Today is Bulgaria's Independence Day, where the nation celebrates its independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Bulgaria made their Eurovision debut in 2005 and have competed at 14 Contests. Bulgaria has had several absences from the competition: 2014 - 2015, 2019, and 2023 - current. Sadly, Bulgaria will not be returning to the 2024 Contest.
While Bulgaria has only qualified for the Grand Final on five occasions (2007, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2021), they have done so with a bang and have given us three top five results (2007, 2016 and 2017). Bulgaria has also had several return Eurovision artists, including two appearances from Poli Genova and three from Stoyan Yankulov. Victoria also has two entries due to the 2020 Contest was cancelled.
In 2017 they achieved their best-ever result with Kristian Kostov and the song ‘Beautiful Mess’, which finished in 2nd place with 615 points.
To mark their Independence Day, the Aussievision team has revisited Bulgaria's Eurovision entries and ranked their favourites.
Here are the results:
15. Kaffe - 'Lorraine' (2005) 0 points
14. Krassimir Avramov - 'Illusion' (2009) 5 points
=12. Mariana Popova - 'Let Me Cry' (2006) 10 points
=12. Deep Zone and Balthazar - 'DJ, Take Me Away' (2008) 10 points
11. Intelligent Music Project - 'Intention' (2022) 15 points
10. Miro - 'Angel Si Ti' (2010) - 19 points
High: 12 points from Sam
"I love the slightly mysterious edge to this infectious Euro-pop track. The violin runs in this song create an atmospheric, heavenly feel – which is logical for a song describing a female love interest as an angel. Miro has great stage charisma and fantastic hair. Shame it was in what I think was one of the most competitive semi-finals ever." ~Sam
9. Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankulov - 'Samo Shampioni' (2013) - 44 points
High: 12 points from Liv, 8 points from Emma and Sam
"I used to hate this entry SO much but then stan twitter over time wore me down and now I really love it. There is something so charming about the frenetic nature of the whole entry. It has something special for sure - I've been won over." ~Liv
=8. Victoria - 'Growing Up Is Getting Old' (2021) - 45 points
High: 12 points from Kyriakos, 7 points from Liv
"What a stunning performance! 'Growing Up Is getting Old' is such a well executed ballad. I love the rock platform which goes so well with the songs vulnerability, and feeling of isolation that VICTORIA portrays matching the theme of the song. 12 points!!" ~Kyriakos
=8. Sofi Marinova - 'Love Unlimited' (2012) - 45 points
High: 10 points from Fleur, 8 points from Dale
"I am still dirty that Sofi did not qualify for the final. How can you forget her- no earpiece, no backing vocals, no dancers- just Sofi commanding that Baku stage. Another one of my all-time favourite Eurovision songs. I wish she would come back." ~Fleur
6. Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankulov - 'Water' (2007) - 48 points
High: 12 points from Fleur, 10 points from Craig and Tim
"I find something about this very hypnotic and transfixing - like when you go to one of those world music festivals with Taiko drumming and traditional chanting and all sorts of other stuff. It's also a bit of a banger!" ~Craig
"This is not just my favourite Bulgarian song, it is one of my favourite all-time Eurovision songs. Well ahead of its time and thoroughly deserved its top 5 finish. This is probably the only song that was responsible for a Olympic gold medal. I will always love this song." ~Fleur
"This song is so enjoyable and such an out of the box style of a performance. It’s very mid 2000’s and Eastern European but it’s probably the first song that really stood out in that style. I think it’s fair to say that this is a song that will divide people but for me it’s just a great alternative song." ~Tim
5. Kristian Kostov - 'Beautiful Mess' (2017) - 50 points
High: 10 points from Liv and Kyriakos
"His vocals are really, REALLY good - especially for someone so young. Very deserving of such a high place." ~Liv
"Another great ballad by Bulgaria. Kristian did such an amazing job in 2017 giving Bulgaria their first runners-up spot! Still a favourite of mine." ~Kyriakos
4. Equinox - 'Bones' (2018) - 54 points
High: 10 points from Emma and Dale, 8 points from Hayley
"Probably fair to say the live version of this fell a bit flat compared to the studio version but there was the 'bones' of a good song here (see what I did there)! I'm still sad Equinox never went on to release any more music but at least we got to see the divine Johnny Manuel almost win The Voice Australia a couple of years later." ~Emma
"The common framework brought a stunning vocal performance to 2018 even if the staging was a little lacklustre. A well-constructed song that I've grown to like more every year." ~Dale
3. Poli Genova - 'Na Inat' (2011) - 57 points
High: 12 points from Tim, 8 points from Steven
"Poli’s first song just had something to it that has always just clicked with me. It has a real energy to it that is just really enjoyable and there’s a bit of grit in there which I enjoy. I remember trying to find an English version of this song but with the benefit of hindsight, it’s not necessary. I think the song is really accessible but the real seller for this song is Poli herself. She has an energy to this song that I think really was missing in the 2011 final. Poli would have brought that energy." ~Tim
2. Victoria - 'Tears Getting Sober' (2020) - 78 points
High: 12 points from Hayley and Dale, 10 points from Sam, Stephen
"I remember when this song was released in 2020 for Eurovision I thought - omg - this is it - this is the song that is going to finally win for Bulgaria! Oh what a missed opportunity. I just love the dreaminess of this with its 50s inspired vocals, haunting lyrics and incredible backing track - it is a very special song. I remember being worried how they would stage this, but after seeing 2021's stunning staging, I don't think I had anything to worry about. I really do think this could have given Iceland a run for its money, but sadly, I guess we will never know..." ~Hayley
"This haunting, mesmerising ballad proves sometimes less is more at Eurovision. Victoria has an incredible vulnerability. I’m devastated we never got to the staging of this song, as I believe it could have been something special. The bookies favourite of the cancelled 2020 contest, Bulgaria certainly missed out on a big opportunity for a first ever win." ~Sam
"I like Victoria’s (recorded) voice and this track had a beautiful fairy tale/lullaby-like quality to the instrumentation. I reckon it would have done very well had the Contest gone ahead in 2020." ~Stephen
"This has this beautiful mix of melancholy and Disney that somehow really speaks to me. I loved it before the pandemic but I think it resonated even more during that tough year of 2020 as well. " ~Dale
1. Poli Genova - 'If Love Was A Crime' (2016) - 80 points
High: 12 points from Stephen, Craig, Emma; 10 points from Hayley
"Poli lit up the stage - literally and figuratively - in Stockholm, delivering a pop banger in a very competitive year. Despite the poor grammar of the title, I can never resist singing (and dancing) along to this catchy, upbeat number." ~Stephen
"This is pop done extremely well. It is tick tick tick all the way with a simple but catchy as heck song with brilliant lyrics, simple yet great staging and a very charismatic performer to sing it in Poli G. This was a stroke of genius, memorable and still a firm favourite with euro fans for a good reason." ~Hayley
"Eternally catchy and energetic, this one is a timeless Eurovision classic which never fails to make me smile. Love it!" ~Craig
"This is a banger of a pop song that easily could have been released by any 2010's popstar. One of my favourite Eurovision entries of all time...it was slightly let down by a lack of onstage choreography. I would love to have seen the backing singers on stage for the whole song than just the last 30 seconds but it ultimately made no difference to the final result with a very well deserved 4th place." ~Emma
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