Salvador Sobral, who is currently at the top of Portugal’s waiting list for a heart transplant and soared to international fame this year with his Eurovision win, is one of ten artists singled out at this year’s EBBA.
The awards will be handed out on 17 January in a ceremony during the Dutch Eurosonic Noorderslag festival, a joint European initiative between the EC and the European Broadcasting Union.
Winners in previous years have included Adele, Stromae, Hozier, Mumford & Sons, Disclosure and The Script.
In 2013, Portuguese band Amor Electro was also among the winners.
According to the organisers, “to be eligible for the 2018 awards, artists must have reached an international level of success on a European scale from 1 August 2016 to 31 July 2017”.
The ten artists distinguished with the EBBA are also candidates for a public vote prize, attributed via online voting.
While the awards ceremony should feature performances by the winners, in Salvador Sobral’s case, his presence has not been confirmed due to his health.
Salvador Sobral announced in September that he would take an indefinite career break for health reasons.
His victory at the Eurovision Song Contest, which he won with the song ‘Amar Pelos Dois’ written by his sister, Luísa Sobral, gave greater national and international visibility to the musician whose career already spanned several years.
Born in Lisbon in 1989, Salvador Sobral took part in two television talent contests, as a child and a teen, and studied Psychology, but switched lanes to music during an Erasmus in Spain.
Last year, he launched his debut album ‘Excuse me’, with influences ranging from Chet Baker’s jazz to the Brazilian classics of Dorival Caymmi.
This year, after winning the Eurovision festival, Salvador Sobral launched the Alexander Search project, in partnership with pianist Júlio Resende, which centres on the poetry of one of Fernando Pessoa’s heteronyms.