The European Upbeat platform supported by the Hangveto organization from Budapest has announced the winner of the Best New Talent of 2023, an award that puts the spotlight on Europe's best upcoming artists.
Out of 10 nominated candidates, through public voting at the level of the whole of Europe, the audience declared the final winner Macedonian singer Zarina Prvasevda. Applying the unique sensibility of her interpretation to folk music heritage, Zarina creates a heartfelt and fresh expression of Macedonian folklore. As a reward for this victory, she receives a video recording with "La Blogotek" in their famous "Take Away Show" and a performance at the energetic and unique PIN Music Conference and Showcase Festival, which will be held from November 30 to December 2 in Skopje.
Upbeat, Europe's first showcase festival platform, launched the Best New Talent Award to highlight the importance of emerging artists and the musical richness stifled by generic pop culture. A jury of experts, renowned music professionals, critics and industry insiders carefully selected ten nominated candidates from a total of one hundred artists who performed at festivals organized by Upbeat members throughout the year. The final winner was chosen by the audience with approximately four thousand voters from all over Europe who supported their favorite artist.
With the highest number of votes, the winner is the exceptional musical artist from Macedonia, Zarina Prvasevda, who plays both Macedonian and world traditional music. She has collaborated with artists around the world and has also worked on film projects. Balancing her flamboyant heritage with authentic self-expression, Zarina Prvasevda found her own voice on her debut album Echo. Her vocal technique is rooted in Eastern European and Oriental traditions, which she combines with instrumental and rhythmic diversity. With a heartfelt and fresh look at Macedonian heritage, "Echo" features eleven traditional songs in four different languages. As an artist who does not limit her engagement with music, in addition to cross-genre artistic collaborations and bringing Macedonian heritage to a wider audience, Zarina is also known for joining the efforts to declare Shar Mountain a national park.
"Coming from a small country, the road to visibility is undoubtedly more difficult, but my faith, effort and hard work, thanks to the support of platforms like Upbeat that manage to notice them, finally paid off. This award is a great achievement for me and for my country. Thanks to all the good people who voted, thanks to Upbeat, we are moving forward with even more music that warms the soul, the one that multiplies when I share it," said Zarina Prvasevda.
