Eurovision Song Contest 2012
Country Bulgaria
National selection
Selection processBŭlgarskata pesen v „Evroviziya 2012”
Selection date(s)Semi-final:
14 January 2012
Final:
29 February 2012
Selected entrantSofi Marinova
Selected song"Love Unlimited"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Yasen Kozev
  • Krum Georgiev
  • Doni Vasileva
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (11th)
Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2011 • 2012 • 2013►

Bulgaria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Love Unlimited" written by Yasen Kozev, Krum Georgiev and Doni Vasileva. The song was performed by Sofi Marinova. The Bulgarian broadcaster Bulgarian National Television (BNT) organised the national final Bŭlgarskata pesen v „Evroviziya 2012” in order to select the Bulgarian entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. 22 entries were selected to participate in the national final which consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final, held on 14 January 2012 and 29 February 2012, respectively. Twelve songs qualified to the final from the semi-final. In the final, "Love Unlimited" performed by Sofi Marinova emerged as the winning entry following the combination of votes from a 24-member jury panel and a public televote.

Bulgaria was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 24 May 2012. Performing during the show in position 8, "Love Unlimited" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Bulgaria placed eleventh out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 45 points.

Background

Prior to the 2012 contest, Bulgaria had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest seven times since its first entry in 2005.[1] The nation achieved their best result in the contest in 2007 with the song "Water" performed by Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankoulov, which placed fifth. To this point, their 2007 entry is also the only Bulgarian entry to have qualified to the Eurovision final; the nation had failed to qualify to the final with their other six entries. In 2011, Poli Genova and her song "Na inat" failed to qualify to the final.

The Bulgarian national broadcaster, Bulgarian National Television (BNT), broadcasts the event within Bulgaria and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. BNT confirmed Bulgaria's participation in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest on 24 August 2011.[2] In the past, BNT had alternated between both internal selections and national finals in order to select the Bulgarian entry. In 2011, the broadcaster organised a national final in order to select the Bulgarian entry for the competition, a selection procedure that continued for their 2012 entry.[3]

Before Eurovision

Bŭlgarskata pesen na „Evroviziya 2012”

Bŭlgarskata pesen v „Evroviziya 2012” (The Bulgarian song in Eurovision 2012) was the national final format developed by BNT which determined the artist and song that would represent Bulgaria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.[4] The competition consisted of a semi-final on 14 January 2012 and a final on 29 February 2012. Both shows were hosted by Milenita, Alexander Sano and Dragomir Draganov and broadcast on BNT 1 as well as online via the broadcaster's website bnt.bg.[5] The final was also streamed online at the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.[6]

Format

The selection of the competing entries for the national final and ultimately the Bulgarian Eurovision entry took place over three rounds. The first round involved a 24-member committee consisting of music professionals, members of the media and advertising agency representatives, titled Academy, shortlisting entries from the received submissions. The second round was a live audition of the shortlisted entries that took place on 23 and 24 November 2011. The Academy selected 22 semi-finalists to proceed to the third round, the televised national final. The semi-final of the competition featured the twenty-two competing entries and the votes of the Academy as well as public televoting each selected one entry to advance to the final. An additional ten qualifiers qualified based on the combined votes from the Academy and public. In the final, the twelve competing entries were voted upon by the 50/50 combination of the Academy and public in order to select the winner. In the event of a tie, the entry that receives the highest score from the public was declared the winner.[3][7]

Competing entries

On 9 September 2011, BNT opened a submission period for artists and songwriters to submit their entries until 11 November 2011. Songs were required to contain partial Bulgarian involvement.[8] By the end of the deadline, the broadcaster received 64 entries. On 16 November 2011, the 33 artists and songs shortlisted by the Academy were announced.[9] The live audition round took place on 23 and 24 November 2011 at the BNT Studio 1 in Sofia where the Academy selected twenty-two artists and songs for the competition.[10][11] "Ima li pŭt" performed by Ivaylo Kolev was later withdrawn from the competition and replaced with the song "You Are the World" performed by Bee in the Bonnet.[12]

Group Members
Members of the Academy[13]
Music professionals
  • Angel Zaberski
  • Haygashod Aghasyan
  • Michail Belchev
  • Yordan Eftimov
  • Tsenko Minkin
  • Zhivko Kolev
  • Georgi Enchev
  • Vasil Gyurov
  • Maria Ganeva
  • Milka Miteva
  • Ani Varbanova
  • Toni Shekerdzhieva-Novak
  • Diana Ruseva
Media
  • Yurdan Lazarov Lazarov
  • Yasen Atanasov
  • Kristiyan Boyadzhiev
  • Dragomir Simeonov
  • Ana-Maria Tonkova
  • Vasil Dimitrov
  • Atanas Genov
  • Gergana Turiyska
  • Georgi Kostov
Advertising agencies
  • Mariana Brashnarova
  • Iliyan Stoychev
Artist Song Songwriter(s) Points Place
New 5 "Chance for Better Life" Jura Tone, Dian Solo 190 1
Ivaylo Kolev feat. Hypnotick "Searching for the Words" Jim Peterik, Ivan Kutikov 166 2
Dess "Love Is Alive" Sebastian Arman, Borislav Milanov, Desislava Doneva 160 3
Tsvetelin Atanasov-Elvisa feat. DZ "Love Goes Around" Mariela Neykova, Svetlin Kaslev 144 4
Sofi Marinova "Love Unlimited" Yasen Kozev, Krum Georgiev, Doni Vasileva 142 5
Steliyana Hristova "Pŭtyat" (Пътят) Lora Dimitrova, Evgeni Parcalev 140 6
Alex and 4Give "Dream" Emmanuel Totev 136 7
Margarita Hranova "Proshka" (Прошка) Atanas Kosev 130 8
Todor Gadzhalov "Still Love You" Katya Hristovska, Teodor Karokolev 130 8
Viktoriya Dimitrova "Novo nebe" (Ново небе) Viktoriya Dimitrova, Julian Janev 116 10
Svetozar Hristov "Keep Me Down" Svetozar Hristov, Yana Grueva 112 11
Better Than Grey "Dream" Bogdan Bogdanov 112 11
Georgi Varbanov "This Is My Green Wave" Georgi Varbanov 108 13
Sonya Ivanova "Finalna lyubov" (Финална любов) Sonya Ivanova 106 14
Rene Ranev "Alone" Rene Ranev 100 15
Teni Omede "Without You" Krassimir Iliev, Teni Omede 98 16
Sunnie "Shut Your Mouth and Do It" Stanislava Dimitrova-Sunnie, Yakim Diankov 96 17
Vyara Pantaleeva "Vyara" (Вяра) Daniela Kuzmanova, Daniel Milev 92 18
Simona Sivanio "Eternal" Rita Pace, Yaron Malachi 88 19
Monika Kirovska "You Are My Angel" Tsvetan Vlaykov 84 20
Go Week "The Way You See the World" Ventsislav Ivanov, Hristo Mikhalkov 82 21
Bee in the Bonnet "You Are the World" Teodora Ilieva, Krassimir Tenev 80 22

Shows

Semi-final

The semi-final took place on 14 January 2012 at the BNT Studio 1 in Sofia.[14] Twelve entries qualified to the final. The songs ranked first by the Academy and a public televote automatically advanced; an additional ten qualifiers were determined by the 50/50 combination of votes awarded by the public and the Academy.[15][16] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guest performers were Gravity Co., StringS quartet and "Diva" Ballet Group.[17]

  Academy qualifier   Public vote qualifier   Academy and public vote qualifier

Semi-final – 14 January 2012
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
Votes Points Votes Points
1 New 5 "Chance for Better Life" 124 12 1,547 12 24 1
2 Vyara Pantaleeva "Vyara" 58 4 289 0 4 10
3 Sonya Ivanova "Finalna lyubov" 24 0 95 0 0 19
4 Monika Kirovska "You Are My Angel" 10 0 40 0 0 20
5 Margarita Hranova "Proshka" 57 3 92 0 3 11
6 Sunnie "Shut Your Mouth and Do It" 15 0 130 0 0 17
7 Tsvetelin Atanasov-Elvisa feat. DZ "Love Goes Around" 77 5 541 5 10 5
8 Steliyana Hristova "Pŭtyat" 88 7 774 8 15 3
9 Viktoriya Dimitrova "Novo nebe" 47 0 128 0 0 18
10 Teni Omede "Without You" 31 0 226 0 0 14
11 Alex and 4Give "Dream" 46 0 180 0 0 15
12 Todor Gadzhalov "Still Love You" 95 8 517 4 12 4
13 Dess "Love Is Alive" 148 — 2,396 — — —
14 Georgi Varbanov "This Is My Green Wave" 13 0 333 1 1 12
15 Sofi Marinova "Love Unlimited" 93 — 2,162 — — —
16 Better Than Grey "Dream" 33 0 296 0 0 13
17 Svetozar Hristov "Keep Me Down" 82 6 505 3 9 6
18 Rene Ranev "Alone" 53 2 476 2 4 9
19 Bee in the Bonnet "You Are the World" 22 0 136 0 0 16
20 Simona Sivanio "Eternal" 11 0 770 7 7 7
21 Ivaylo Kolev feat. Hypnotick "Searching for the Words" 97 10 1,249 10 20 2
22 Go Week "The Way You See the World" 52 1 667 6 7 8

Final

The final took place on 29 February 2012 at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. The twelve semi-final qualifiers competed and "Love Unlimited" performed by Sofi Marinova was selected as the winner by the 50/50 combination of votes awarded by public televoting and the Academy. New 5 and Sofi Marinova were tied at 20 points each but since Marinova received the most votes from the public she was declared the winner.[18][19] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guest performers were TE, Grafa, Nelly Rangelova, Vasil Naydenov, Bulgarian Eurovision Song Contest 2007 entrant Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankoulov, Cypriot Eurovision Song Contest 2012 entrant Ivi Adamou, 2012 Danish Eurovision Song Contest entrant Soluna Samay, 2012 French Eurovision Song Contest entrant Anggun and 2012 Maltese Eurovision Song Contest entrant Kurt Calleja.[6]

Final – 29 February 2012
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
Votes Points
1 Go Week "The Way You See the World" 6 1,033 5 11 6
2 Todor Gadzhalov "Still Love You" 10 532 2 12 4
3 Steliyana Hristova "Pŭtyat" 3 1,708 6 9 7
4 Rene Ranev "Alone" 1 331 0 1 11
5 Dess "Love Is Alive" 5 3,730 10 15 3
6 Svetozar Hristov "Keep Me Down" 7 530 1 8 8
7 Simona Sivanio "Eternal" 0 556 3 3 10
8 Ivaylo Kolev feat. Hipnotik "Searching for the Words" 4 1,785 7 11 5
9 Sofi Marinova "Love Unlimited" 8 6,910 12 20 1
10 Vyara Pantaleeva "Vyara" 0 366 0 0 12
11 New 5 "Chance for Better Life" 12 2,861 8 20 2
12 Tsvetelin Atanasov-Elvisa feat. DZ "Love Goes Around" 2 713 4 6 9

Promotion

Sofi Marinova made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Love Unlimited" as the Bulgarian Eurovision entry. On 12 March, Marinova performed "Love Unlimited" during the Greek Eurovision national final.[20] Between 18 and 20 April, Marinova took part in promotional activities in Turkey where she appeared on TRT Müzik, Kanal D and TV8.[21][22] On 21 April, Marinova performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Ruth Jacott and Cornald Maas.[23] On 25 April, Marinova appeared in and performed during the Jutarnji Program on RTS1 in Serbia.[24]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 took place at the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 25 January 2012, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Bulgaria was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 24 May 2012, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[25] The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 20 March 2012 and Bulgaria was set to perform in position 8, following the entry from Ukraine and before the entry from Slovenia.[26]

The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Bulgaria on BNT 1 with commentary by Elena Rosberg and Georgi Kushvaliev.[27] The Bulgarian spokesperson, who announced the Bulgarian votes during the final, was Anna Angelova.

Semi-final

Sofi Marinova during a rehearsal before the second semi-final

Sofi Marinova took part in technical rehearsals on 15 and 18 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 23 and 24 May. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[28]

The Bulgarian performance featured Sofi Marinova performing on stage in a white leather costume with golden accessories. The stage colours were predominantly pink and the LED screens displayed white waves with flashing spotlights across the stage. The performance also featured several effects including pyrotechnic shots from the stage and on the rotating discs in the background, smoke and a wind machine.[29][30]

At the end of the show, Bulgaria was not announced among the top 10 entries in the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Bulgaria placed eleventh in the semi-final, tying with tenth-placed Norway and receiving a total of 45 points.[31] Under tiebreak rules, the number of countries that voted for Norway (11) was higher than the number for Bulgaria (10). This resulted in Norway qualifying to the final over Bulgaria.[32]

Voting

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Bulgaria had placed ninth with the public televote and seventeenth with the jury vote in the second semi-final. In the public vote, Bulgaria scored 59 points, while with the jury vote, Bulgaria scored 27 points.[33]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Bulgaria and awarded by Bulgaria in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Serbia in the semi-final and the final of the contest.

Points awarded to Bulgaria

Points awarded to Bulgaria (Semi-final 2)[34]
Score Country
12 points
10 points  Turkey
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points  United Kingdom
4 points
3 points
2 points
1 point

Points awarded by Bulgaria

References

  1. ↑ "Bulgaria Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Toronidis, Theofilos (24 August 2011). "Bulgaria: Call for songs to start in September". EscDaily.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Българската песен на Евровизия 2012". BNT (in Bulgarian). 24 August 2011. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  4. ↑ "Започва представянето на финалистите в "Българската песен на Евровизия 2012" по БНТ". Avtora (in Bulgarian). 31 January 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  5. ↑ Storvik-Green, Simon (25 August 2011). "Bulgaria gears up for 2012". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  6. 1 2 Hondal, Victor (29 February 2012). "Watch now: National final in Bulgaria". Esctoday. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  7. ↑ Storvik-Green, Simon (30 September 2011). "Rules published for Bulgarian selection". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  8. ↑ "България ще участва на Евровизия 2012". Novini.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  9. ↑ M. Escudero, Victor (16 November 2011). "33 songs selected in Bulgaria". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  10. ↑ "Bulgaria: one step closer to deciding". Eurovision.tv. 24 November 2011.
  11. ↑ "График за прослушване на песните на 23 ноември". bnt.bg (in Bulgarian). 28 November 2011. Archived from the original on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  12. ↑ Uluçay, Serkan (11 January 2012). "22 Hopefuls will Participate in Bulgarian Semi final on Saturday Evening". EuroVisionary. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  13. ↑ ""ПЕСЕНЕН КОНКУРС НА ЕВРОВИЗИЯ 2012″". bnt.bg (in Bulgarian). 5 December 2011. Archived from the original on 5 December 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  14. ↑ "Полуфинал". bnt.bg (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  15. ↑ M. Escudero, Victor (10 January 2012). "Bulgarian semi-final next Saturday. Final announced". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  16. ↑ "12 са финалистите на Евровизия" (in Bulgarian). BNT. 14 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  17. ↑ "Ясни са финалистите в българската Евровизия". dariknews.bg (in Bulgarian). 14 January 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  18. ↑ "Sofi Marinova to represent Bulgaria in Baku!". European Broadcasting Union. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  19. ↑ "Софи Маринова ще представи България на Евровизия 2012". BNT. 1 March 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  20. ↑ Stanton, John (12 March 2012). "Greece selects Eleftheria Eleftheriou to sing at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest". EuroVisionary. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  21. ↑ "Софи Маринова на промо турне в Турция и Холандия". artmedia-bg.com (in Bulgarian). 18 April 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  22. ↑ "Софи на тридневна визита в Турция". Novinite.bg (in Bulgarian). 18 April 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  23. ↑ "Vandaag Eurovision in Concert". songfestivalweblog.nl (in Dutch). 21 April 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  24. ↑ "Софи Маринова гост РТС-а". rts.rs (in Serbian). 25 May 2012. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  25. ↑ Escudero, Victor (25 January 2012). "Results of the Semi-Final allocation draw". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  26. ↑ "Results of the 2012 Running Order Draw!". eurovision.tv. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  27. ↑ "Гледаме Евровизия на живо по БНТ". www.actualno.com (in Bulgarian). 21 May 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  28. ↑ Granger, Anthony (20 May 2012). "Baku'12: Timetable For The Week". Eurovoix. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  29. ↑ "Bulgaria sends out a multilingual love message". eurovision.tv. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  30. ↑ "High octane message of love from Bulgaria". eurovision.tv. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  31. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 2012 Semi-Final (2)". Eurovision.tv.
  32. ↑ "Second Semi-Final of Baku 2012". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  33. ↑ Siim, Jarmo (18 June 2012). "Eurovision 2012 split jury-televote results revealed". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  34. 1 2 "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Baku 2012". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  35. ↑ "Results of the Grand Final of Baku 2012". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
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