Great success for the 40 Principales Awards 2013

PABLO ALBORÁN IS THE NIGHT’S BIG PRIZE WINNER AT THE 2013 40 PRINCIPALES MUSIC AWARDS

ALEJANDRO SANZ WINS AN AWARD FOR HIS TOUR ' LA MÚSICA NO SE TOCA '

RICKY MARTIN, MALÚ , ONE DIRECTION AND AURYN WERE ALSO AMONG THE WINNERS AT THE AWARDS GALA

The biggest night out for music in Spain was held last Thursday, December 12, with the celebration of the eighth annual 40 Principales Music Awards, which have set the international standard for the recognition of the most important artists of the year . The British band One Direction kicked off the 40 Principales Awards 2013 with a press conference in Madrid for national and international media.

The night’s big winner was Pablo Alborán, who received two awards corresponding to Best Artist / Group and Best Album for ' Tanto '. Other winners included Pablo Lopez ( Best Newcomer ), Auryn ( Best Music Video for ' Make my day' ), Malú and  Pablo Alboran ( Best Song for ' Vuelvo a verte ' ) and Alejandro Sanz ( Best Festival / Tour / Concert for  ' La música no se toca). In the International categories, winners included Bruno Mars ( Best Artist / Group), Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ( Best Newcomer), John Newman ( Best Music Video for ' Love me again' ), One Direction ( Best Album for 'Take me home') , James Arthur ( Best Song for ' Impossible' ) and Ricky Martin ( Best Artist / Latin Group) . There were also special awards for Estopa (Special Achievement Award ) , Imagine Dragons ( Special Award for Best International Rock Band of the Year ) and Dani Martin (Special Award for Most Versatile National Artist) . 

The gala, presented by Tony Aguilar, Xavi Rodriguez and Maria Lama (Anda Ya) , Cristina Boscá ( 40 Principales presenter ) , Uri Sabat and Daniela Blume ( No te cortes), kicked off with a showstopping performance from Ricky Martin, who sang his well-known hits `The Cup of Life 'and` Come with me ' . There were also performances from Malú with ` Vuelvo a verte ' and ` A prueba de ti', Efecto Pasillo and their hit ‘No importa que llueva' and James Arthur with his crowd-pleasing ` Impossible' . Auryn took the stage with the song ` Heartbreaker ' , followed by Antonio Orozco, Melendi and Naughty Boy. Then came the the turn of Jessie & Joy, who teamed up with Pablo Alboran for a rendition of `La de la mala suerte'. Malaga-born Alboran also drove the crowd wild with his hit ’Extasis’ at Madrid’s packed Palacio de Deportes. He was followed on stage by Olly Murs and Edurne. Another star of the gala night was Dani Martin, who performed live ` Cero ' . Then it was the turn of Estopa with ‘Como Camarón’ and Imagine Dragons who got

the entire audience on their feet with ` It` s time ' and ` On the top of the world' . The final stretch of the show featured performances from Pablo Lopez  with `Vi ' and the wildly anticipated John Newman with ' Cheating 'and ` Love me again' . 

The music world was represented by the winners and nominees, as well as big names such as Soraya and Carlos Jean. On hand to give out the awards were leading actors such as Fernando Tejero and Pepe Viyuela, sports stars such as motorcycle racers Pol Espargaró , Maverick Viñales and Luis Salom, and famous faces from the worlds of media and TV, including Jesus Vazquez, Màxim Huerta , Tania Llasera , Dani Mateo, Cristina Pedroche and Juanra Bonet. 

Ballantine's and 40 Principales also teamed up to reveal the outcome of the so-called Battle of the Tweets, to find out who the true "master " of Twitter was. After two months of fierce combat , the battle clocked up more than 5 million tweets and 350 Trending Topics among fans. And fans of Pablo Alboran won the day, thanks to their more than a million and a half tweets . 

The ceremony was broadcast live on 40 Principales , 40 TV , Los40.com, the official 40 Principales app and Divinity. TV channel Cuatro broadcast  the highlights of the awards gala on Saturday, December 14 , at 11.30. 40 Principales will also be broadcasting the Gala in Argentina , Colombia , Costa Rica , Chile, Ecuador , Guatemala , Mexico , Panama and Paraguay , while E! Entertainment Television will subsequently broadcast the show to the 46 million homes the channel reaches in more than 45 countries in Latin America.