The young singer even left an emotional confession: “It almost destroyed me”. There was a lot of controversy in Bulgaria.
Surprise and news at the Festival Eurovision of Song: Bulgaria the event for the first time.
Once again the bets failed and the dance, sung and danced by Dara, got the better of the other 24 finalists – one of them was Finland, which looked like it “was winning”, but ended up in 6th place.
With all the scores revealed in Vienna, the victory left no doubt: 516 points. 1st place in the jury (204 points) and 1st place in the public (312 points). And many more than Israel’s 343 points, which came back in 2nd place, just like last year.
A historic Saturday for Bulgaria. But what many people don’t know, especially outside of Bulgaria, is that Dara might not have even gone to Vienna.
When she won the national event – a kind of Bulgarian Song Festival –, the young singer Darina Nikolaeva Yotova (Dara) was the target of a strong wave of online attacks and hostility.
Bulgarian sources explain to ZAP that there was a “battle” essentially on social media: a typical division between the most conservatives (which they think either that Eurovision is “trash”, or that more traditional music should be performed) and the Bulgarians more progressives.
There was criticism of the rhythm from music, to choreography tested to the millimeter, to the style… “festival” of the song.
But there was more: doubts about voting. Comments about a national competition appeared manipulated, including doubts that came from musicians, highlights the .
Dara was not far from the phenomenon: “The most offensive thing is that they distrust my talentthat is the most offensive thing. Furthermore, I know that the winner in any format usually receives a large dose of hate. This has been observed several times, and somehow I have tried to bear it and ignore it.”
But he couldn’t ignore it completely: “My desire was destroyed and frustrated by the negative comments. In the end, I will decide whether to participate or not” at Eurovision, said the singer on bTV. This in February.
In , the owner of Virginia Records Bulgaria admitted that Dara even thought about giving up of Eurovision.
After spending “several sleepless nights”, said the singer herself, after the “hate” on social media had “affected, shaken and worried”, she also made a decision in February, hours after leaving the possibility of giving up in the air: “I will participate”.
“We will not let ourselves be stolen by dream thieves! I say “we” because my trip to Eurovision is not just for me. If I can perform wellthen all of us Bulgaria will shine on the map. Our music, our artists, we will all have an even stronger voice”, declared the 27-year-old singer.
He was. And he really achieved this “good performance”. Dara and Bulgaria won.
The name of the song, Sideis already displayed on the electronic panels of public transport in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.
The singer has now returned to Bulgaria and was welcomed by countless fans, members of the Government and Sofia City Council.
Nuno Teixeira da Silva, ZAP //
