Poli Genova

Poli Genova
Genova in 2016
Background information
Birth name	Poli Plamenova Genova
Born	10 February 1987 Sofia, Bulgaria
Genres	Pop
Years active	1991–present

Poli Plamenova Genova (Bulgarian: Поли Пламенова Генова, born 10 February 1987 in Sofia, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian singer who represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Germany. Genova performed her entry "Na inat" (Out of Spite) in the second semifinal.^[1] She will also represent Bulgaria for the second time in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden, with the song "If Love Was a Crime".^[2] She hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Music career

Poli started her career in 1995, when she joined the children’s vocal ensemble Bon-Bon. For the following six years, she hosted the eponymous Children’s TV show. It was then that she sang together with some of the biggest names on the Bulgarian pop scene, such as Georgi Hristov and Yordanka Hristova. In duet with Nelly Rangelova, she won the special award on the Golden Orpheus Festival. In 1997, Poli and Bon-Bon took part in the The International Festival of Arts "Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk", where the children’s ensemble won an award. Poli graduated from "National School of Music Lyubomir Pipkov" majoring in a clarinet. Genova was a part of the UNICEF Charity Project "The Magnificent Six". She was a judge on the first series of the Bulgarian version of The X Factor. Simultaneously with the preparation of her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, she takes part in the Fourth season of the Bulgarian version of Your Face Sounds Familiar, where she imitated The Jackson 5, Justin Bieber, Raffi Boghosyan, The Weekend, Ed Sheeran and Pink.

The Eurovision Song Contest

Genova before going to stage in Düsseldorf, Eurovision Song Contest 2011.

Poli's one of the three rising stars, produced by the Bulgarian National Television for the national selection in 2009.^[3] Being a new name on the music scene, she managed to rank second with her ballad "One Lifetime Is Not Enough".

In 2011 she won the national selection and represented Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, with the song "Na inat" composed and written by herself, Sebastian Arman, Boris Milanov and David Bronner. Although it didn't qualify to the finals, the song became well-known among Eurovision fans.

On 21 October 2015, it was announced that Poli is hosting the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Sofia.^[4]

Later, on 19 February 2016, the Bulgarian National Television chose her to once again represent Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "If Love Was a Crime".^[5] Theodosii Spassov, a renowned Bulgarian jazz musician who plays kaval contributed to the song with an interesting and unique vibe. Composers and producers of the song are Sebastian Arman and Boris Milanov, known from her previous entry "Na inat", this time joined by Joacim "Twin" Persson, a Swedish songwriter, who has produced platinum-selling artists such as Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Kylie Minogue, Lady Gaga, Jamiroquai and others. The track received many positive reviews by fans and editors of Eurovision-related portals, such as Wiwibloggs,^[6][7] Oikotimes ^[8] and Escxtra.^[9] Since of its release, the official video has been watched over 1 621 000 times (statistics on 27.04.2016).^[10] The songs was presented live during the pre-Eurovision parties in Riga, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv and London.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Discography

Year	Title
2011	Various - Eurovision Song Contest Düsseldorf 2011
2013	"1,2,3" (debut album) [15]
2016	Various - Eurovision Song Contest Stockholm 2016 - Come Together

Music videos

Year	Title
2009	"One Lifetime Is Not Enough""
2011	"На инат""
	"1,2,3""
2012	"Две""
	"Заедно с теб""
2013	"Солени дни""
	"За нас""
	"Шот""
	"Сега или никога""
2014	"Нека с теб""
	"Щом си с мен""
2016	"If Love Was A Crime""

Movies & Theatre

Besides being recognized as a singer, Poli is a talented actress, currently performing in her own musical theater for children based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale "The ugly duckling",^[16] but also in a puppet show for adults titled "Some can do it, others cannot".^[17] She has sound-screened various animated movies in Bulgarian, such as:

Year	Movie
2011	The Smurfs
2016	Zootopia[18]
2016	PIXAR in CONCERT

External links

• Official Facebook Page
• Official Twitter profile
• Official Instagram profile

References

1. Busa, Alexandru (24 February 2011). "Poli Genova to represent Bulgaria in Düsseldorf". esctoday.com. ESCToday. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
2. Brey, Marco (19 February 2016). "Bulgaria: Poli Genova returns to Eurovision". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShCKLy5LaT8
4. Fisher, Luke (2015-10-21). "Meet your host... Poli Genova!". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
5. Brey, Marco (19 February 2016). "Bulgaria: Poli Genova returns to Eurovision". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYJqeI7ZEFg
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owJ_duUmX-Q
8. https://oikotimes.com/2016/04/07/bulgaria-2016-oikopanel-reviews-if-love-was-a-crime/
9. http://escxtra.com/2016/03/21/xtra-review-bulgaria-poli-genova-if-love-was-a-crime/
10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKsNfccUTuk
11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENBvjA9PtDQ
12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZXrv1JMr6w
13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngUPZ1wY8BE
14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdIwSIEzSGs
15. http://mysound.actualno.com/?act=album&id=1178
16. http://theatre.art.bg/модерен-театър-софия___21___20
17. http://sofiapuppet.com/en/some-can-do-it-others-cannot___2291
18. https://www.facebook.com/Poli.Genova.Official/posts/10153346059922227