Since Ukrainian rap star Alyona Alyona had her musical breakthrough in 2018, her success has crossed the border and she has gained international recognition.
After making it to the New York Times’ list of Europe’s 15 “most important acts, musically and socially, right now,” the rapper has now been nominated for the German Anchor Award. The prize, presented at the Reeperbahn Festival annually since 2016, spotlights promising emerging musical talent.
“The way her words flow, hiss, roll, groove, and rush out? In a word: wow,” the award’s website reads.
The team behind the prize announced the nominees on Aug. 20. Apart from Alyona Alyona, four more artists will compete for the main prize at the festival, which will be held on Sept. 18-21.
“Whereas other music awards acknowledge record sales or popularity, the Anchor honors unique music quality manifested in the live performances,” their website reads.
Prior to her success, the 28-year-old rapper, whose real name is Alyona Savranenko, worked as a nursery school teacher and was always passionate about music.
She released her debut album in 2019 after her groundbreaking hit “Rybki” (Fish) drew millions of fans to her music. Known for her confident flow, authentic lyrics and artsy music videos, today Alyona Alyona is in the lineups of some of the best Ukrainian and European music festivals.
Read also: Meet Ukraine’s new star rapper, Alyona Alyona.
The nominees for the Anchor Award are artists from various genres who are selected by a board of music professionals.
This year, the Ukrainian rapper will compete for the prize with such musicians as U.K. indie-rock band Drahla; Norwegian pop-singer Moyka; indie, R’n’B and soul band Feng Suave from the Netherlands and Chinese indie-rock band The Hormones.
The nominees will give two live performances at the Hamburg-based Reeperbahn Festival in front of the audience and an expert jury, who will select the winner.
“In times when algorithms predict and dictate the taste in music, the Anchor re-introduces the concept of expert recommendation and is both a seal of quality and a way to boost popularity for new bands and artists from around the world,” their website reads.
Buy tickets for the Reeperbahn Festival at www.reeperbahnfestival.com
