Paparizou receives Europe’s border breakers award

Elena Paprizou was among 10 European artists to receive an award at the 4th “Border Breakers” Awards: a prize to encourage mobility of artists in Europe.

Europe’s border breaking success stories in the field of music will be recognized and celebrated at a ceremony in Cannes on 21 January 2007. On the opening day of the international music festival Midem, ten European bands and solo artists along with their record companies, authors and publishers were awarded this year’s European Border Breakers Awards which pay tribute to the entire process of musical creation. With this award, the European Commission, in partnership with the European music industry and MTV, wishes to celebrate and promote the richness and diversity of European music. It also aims to raise young people’s awareness about the importance of breaking geographical and mental barriers in such fundamental matters as creativity and the dialogue between cultures.

Ján Figel’, European Commissioner for Education, Training & Culture said: “These awards are a testimony to the diversity of European music and to the way it brings people together, especially young people”.

On Sunday 21 January 2007, the European Commission organized the European Border Breakers Ceremony in Cannes for the fourth consecutive year.

At the ceremony –featuring 7 winners performing live – , ten European bands were presented with European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA), based on statistics provided by the Billboard Information Group and according to the following criteria:

Original debut album of an artist or a band from an EU Member State;

Sales in EU Member states outside the country of production;

Sales between 1 September 2005 and 31 August 2006.

… and this year’s winners are:

Name	Album	Label	Country
Corinne Bailey Rae	Corinne Bailey Rae	Good Groove/EMI	UK
Blog 27	LOL	Magic Rec/Kontor	Poland
Celtic Woman	Celtic Woman	Angel	Ireland
José Gonzalez	Veneer	Imperial/Bonnier	Sweden
Vittorio Grigolo	In the Hands of Love	Polydor/Universal	Italy
Beatriz Luengo	Beatriz Luengo	AZ/Universal	Spain
Ilona Mitrecey	Un monde parfait	Scorpio/Universal	France
Helena Paparizou	My Number one	Columbia/Sony BMG	Greece
Gabriel Rios	Ghostboy	Megadisc Recordings	Belgium
Tokio Hotel	Schrei	Island/Universal	Germany

By sponsoring the increasingly prominent EBBA awards, the European Commission is making a valuable contribution to the European music industry’s efforts to assert itself in both the European and international markets.