Six acts remain in the race to represent Bulgaria in 2017!

In 2016, Bulgaria achieved their best ever Eurovision Song Contest result. Poli Genova’s infectious If Love Was A Crime soared, finishing in 4th place. Aside from beating Bulgaria’s previous record finish of 5th in 2007, Poli also became Bulgaria’s first qualifier since that year. What a way to end a nine year wait! Naturally, Eurovision fans now have high expectations for Bulgaria in 2017 and have been eagerly following the information tweeted by BNT’s official Eurovision Twitter account.
On 20th January, BNT closed the submissions period for interested artists to submit their potential Eurovision projects. Prior to the deadline, they tweeted that there is “some very competitive and modern stuff in the house already”. With anticipation for a further announcement at fever pitch, BNT satisfied us with an insight into the final stage of decision-making.

Six acts remain in the race

Today, that Twitter account revealed that six projects, and presumably acts, remain in the race to represent Bulgaria in Kyiv. In order to make their final decision, BNT will be putting the acts forward to an international focus group. This is always a great way for broadcasters to find an entry that has international appeal. In addition, BNT previously revealed that their entrant would be revealed no later than mid-February. This still seems to be the case. This evening, the broadcaster tweeted that they are “very close to making the final decision”.
https://twitter.com/bg_eurovision/status/824331778743734272

We are not allowed to release officially the list, but we are very close to making the final decision anyway 🙂 #Eurovision

— BNT Eurovision 🇧🇬 (@bg_eurovision) January 25, 2017

Is Gery-Nikol amongst the six?

So who is amongst these six projects? Rumours widely suggest that Bulgarian pop/R&B star Gery-Nikol is amongst the contenders. For months the former X Factor Bulgaria star has been on the lips of Eurovision fans. The hype only increased after she revealed that she would be interested in representing her country in the world’s biggest music event.
The 18-year-old’s style of music is very on-trend, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Rihanna or Era Istrefi releasing her genre of music. Nevertheless, Gery-Nikol’s unique style ensures her music is undeniably her. Check out her most recent English-language single I’m The Queen below!

An upturn in fortunes for Bulgaria

After a tricky time at Eurovision, Bulgaria have certainly come into their own in the past few years. As mentioned previously, Poli Genova secured the country their best ever finish in the adult contest in Stockholm last year. However, even in the junior contest Bulgaria have been finding success. On their comeback in 2014, Krisia, Hasan & Ibrahim achieved a record-breaking second place finish. After Italy declined to host the following year’s Junior Eurovision, Bulgaria took responsibility and hosted a fantastic contest in Sofia. Bulgaria are now on a run of three top ten finishes following the most recent Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Valletta!
Are you excited for Bulgaria’s entry this year? Who do you think BNT will choose as their representative? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and via our Facebook and Twitter pages @escXtra!