| Kevin Borg | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kevin James Borg |
| Born | June 9, 1986 Floriana, Malta |
| Origin | Arvidsjaur, Sweden |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Instruments | Singing |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | Sony BMG (2008–present) |
| Associated acts | Daniel Lindström, Agnes Carlsson, Markus Fagervall, Marie Picasso, Alice Svensson |
| Website | Official website |
Kevin James Borg [1] (born 9 June 1986 in Floriana, Malta) is a Maltese pop singer who lives and works in Sweden. Borg rose to musical fame as the winner of the fifth series of the Swedish singing competition Idol in 2008. He was the third male winner and the first in the show's history to be born outside of Sweden, having moved there exactly one year before he was declared winner.
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Borg was born and raised in Floriana, Malta. He discovered his love for singing as a child when he performed the lead role in the school musical "Oliver Twist". His collaboration with composer Jason Cassar has led him to participate twice in both the Maltese selection for Eurovision Song Contest [2] and the Malta International TV Song Festival [3] in 2006 and 2007. He was a resident singer in the television programme Kalamita (2006–2007). Borg has also performed songs with noted Maltese singers Claudia Faniello and Olivia Lewis.
He was also a rather talented footballer, playing for Floriana FC. Borg's grandfather, Lolly De Battista, was the first Maltese footballer to win the prestigious Footballer of the Year Award.[4]
In December 2007 Borg moved to Arvidsjaur in the north of Sweden to live with his Swedish girlfriend. During the fall 2008 he auditioned for the fifth season of the Swedish singing contest Idol. Although he made it through to the final 12 live finals, Borg was not originally among the competition's front-runners. However, his strong performances caused a rapid growth in his popularity with viewers week by week. After making it to the final 2 and performing at Stockholm's Globen Arena before a live audience of 16,000 people, Borg was declared the fifth Swedish Idol on December 12, 2008, defeating Alice Svensson with 60% of the votes. Throughout the live finals, Borg had never fallen into the bottom three contestants.
TV4 received some criticism for including Borg, as he was already an established singer on Malta before his participation in Swedish Idol.
After having won the Swedish Idol 2008 Borg signed a recording contract with Sony BMG. Borg's coronation song With Every Bit of Me was released one week after he had won the contest. The song was a hit in Sweden, where it debuted at no. 1 and stayed on top of the charts for two consecutive weeks.
On March 4, 2009, Borg officially released his album The Beginning in Sweden. The album reached no. 3 in the charts in Sweden and was certified gold. Borg also released his second single off of the album, entitled Street Lights. The single reached no. 10 in Sweden.
The album was originally slated for release in February, but since Borg was at that time working on his music video for Street Lights the album was pushed back by a week.
Borg made a nation-wide tour in the spring and summer of 2009 in Sweden, with the tour starting off in Gislaved, a smaller town in the southern county of Jönköping, Småland.
In October 2011 Borg released his new single "Unstoppable", in support of the Breast Cancer Foundation in Sweden.
| Releases | ||
|---|---|---|
| ↙Studio albums | 1 | |
| ↙Singles | 4 | |
| ↙Music videos | 2 | |
| ↙B-sides | 2 | |
| ↙Other Charted Songs | 9 | |
The following is a complete discography of every album and single released by Maltese pop singer Kevin Borg.
| Year | Information | Sweden | Sales and Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | The Beginning
|
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Swedish sales: 37,000
IFPI: Gold |
| Year | Song | Sweden | Certification | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "With Every Bit of Me" | 1 | Platinum (IFPI) | The Beginning |
| 2009 | "Street Lights" | 10 | — | |
| "The Last Words" (Digital only) | — | — | ||
| 2011 | "Unstoppable" | — |
| Year | Song | Sweden [5] |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Lyssna till ditt hjärta" | 40 |
| "Living on a Prayer" | 9 | |
| "If Tomorrow Never Comes" | 25 | |
| "In The Shadows" | 37 | |
| "Higher and Higher" | 29 | |
| "The Way You Make Me Feel" | 44 | |
| "Hot in Here" | 26 | |
| "Living La Vida Loca" | 33 | |
| "You're the Voice" | 52 |
Malta International TV Song Festival
| Preceded by Marie Picasso |
Idol winner Kevin Borg (2008) |
Succeeded by Erik Grönwall |
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