For years, Bulgarian entertainers have complained that the Bulgarian market does not provide them with sufficient opportunities to develop their careers and, most of all, make money out of it. Nevertheless, Bulgaria enjoyed a boom of pop bands and solo artists in the mid-1990s when the desire for something else other than singers from the decades-long communist era was strong.

The chalga culture, however, (despised by the rest of Bulgaria’s music world because of its predominantly oriental rhythms and the highly consumer-orientated culture it promotes to youngsters, i.e. luxury cars and silicone implants) and the lack of producers willing to risk and invest in newcomers (exactly because of the small market and the free distribution of music files on line) have damaged the careers of aspiring pop singers.

So it is that old and recognisable faces from 20 years ago are still very much around with young Bulgarian wannabe singers almost absent with a few exceptions such as Miro and Galya of the now former Karizma duo, Grafa and Maria Ilieva, among others. All of them, however, became famous in the late 1990s and by now, in teenagers’ eyes, they probably constitute "the old generation".

Fortunately, Bulgaria’s musical scene had an injection of fresh air in 2005 when the first well-funded and executed reality TV show was launched with the sole purpose of finding new talent. This was the Star Academy reality TV format on Nova Televisia. It was a contest for young singers who lived together for several weeks and received professional training from Bulgarian choreographers and music teachers, all in front of viewers’ eyes, with live concerts staged every week. All the songs performed by the 16 participants were well known Bulgarian and world music hits. The contest ended with a big show on the country’s largest stage at the National Palace of Culture where the winner, 17-year-old Marin Yonchev, was crowned.

The show lasted just one season but this was enough to make Bulgaria’s young talents dream of hitting it big even if they lacked money to do it alone. Unfortunately, the winner, Yonchev, took a slide and today there are few people who remember his great final performance and the fact that he was the first young talent to win a singing reality show in Bulgaria. He did produce a couple of songs after the show, as part of the prize that also included 150 000 leva, but the style of music he chose to perform (mainly ballads) consigned him to oblivion.

Sex sells
Although they failed to win, several of the former Star Academy students managed to further their careers after the show. This, however, was based more on chance and makeovers rather than producing major hits.

First was Deyan Kamenov who, using his stage name Dido, became lead singer of the D2 rock band, replacing their original front man, Dicho, who pursued a solo career. Although Dido’s qualities as a singer are well recognised, the band’s founders could not conceal that it was his young and macho appearance that swayed their selection.

With Dido on board the band decided to drop the pop style that made them one of the most successful Bulgarian bands, and turn to American hard rock. The result is that, today D2, still relies on its fame from its "Dicho period" with not a single hit to their name after signing Dido. The latter, however, managed to carve a lucrative career as a fashion model with several advertising campaigns behind him, selling products aimed at teenage audiences that exploit his sex symbol image.

Another Star Academy student who updated her image was Axenia Chankova, today known as just Axenia, who during the show failed to wow audiences, other than with her voice, but several months later returned boasting an entirely new makeover, following cosmetic surgery and breast implants. She became a TV host on a number of programmes and a few months ago she produced her first solo album, betting entirely on provocative and sexy behaviour including an appearance on the cover of Bulgaria’s Playboy magazine.

Other members of the Star Academy group are reduced to performing gigs in Sofia’s piano bars such as the Retro bar where Victoria Arsova can be seen today.

The Star Academy might have lasted just one season but it opened the door for another TV format, Music Idol on Nova Televisia’s rival bTV. The first of three editions so far was launched in 2007 and was won by Nevena Tsoneva who would be forever remembered as the first Bulgarian music idol. The show was more successful than its Star Academy rival because of its different format and ended up producing dozens of young Bulgarian talents.

Unfortunately, these talents had to face the same obstacles after the show as their fellow Star Academy colleagues including music producers’ unwillingness to promote their music. Today, other than the songs, which the winners of the three respective Music Idol seasons recorded, few of the idols have much to show for their careers.

Just like Dido, who joined D2, Preslava Peicheva from Music Idol’s first season became lead singer of another popular band called TE but also failed to produce new hits.
The other idols either gave up their musical careers, formed their own bands, became piano bar performers or sung from time to time at corporate and other public events. Such was the case with Plamena Petrova who, despite her staggering voice, followed Axenia by investing in breast implants and blonde hair. 

Others who had previous singing experience such as Nora Karaivanova from Music Idol’s second season are still around, featuring songs from other artists, but are still far from stars on the Bulgarian music stage.  

Some also chose to join the many TV talk shows. Such was the case with Yasen Zerdev, Preslava and TE, all of whom perform on the Andrei and Ivan Night Show on Nova Televisia. Another music idol from the show’s last (third) season, Preslava Mruvkova, joined the Tochno Taka afternoon show on Pro.bg TV. All of them, however, perform what they did best during their time with Music Idol: popular Bulgarian and world hits and so drifted away from the chance to make their own music.