Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Bulgaria and Bulgarian National Television once again decided to produce a special show to pick the Bulgarian entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, but in a different format than 2008's EuroBGVision. For 2009, a two-part process was used: the first part, "Be A Star", consisting of a nine heats and three monthly finals chose the participants for the "Bulgarian Song for Eurovision 2009" part which consisted of a semi-final and final and ultimately chose the Bulgarian entrant.
Before Eurovision
The Bulgarian national final took place over two phases. The first phase was Be A Star which took place between October and December 2008, and the second phase was Evroviziya 2009 where the final winner was determined.Be A Star
Be A Star was the first phase of the national final format developed by BNT in order to select Bulgaria's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The competition consisted of six weekly heats and three monthly finals between 2 October and 18 December 2008. All shows took place at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, hosted by Neli Atanasova and Dragomir Draganov.Format
The competition consisted of three weekly heats and a monthly final taking place each month from October to December 2008. Five songs competed in each heat and three qualified for the monthly finals: one was selected by an expert jury and the other two were selected by the Bulgarian public from the remaining four entries. In the monthly finals, nine songs competed and the top three as determined by public televoting advanced to the semi-final of Evroviziya 2009. BNT also selected wildcard acts out of the remaining non-qualifying acts from the heats and monthly finals to advance to Evroviziya 2009.Competing entries
Artists and songwriters were able to submit their entries until 19 December 2008. Songwriters of any nationality were allowed to submit entries, but songs were required to be performed by Bulgarian singers. BNT received 54 entries, nine of them being disqualified due breaking competition rules. The list of competing artists and songs were released on 20 September 2008.Heat 1
The first heat took place on 2 October 2008. Five songs competed and three qualified to the final. A jury first selected one song to advance. The remaining four entries then faced a public televote which determined two additional qualifiers.The first artist to perform was Monika Kirovska with her pop-rock song "I Won". She was accompanied by a guitar player who was also a backing singer. The second singer to take the stage was Emil Sokolov with his rock song "Deystvitelnost ili izmama". He wore a shiny silver shirt and played the guitar while singing. Following Sokolov was Ivelina with her ballad "Ready for Love". The fourth song was "I Promise" performed by the rock band Perfect Stranger which included two singers, a drummer, bass player, guitarist and a keyboard player. The last song of the night was the electro-pop "Neka s pesen" by Venelina Milanova. Milanova was accompanied onstage by two backing singers and two dancers.
At the end of voting, the jury selected Perfect Stranger as the first qualifier. As they were also the winner of the televoting, the second and third-placed entry qualified for the final: Ivelina and Venelina Milanova.
Heat 2
The second heat took place on 9 October 2008. Five songs competed and three qualified to the final. A jury first selected one song to advance. The remaining four entries then faced a public televote which determined two additional qualifiers.The first song was the rock ballad "Dokosni me" performed by the duet Iskra & Misha Illiev. Misha had long hair and black old-fashioned clothes while Iskra wore a black dress. The second act to take the stage was the four-girl group Prima Vista with their cabaret styled "Let's Spread Love". The members of the group wore shiny clothes with each wearing a different color tie and hat than the other. Following Prima Vista was six-member Konkurent with its hard rock song "Placha v noshtta". There was one keyboard player, one drummer, three guitarists and a soloist. The fourth song was "La ragazza che ho lasciato" performed in Italian by Mario Marinov. He was accompanied by a female backing singer. The last song of the night was the ethno-pop "Samo edno more" by Teresa Kolarova. Kolarova was wore a blue dress and was accompanied onstage by two backing female singers dressed in white.
At the end of voting, the jury selected Iskra & Misha Iliev as the first qualifier. As they were also the winner of the televoting, the second and third-placed entry qualified for the final: Tereza Kolarova and Prima Vista. The televoting results presented at the contest were incorrect as a problem with the company that processed the votes made an error. Konkurent was shown as the third place, but after the error was fixed, it was Prima Vista that came third and thus qualified.
Heat 3
The third heat took place on 16 October 2008. Five songs competed and three qualified to the final. A jury first selected one song to advance. The remaining four entries then faced a public televote which determined two additional qualifiers.The third heat was held on October 16, 2008. Five songs were presented, with the jury choosing one song and televoting choosing two more to go on to the October selection final; two songs did not make it through. The first song was the up-tempo disco song "Tozi Ritam" performed by Iliyan Tsvetanov. The second artist to take the stage was Teodora Kutsarova with her rap song "Droga". She performed alone on stage dressed in black. Following Kutsarova was Ruth with her orchestral musical ballad "Sometimes". The fourth song was the ballad "Imam tvoeto ime" performed by Deyan Dzhenkov. The last song of the night was a mix between pop, folk and soft rock titled "Razstoyaniya" and performed by Moto.
At the end of voting, the jury selected Ruth as the first qualifier. As she came last in the televote, the televoting winner and runner-up qualified for the final: Deyan Dzhenkov and Iliyan Tsvetanov.
October selection final
The October final took place on 23 October 2008. Nine songs consisting of the nine qualifiers from the previous three heats competed and the top three as determined by public televoting advanced.Heat 4
The fourth heat took place on 30 October 2008. Sahara was due to compete in this heat, but withdrew in order to be selected for Evroviziya 2009.' It was later revealed that the song was disqualified from the competition due to the song having been performed before 1 October 2008. Four songs competed and three qualified to the final. A jury first selected one song to advance. The remaining three entries then faced a public televote which determined two additional qualifiers.The opening act of the show was by Bulgaria's 2008 Eurovision entrants Deep Zone and Balthazar performing a song in Bulgarian. The first contestant to perform was Lorado with her electronic pop song "More ot mechti". She wore a jacket and jeans and was accompanied by a dancer dressed in black who held a red cloth. The second act to take the stage was Fanagora & Milena Peeva with their operatic rock song "Love Never Ends". Peeva, the singer, wore a black and pink dress while Fanagora, the band, played the music of the song. Following "Love Never Ends" was Itso Petroff & Priyateli with their rock song "Rokendrol izkustvo". For the performance, the two were dressed as pirates. The fourth and final song was the folk-pop "Yasno slantse" performed by Gergana Dimova. Dimova appeared on stage wearing a gold dress, joined by five dancers also in gold.'
At the end of voting, the jury selected Itso Petroff & Priyateli as the first qualifier. As they came third in the televote, the televoting winner and runner-up qualified for the final: Gergana Dimova and Fanagora & Milena Peeva.
Heat 5
The fifth heat took place on 6 November 2008. Five songs competed and three qualified to the final. A jury first selected one song to advance. The remaining four entries then faced a public televote which determined two additional qualifiers.The first artist to perform was Plamen Penev with his pop-rock song "Dalechen svyat". He was accompanied on stage by female backing singers. The second singer to take the stage was Zheni Karavacheva with his song "Dumi". Following Karavacheva was a trio made up of Bobi Koker, Bleki & Sunnie which sang the modern styled song "Tozi pat". Koker sang while Bleki & Sunnie rapped. The fourth song was "S teb" performed by Emiliya Valenti and was the first ballad of the night. The last song of the night was the folk ballad "Bez dumi" by Hari ot Balgaria.
At the end of voting, the jury selected Emiliya Valenti as the first qualifier. As they were also the winner of the televoting, the second and third-placed entry qualified for the final: Bobi Koker, Bleki & Sunnie and Plamen Penev.
Heat 6
The sixth heat took place on 13 November 2008. Five songs competed and three qualified to the final. A jury first selected one song to advance. The remaining four entries then faced a public televote which determined two additional qualifiers.The first artist to perform was Annayah with her ethno-folk ballad "Az te chakam". She wore a gold dress and was accompanied on stage by two backing singers and two dancers all dressed in white. The second singer to take the stage was Georgi Varbanov with his ethno-rock song "Europe Is My Home!"; he appeared on stage alone. Following Varbanov was Lazar Kisyov with a newer version of his song "You're Not Alone" which was released as a single in October. He appeared with two backing female dancers who remained close to him throughout the song. The fourth song was the pop-rock "Don't Leave Me by the Day" performed by Antoniya Markova. Markova started in a black coat, but took it off mid-song to reveal a purple dress; her several backup dancers also took off their coats revealing dresses of different colors on each. The last song of the night was the ballad "Lipsvash mi tatko" by Mario Denev, who sang alone on stage surrounded by candles and dressed in a black suit.
At the end of voting, the jury selected Lazar Kisyov as the first qualifier. As he came third in the televote, the televoting winner and runner-up qualified for the final: Annayah and Antoniya Markova.
November selection final
The November final took place on 20 November 2008. Nine songs consisting of the nine qualifiers from the previous three heats competed and the top three as determined by public televoting advanced.Bobi Kokera, Bleki and Sunnie were not present during the final due to one of the artists having an illness. However, they were still eligible to be chosen as a jury wildcard for Bulgarian Song for Eurovision 2009.
Heat 7
The seventh heat took place on 27 November 2008. Five songs competed and three qualified to the final. A jury first selected one song to advance. The remaining four entries then faced a public televote which determined two additional qualifiers.The first artist to perform was Vatticana with their rock song "Sun Is Shining". All members of the band wore black and the overall performance was relatively simple. The second singer to take the stage was Anna Star with her song "Stranger", a mixture of pop, country and swing. Following Anna Star was Svetozar Hristov with his pop song "Barrow from the Shadow" which her sang while seated on a bar stool. The fourth song was "My Song" performed by Just Elly, whose performance consisted of her moving about the stage. The last song of the night was the modern song "Don't Look for Me" by Tedu Karavacheva. She wore a pink dress while her backing dancers were dressed in black and white.
At the end of voting, the jury selected Svetozar Hristov as the first qualifier. As he came third in the televote, the televoting winner and runner-up qualified for the final: Vatticana and Tedi Slavcheva feat. Teni & Iva.
Heat 8
The eighth heat took place on 4 December 2008. Five songs competed and three qualified to the final. A jury first selected one song to advance. The remaining four entries then faced a public televote which determined two additional qualifiers.The first group to perform was Freeway, composed of a singer, two guitarists, a drummer and a keyboard player. The singer, dressed with large sun glasses, sang the groups rock ballad "Sama" sung in Bulgarian. The second group to take the stage was the three member Biby Michael's Friends with "Valshebni noti". The group was dressed in opera styled dresses with two of them reading from a note sheet, while the third sang next to a table with candles on it. Following Biby Michael's Friends was Iskren Petsov who sang the pop song "Zashto se varna", arranged by Deep Zone, 2008's Eurovision entrant. Iskren Petsov was joined by two backing singers and three jugglers were on stage doing tricks with fire. The fourth song was the hip-hop "Neshto ludo" performed by Sunay Chalakov who was on stage alone. The last song of the night was the piano ballad "What Does It Take" by Tsetso Vlaykov who wore a suit and cowboy hat and was joined by a backing singer and guitarist.
At the end of voting, the jury selected Iskren Petsov as the first qualifier. As he came fourth in the televote, the televoting winner and runner-up qualified for the final: Sunay Chalakov and Freeway.
Heat 9
The ninth heat took place on 11 December 2008. Five songs competed and three qualified to the final. A jury first selected one song to advance. The remaining four entries then faced a public televote which determined two additional qualifiers.The first group to perform was X-R@Y, which consisted of a singer, guitarist, drummer and violinist. They performed the slow rock song "We" and also took part in EuroBGvision last year. The act to take the stage was Stefan Ilchev with his pop-rock song "Get Up". Ilchev wore black while his three female dancers wore tight silver outfits and his backing singers wore masks. Following Ilchev was Petya Hristova who sang the rock ballad "Sacred Journey". Hristova, dressed in red, was joined by four female dancers. Fourth on the night was the rock song "Senki" performed by the group Zona. Zona was made up of a soloist who plays the guitar, another guitarist and a drummer. The last song of the night was the rock song "Mi fai male" by Martin Aleksandrov, who wished to participate in EuroBGvision for 2008, but his song was disqualified for being released before the deadline. He sang with a complete band behind him which included guitars, drums and a keyboard.
At the end of voting, the jury selected Martin Aleksandrov as the first qualifier. As he came fourth in the televote, the televoting winner and runner-up qualified for the final: Stefan Ilchev and Zona.