The European Border Breakers Awards (''the EBBAs") ceremony took place on 11 January at the Eurosonic Noorderslag music festival in Groningen (The Netherlands). The biggest winner of the night was Belgian star Selah Sue, who scooped the public choice award. The event was broadcast live via YouTube and will be screened on TV throughout Europe in the coming weeks.

The European Commission encourages and recognises emerging artists' success in popular music through the annual European Border Breakers Awards, which is a European Union award for contemporary music. On this occasion, the ceremony, which was held at the Eurosonic Noorderslag music festival in Groningen (The Netherlands), the biggest winner of the night was Belgian star Selah Sue, who scooped the public choice award, which was announced live during the ceremony following an online vote to select the 'best of the best'.

The EBBAs aim to encourage artists to make the most of the Single Market by reaching out to new audiences beyond their home country. The awards receive €350.000 in co-funding from the European Commission's Culture Programme and are organized by Eurosonic Noorderslag, in partnership with the European Broadcasting Union.

The winners of the 2012 edition were announced by the Commission in October 2011 and they are, besides Selah Sue, Elekctro Guzzi (Austria), Agnes Obel (Denmark), Ben l'Oncle Soul (France), Boy (Germany), James Vincent McMorrow (Ireland), Afrojack (Netherlands), Alexandra Stan (Romania), Swedish House Maffia (Sweden), Anna Calvi (UK).