In the latest interview as part of our summer series, we spoke to Kristian Kostov about his experience at Eurovision in 2017, his participation as part of Singer in China and his artistry with Shower Thoughts EP and the upcoming Mood EP.
“Kristian Kostov will do anything to become the face of Dior!”
While Nathan and Kris talked about a number of different topics, they of course began by discussing Kostov’s participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 where he finished in second place with “Beautiful Mess” and gave Bulgaria their best result at the competition to date.
“The hardest thing for me was losing… it felt like it was part of a movie and something I’ve been working for my whole life. I felt like this was the moment when I achieve what I actually wanted, and I didn’t. It was like a good slap to the face for me and a reminder that this is real life. It took me some time to actually appreciate second place.”
Kristian Kostov talking about his Eurovision experience
As is the case for artists with strong results at the Contest, Kristian Kostov’s success at Eurovision led to receiving many offers in his team’s inbox, including the invitation to participate at Singer in China.
“Email, honestly. Check your email guys, you never know what you’re gonna receive there. In between all the spam messages and comments on my music, there was an invite to do Singer.”
Kristian Kostov describes how he got the opportunity to take part in Singer.
However, as much as Kostov describes the competition as the best time of his life, he also details how much hard work goes into participating in something as large as either Eurovision or Singer:
“It was hard for me to be ready for Singer physically, a lot of people don’t see that but it’s true, it’s what we have to go through – don’t eat, don’t sleep, smile the whole day, be your best self all the time. It’s really challenging”
Kristian Kostov talks about the effort required to participate in Singer.
Determined not to be known for just one song, Kristian Kostov released his first EP in July 2018 called Shower Thoughts. This brought Kostov back into his love of music after going through a low period following his participation at the Eurovision Song Contest.
“After Eurovision, I had this one moment in time where it all kind of went down a little bit and I felt so… not even vulnerable but like nothing had a meaning to it, I felt like I should stop doing music at one point even. That was the worst period of time for me, I believe in 2018. But then Shower Thoughts happened and I remembered that music is so much fun and that this is what makes me the happiest. This gave me the opportunity to work with Universal Music Germany and after Shower Thoughts, I got signed to Polydor / Island Records and Mood came through after we met some great songwriters and producers who helped me get this sound I have right now.”
Kristian Kostov describes the creation of Shower Thoughts and his artistic journey since Eurovision.
Kostov also described the importance of being a songwriter in modern music and why he recently realised that this was his next step on his artistic journey:
“Through Instagram and social media, people have a chance to connect with us on a daily basis and we can show our whole life there. Because of that, they can actually know when a song is genuine and when it is not because they know what my life is like.”
Kristian Kostov explains why he began to co-write his own songs and the importance of songwriting for artists.
Talking about the upcoming release of Mood, Kristian Kostov detailed the creation of this EP and why he chose not to release an album this time:
“With Mood, I wanted to show I have different styles of songs in one EP. I didn’t want to have an album because an album, for me, is like one story or a movie while an EP is a mix tape of songs. Like, every song is different. I wanted to have a song for each section of my fanbase to vibe too. That’s why it’s called Mood – it’s different moods but the same kind of sound.”
Kristian Kostov talks about the creative direction of his Mood EP.
The conversation ended on a fun note when Nathan asked Kristian about his interest in fashion and the brand partnerships he has been fortunate enough to work with. To begin with, Kostov outlined how fashion is as important as other aspects of modern-day pop culture:
“For me, pop culture nowadays is everything combined: fashion, music, movies, TikTok and Instagram. It’s all one stream of information that you have to have in you.”
Kristian Kostov on pop culture in 2020
Then, when describing the freedom of expression that fashion permits, Kristian Kostov shouts out Harry Styles for leading the way, despite what some individuals may think:
“I absolutely adore fashion and I think it’s such a great way to express yourself. Some people are nasty though. Sometimes I will post an outfit and people will go mad about it. Like that’s so weird to me? How can you label some people just because of the stuff they wear? All hail Harry Styles, for example, I love his style and what he and his stylists are doing.”
Kristian Kostov describes his love of fashion and thanks Harry Styles for demonstrating that you can express yourself through fashion.
Finally, Kristian explained the enjoyment he had working on the Calvin Klein campaign in Russia… plus, reveals his ultimate dream brand partnership. Dior, if you’re listening, Kristian’s got your number.
“I had so much fun creating the visuals for the Calvin Klein campaign. The soundtrack, we created it. The visuals we directed it together with the team and it was such a fun experience. Of course, my friends and family were very genuine about the fact that I got a whole load of stuff from the brand, thank god! That was a fun part of it too but the most fun was creating the art. The whole experience of working with such big brands was insane. An absolute dream of mine is to become the face of Dior, my absolute favourite brand. I would love to be the face of Dior. I don’t know how this will happen, but I’m gonna make it happen haha, I really love that brand.”
Kristian Kostov describes his work with major fashion houses and his dream partnership.
You can watch the full interview on YouTube. Let us know what you think in the comments and on our social media channels @ESCXTRA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can follow Kristian Kostov on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
It\’s good that he keeps making music. Some artists just disappear and it would be unfortunate for him to do the same after coming in 2nd with 615 points, that\’s a lot