The world’s biggest music event, the Eurovision Song Contest concluded last Saturday with what was one of the strongest editions of the competition in recent years. Broadcast live from Rotterdam, an estimated 200 million people around the world watched as twenty-six countries vied for a chance to win that iconic microphone trophy.
While this edition’s victor turned out to be Italy, there’s another nation that has consistently scored well every time they compete; so much so that the announcement of their participation every year is seen as a fan event in it’s own right.
Bulgaria’s reputation at Eurovision is a strong one. Unafraid to buck the traditional pop trends that often flood the Contest, they have been known to opt for artists who are at the cusp of something new and fresh. It’s a risk that seemingly pays off, yielding the Balkan country an excellent run of scores.
This year’s representative was VICTORIA, a hugely talented artist who is already an established name within the Bulgarian music scene. Having waited two years to finally go on stage (last year’s Contest was cancelled due to the pandemic), she garnered 170 points in the Grand Final, securing an impressive 11th place with her performance of ‘Growing Up Is Getting Old’.
Fresh off the success from competing, we managed to secure some time for VICTORIA to do a Quickfire with us… Enjoy!
Firstly, how does it feel now that you’ve finally managed to compete at Eurovision, and scoring so highly in the Grand Final?
It feels great and my team and I are really happy with the result. Bulgaria is also really proud of what we’ve accomplished and I couldn’t be more happy. We’ve been working on this project for the past 2 years and it finally comes to an end. It’s so surreal that I was announced as the Bulgarian representative back in November 2019 and since then I’ve been working non-stop on new music and on my development as an artist and as a songwriter. Eurovision is a great opportunity for young artists to find new opportunities and to grow. I loved every second of this journey, proud of both of my Eurovision songs – ‘Growing Up is Getting Old‘ and ‘Tears Getting Sober‘, my first EP ‘a little dramatic‘, the TV concert we organized to announce my song for Rotterdam and the two songs I released prior to the contest – ‘Ugly Cry‘ and ‘alright‘. All this wouldn’t be possible without Eurovision and I hope one day I will be back.
Why do you think Bulgaria always does well at the Contest?
I think the most important factor is the team behind the project here in Bulgaria. They really understand Eurovision and how to take the best out of this project. I am happy that together with my producer Genoveva Christova from Ligna Studios, who made the Eurovision participation possible for Bulgaria, we will continue to work with the same team from Entiendo in the future. They were guiding us through the world of Eurovision and I think we accomplished a lot. Now we have new challenges in front of us and the first will be a songwriting camp in the summer of 2021. Our partners in the UK Ostereo also are an important factor in our journey and us going to Eurovision. It’s all about the team work.
What inspirations came to you while creating ‘a little dramatic’ EP?
The EP ‘a little dramatic’ is a very dear release to me and I am so happy so many people connected with the stories behind the tracks. I love all 5 songs in it – ‘imaginary friend’, ‘growing up is getting old’, ‘dive into unknown’, ‘phantom pain’ and ‘the funeral song’. The first three are inspired by my personal experiences and I relate them to episodes of my life. The last two – ‘phantom pain’ and ‘the funeral song’ take a dark and surreal turn and obviously are not personal experiences of mine. They all have a special place in my heart and I am privileged I had to work with songwriters from all over Europe to create this EP. All the songs were written with the idea that they might go to Eurovision but we didn’t look for the ‘Eurovision formula’ when we were writing them. We just wanted to create something we will be proud of.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Bulgarian music scene, can you recommend some artists to check out?
I would definitely recommend for you to check Kristian Kostov’s music – his two EPs that he release under his name and the EP under the name VOSTOK. He is another Bulgarian artist that is aiming at the international market. For the people that want something more out of the box – just write ‘Bulgarian hits’ on any streaming platform and dive into the unknown. :)
Who would your dream collaboration be with?
I really would love to collaborate with artists like FINNEAS, Moses Sumney, Jacob Banks, Ashe and many others. There are also many international songwriters that I would love to write with.
What does the rest of the year have in store for you?
I already started working on new material and we are discussing with my team what should be our next steps. I don’t think I will be taking a break until the end of this year. I am full with ideas and I can’t wait to share my new music with the world.
‘a little dramatic EP‘ is out now.