Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009

The Bulgarian national final was divided into two parts. First to take place, was a show titled "Be A Star" which consisted of nine heats, and three monthly finals. The second stage titled "Bulgarian Song for Eurovision 2009" included a semi-final and a grand final.

45 songs competed in nine weekly heats with four to five songs competing in each. In the heats, televoting selected the top two songs advanced to the final. An additional qualifier was selected from the remaining entries by a jury. After every three heats, a monthly final was held where the nine winning songs from the previous three heats competed, with the top three songs chosen by televoting qualifying for the semi-finals of Evroviziya 2009. BNT also reserved the right to select wildcard acts out of the remaining non-qualifying acts from the heats and monthly finals.[1][2]

Artists and songwriters were able to submit their song entries until 19 September 2008. Songwriters of any nationality were allowed to submit entries, but songs were required to be performed by Bulgarian singers. BNT received 54 entries, with eight being disqualified due to the songs having been released before 1 October 2007 or not being original works, a violation of the contest's rules.[2][3][4]

The first heat was held on 2 October 2008, where five entries competed. A jury first selected the winner to advance to final. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining entries by televoting.

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 I Veline 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.[5][6]

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.[5][6]

The second heat was held on 9 October 2008, where five entries competed. A jury first selected the winner to advance to final. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining entries by televoting.

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.[7][8][9]

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.[10] 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.[11]

The third heat was held on 16 October 2008, where five entries competed. A jury first selected the winner to advance to final. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining entries by televoting.

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.[12][13][14]

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.[15]

The October selection final was held on 23 October 2008.[16][17] Nine entries competed and the top three chosen by televoting advanced to the final.[18][19]

The fourth heat was held on 30 October 2008, where five entries were due to compete. However, Sahara with its song "Don't Kiss for Money" was withdrawn in order to be chosen for the semi-final of Bulgarian Song for Eurovision 2009.[20][21] However, it was later discovered that the song was in fact disqualified for being performed before 1 October 2008, violating contest rules.[22] As a result, only four songs were presented and a jury first selected the winner to advance to final. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining entries by televoting.

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.[23][24]

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.[23][24]

The fifth heat was held on 6 November 2008, where five entries competed. A jury first selected the winner to advance to final. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining entries by televoting.

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.[25][26]

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.[27]

The sixth heat was held on 13 November 2008, where five entries competed. A jury first selected the winner to advance to final. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining entries by televoting.

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.[28][29]

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.[30]

The November selection final was held on 20 November 2008.[31][32][33] Nine entries competed and the top three chosen by televoting advanced to the final.[34]

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.[33][34]

The seventh heat was held on 27 November 2008, where five entries competed. A jury first selected the winner to advance to final. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining entries by televoting.

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.[35][36][37]

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.[38]

The eighth heat was held on 4 December 2008, where five entries competed. A jury first selected the winner to advance to final. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining entries by televoting.

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.[39][40][41]

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.[42]

The ninth heat was held on 11 December 2008, where five entries competed. A jury first selected the winner to advance to final. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining entries by televoting.

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.[43][44]

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.[45]

The December selection final was held on 18 December 2008.[46][47][48] Nine entries competed and the top three chosen by televoting advanced to the final.[49]

The semi-final was held on 24 January 2009 at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, hosted by Neli Atanasova and Dragomir Draganov. Eighteen songs participated, consisting of the nine qualifiers from the heats and quarter-finals of Be A Star as well as nine wildcards chosen from 38 newly submitted songs. Three of the wildcards: Ivelina, Moto and Sahara, participated in the heats but did not directly qualify for the semi-final.[50][51] The top nine entries decided by an "expert" jury advanced to the final. Of the nine songs, only one song from Be A Star, Stefan Ilchev's "Get Up" made it to the final.[52][53]

Vesela Boneva with the song "Ring The Bells" had been scheduled to perform, but she withdrew in mid-January 2009 due to problems with the show's producers. She was later replaced by Erilien & Najam Sheraz with the song "Don't Break My Heart", performed in English and Punjabi.[54][55][56]

The final was held on 21 February 2009 at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, hosted by Neli Atanasova and Dragomir Draganov. The final consisted of the nine semi-final qualifiers and three wildcard acts who were pre-qualified for the final: Mariana Popova with "Crazy", Poli Genova with "One Lifetime Is Not Enough" and Grafa with "Vrag".[1][53] The winner was decided by televoting.[57][58]