Sofiya Marinova Kamenova (, ), better known simply as Sofi Marinova () is a
Bulgarian pop-folk
Folk-pop is a broad musical fusion genre that includes contemporary folk songs with pop arrangements, and pop songs with intimate, acoustic-based folk arrangements. Folk-pop has been popularized by mainstream media in recent years.
Music ...
and ethno-pop singer. She has won multiple music awards and contests.
She is often called "the Romani pearl" and "the Romani nightingale". In February 2012, she won the Bulgarian Eurovision national final with the song "
Love Unlimited
Love Unlimited was a female vocal trio that provided backing vocals for American singer-songwriter Barry White on his albums and concert tours. They also found success with their own recordings.
Career
Formed in 1969, the group included Barr ...
", thus becoming the representative of Bulgaria in the
2012 Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by Ell and Nikki. It was the first time Azerbaijan ...
in
Baku
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
.
Biography
Sofi Marinova was born on 5 December 1975 in
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
, although her family was living near
Etropole
Etropole (, ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located close to the northern slopes of the Balkan Mountains in the valley of the Iskar River, from Sofia.
History
The area was first ...
at the time.
[Interview](_blank)
(in Bulgarian). blitz.bg. 18 December 2009. She showed musical and dancing talent at the age of two and was tutored in singing and dancing by her mother. In primary school, Marinova was an excellent pupil.
She spent a year at a professional builders' school. After 8th grade she moved to a professional school for
tailors
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
, though years later she admitted she never liked sewing. While at school, Marinova fell for acting, appearing in school musicals such as ''
Snow White
"Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...
''. When she was in 10th grade, a local band offered her the position of lead singer. Her father didn't allow it at first but relented after the insistence of her mother: "I started crying and my mother supported me, because when she married my father she put an end to her singing career".
At age 17, Marinova began singing at weddings and christenings. Her repertoire included songs of
Dragana Mirković
Dragana Mirković ( sr-Cyrl, Драгана Мирковић, ; born 18 January 1968) is a Serbian pop-folk singer and entrepreneur. She rose to prominence in the eighties as a member of the popular collective Južni Vetar. Mirković is recognise ...
,
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
,
Sandra,
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...
as well as
Romani music
Romani music (often referred to as Gypsy or Gipsy music, which is often considered a derogatory term) is the music of the Romani people, an ethnic-minority group concentrated in parts of Europe.
Historically nomadic, though now largely settled, ...
. Around this time she and the band took part in a music competition in the village of Osikovitsa near Sofia. She won the singers event and the admirations of the jury, chaired by the famous Bulgarian Romani musician Angelo Malikov. At the competition she also met Petar, a drummer, who later became the father of her only child, Lorenzo. After Osikovitsa, Marinova won the Grand prize at the Stara Zagora festival with her songs "Stari rani" (''Old wounds'') and "Slanchitse moe" (''My Little Sun'').
Marinova was introduced to the big stage by Nencho Kasamov, president of the record company Ara Music, after he saw her performing in a restaurant. Kasamov invited her to record for Ara, because he sensed the future music star in her "by the look in her eyes." Marinova and her band recorded for Ara the album ''Stari rani'', which is believed to be one of the best-selling music albums in Bulgaria of all time.
In 2004, Marinova signed with Sunny Music, working with the producer Krum Krumov. She recorded the albums ''5 oktavi lyubov'' and ''Obicham''. Her collaboration with the
Bulgarian hip-hop musician Ustata resulted in some of her most successful songs. In that period, she also recorded a Romani cover of "Vetrove" by
Lili Ivanova, Bulgaria's most established music artist. The compilation ''Sofi Marinova Best MP3 Collection'' consisting of her 64 most popular songs from her Sunny Music period, was released in 2009. She stated that she was "happy that my project was accomplished and I hope my fans accept it as a gift for their loyalty and love for me for so many years."
On 28 March 2012, as part of the pre-celebrations for the
International Romani Day
The International Romani Day (8 April) is a day to celebrate Romani culture and raise awareness of the issues facing Romani people.
Origin
The day was officially declared in 1990 in Serock, Poland, the site of the fourth World Romani Congre ...
, Sofi Marinova sang Romani songs and her Eurovision song "Love Unlimited" in front of
MEPs and official guests in the
building
A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...
of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
. She was invited there by the
MEPs from Bulgaria.
Philanthropy and charity work
In 2008, Marinova and Ustata joined a campaign against human trafficking, for which they recorded "Chuzhdi ustni" (''A Stranger's Lips''). Both of them travelled around Bulgaria and met with youth in the risk groups for becoming victims of human trafficking. In 2010, Marinova was appointed ambassador against poverty and social isolation.
Her tasks include raising awareness about the issues, taking part in various activities and sharing her own experience. On her appointment she told the journalists: "I think I can be useful to the campaign. In addition I myself come from a poor family and I'm aware of the concerns of poor and underprivileged people."
Personal life
Marinova has one son, Lorenzo, with whom she has released a collaboration single. She was married once (to Lorenzo's father Petar). She then had a long-term relationship with Dacho, who is Petar's eldest son. They tried to marry two times, but they didn't and finally broke up in 2010. She is well known for her honest and direct answers to media's questions in interviews.
Eurovision Song Contest

Sofi Marinova was chosen to represent
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
in the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
in
Baku
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
in May 2012 with the song "
Love Unlimited
Love Unlimited was a female vocal trio that provided backing vocals for American singer-songwriter Barry White on his albums and concert tours. They also found success with their own recordings.
Career
Formed in 1969, the group included Barr ...
". She won the national final, which was held on 29 February, receiving a total of 20 points - the maximum 12 points from the public and 8 points from the jury. She was one of the favourites to win after coming second in the public vote in the semifinals. The song "Love Unlimited" was written by Yassen Kotsev and Krum Georgiev. Its lyrics talk about the transcending and all-embracing power of love ("The song has no borders, language and colour").) The song is in
Bulgarian but contains the phrase "I love you" in
Turkish,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
,
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...
,
French,
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin
** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities
** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom
* Romanians (Romanian ...
, English,
Azerbaijani,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
and
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
. The song is characterised by the typical Romani
glides, vocal power and
techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
musical
arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...
. Marinova performed in the first half of the second semifinal on 24 May and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the grand final, finishing 11th place and scoring the same number of points as
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
who got through in tenth place.
This was Marinova's third appearance in the Bulgarian national finals for Eurovision. In 2005, her collaboration with
Slavi Trifonov
Stanislav Todorov Trifonov (; born 18 October 1966), known as Slavi Trifonov (), is a Bulgarian TV host, tambourine and viola player, singer and politician. Trifonov is mainly active in the traditional Bulgarian folklore music genres, but he h ...
"Edinstveni" (''Only Ones'') finished second. They tried again the following year with the song "Lyubovta e otrova" (''Love Is the Poison''), but fell out in the qualifications after taking 25th place, one place short of the semi-final. In 2007, her collaboration with Ustata, "Ya tvoya" (''I'm Yours''), finished third in the national final.
Discography
Solo albums
[Discography](_blank)
(in Bulgarian). signal.bg.
Albums with the band Super Express
.* — Romani language albums
Compilations
The MP3 album ''Golden Hits'' contains all the songs from Sofi Marinova's first five solo albums plus some songs from her albums with Super Express and a few other songs.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marinova, Sofi
1975 births
Living people
21st-century Bulgarian women singers
Bulgarian folk-pop singers
Musicians from Sofia
Bulgarian people of Romani descent
Romani singers
Bulgarian pop singers
Bulgarian women pop singers
20th-century Bulgarian women singers
English-language singers from Bulgaria
Eurovision Song Contest entrants