Earlier this month VICTORIA revealed that ‘Growing Up Is Getting Old’ would be Bulgaria’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. Chosen from a shortlist of six songs from her debut EP A Little Dramatic. Now the entry has had a little trim to fit the Eurovision three minute time limit.
Eurovision version of ‘Growing Up Is Getting Old’ released
Today on streaming services around the world you will discover that VICTORIA’s Eurovision 2021 entry has matured a bit. Of course we all know that EBU rules stipulate that all songs must be within three minutes. So with that in mind ‘Growing Up Is Getting Old’ has become a little bit shorter. Not much has changed and the music structure is still exactly the same, for those scared of a revamp! During the first chorus, the lyric, “anxiety is draining, getting up is growing old”, is no longer present.
The song is a story of self reflection. Being nostalgic for our childhood and how it relates to the present feelings of our place in life. As well as the memories we have of our safest places. Never forgetting where we have come from and making the most of the people around us before it is too late. About the song, VICTORIA thinks towards her own family and friends. Behind the song is VICTORIA, together with a team of Swedish songwriters. They are Oliver Björkvall, Maya Nalani and Helena Larsson. Björkvall has previously worked with 2018 Austrian representative César Sampson on his single ‘Lazy Suit’. This year, Bulgaria received financial support from iCard, a fintech company. The Bulgarian participation is a public–private partnership between the Bulgarian broadcaster BNT and Ligna Group.
Below you can listen to the new Eurovision version:
VICTORIA’s Eurovision journey
Last year BNT returned from a one-year absence to the Eurovision family. They internally selected VICTORIA who came to prominence in The X Factor Bulgaria. Originally, VICTORIA was to perform the heartfelt ballad ‘Tears Getting Sober’ in Rotterdam. Which quickly became an early contender to be Bulgaria’s first ever Eurovision victory. Unfortunately the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic meant that the EBU had to announce the cancellation of the 2020 contest last March. Despite this, Bulgarian viewers voted VICTORIA’s entry as, the best Eurovision entry of the decade.
Only days after the confirmation of the cancellation, BNT immediately stood by their artist and announced VICTORIA’s Eurovision 2021 participation. In a selection twist, the new entry was chosen from the debut EP A Little Dramatic. For ten days, Eurovision fans around the world had the chance to give online feedback of the potential songs for Eurovision 2021 at Bulgaria2021.com. Meanwhile the Bulgarian team also organized focus groups with music, TV and Eurovision experts, which had the opportunity to rate ‘Imaginary Friend‘, ‘Growing Up Is Getting Old‘, ‘Dive into Unknown‘, ‘Phantom Pain‘, ‘The Funeral Song‘ and ‘Ugly Cry‘.
Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest
Thus far, Bulgaria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest on 12 occasions. Between 2005 and 2013, Bulgaria only qualified for the final once. Back in 2007 Elitsa & Stoyan finished in 5th place with their entry ‘Water’. A fusion of traditional instruments and techno music. It was also the first representation of the Bulgarian language on the Eurovision stage. The song was originally titled ‘Voda’ (Вода), before being switched to English for the international audience.
Born again Bulgaria
After withdrawing in 2014, two years of non-participation due to poor results saw a rethink into how Bulgaria should represent itself at the contest. Returning in 2016, Poli Genova shot Bulgaria to their greatest result in their history with ‘If Love Was a Crime’ finishing in 4th place with her bilingual entry. The following year, Kristian Kostov gave Bulgaria its first podium place with ‘Beautiful Mess’ finishing as runner-up to Portugal in 2017, before Equinox made it three qualifications in a row to the Grand Final in 2018.
After Bulgaria’s withdrawal from Eurovision in September 2018, a petition, started by our friends at Eurovision-Bulgaria collected nearly 20,000 signatures to overturn the decision. Despite not broadcasting the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, local Bulgarian fans still found ways to watch the contest from home. More than 700,000 viewers from Bulgaria, 10% of the population, watched Eurovision content on-demand. This data was important in BNT’s effort to find a solution to return to the competition.
Can VICTORIA get Bulgaria’s first Eurovision victory? Let us know! Stay up to date by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! As well as subscribing to our YouTube channel. Where you can watch our reactions to the news in the upcoming months. You can also follow our Spotify for more music from your favourite acts!
