Management Student Della becomes first Cypriot to win prestigious award

LIPA Management Student Della Savvidou has won the Music Moves Europe Award, one of the biggest accolades for emerging EU artists.  

Performing under just her first name, Della was one of seven winners to be honoured at a ceremony held on the 15 January as part of Eurosonic Noorderslag Festival in Groningen, The Netherlands. She becomes the first Cypriot to ever be nominated for and win the award and joins a list of previous winners that includes Dua Lipa, Adele, Fontaines D.C. and ROSALÌA. 

Speaking before the ceremony, Della says just to be nominated was a privilege. “We saw the email and I said, ‘this must be spam’.  

“When I started doing the research and going down the Google rabbit-hole, and realised I was the first Cypriot (to ever be nominated) that was a really big honour”.  

In awarding Della the prize, one of the judges praised the “grungey edge” to her music and aesthetic, saying. “Everything from the use of her breath in performance, the synergy with her band, her husky but powerful, left leaning vocal, and hypnotic relationship she has with her audience are all things I am a big fan of!” 

Della thanked the Management teaching team for their flexibility. “I’m really, really grateful to my lecturers. They’ve been really accommodating but without compromising my education, they’ve found a way to combine the two so that I’m still learning, but it's not getting in the way of my musical development, which feels like a privilege”.  

Della has found herself splitting her time between Liverpool and performing all over Europe, which has allowed her to put her Management skills into practice almost immediately. “It’s really helped with the way I structure things and manage myself as an artist”. 

Right after securing her win, Della and her band performed a set at ESNS festival at Lutherse Kerk, including her newest single ‘waste’, which you can listen to below: