their flight and hotel costs.
The EBBA, now in their 13th year, is organised by Eurosonic Noorderslag in partnership with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), with support from Buma Cultuur, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, Province of Groningen, the City of Groningen and Music Week.
Contact
Nikki McNeill | Global Publicity
nikki@46.32.240.39