Bulgaria in it to win it for third year in a row
After years and years of disappointing results, Bulgaria has suddenly become a big force in the Eurovision Song Contest. Poli Genova finished in 4th position in 2016 with the song ‘If Love Was A Crime’ and last year Kristian Kostov finished as runner up with ‘Beautiful Mess’. Both songs were created by Borislav Milanov and his team so it is no surprise that he had creative control over this year’s entry too. He formed supergroup Equinox to perform the song ‘Bones’.
Equinox consists of Bulgarian artists Zhana, JJ and Vladimir Mihailov and US based singers Johnny Manuel and Trey Campbell. ‘Bones’ is a catchy composition with a captivating, slightly dark vibe and a solid build up. The production is electronic pop done right! I do feel like the song could be seen as a case of ‘style over substance’ as the whole atmosphere seems to be better thought out than the actual one sentence chorus. Therefore ‘Bones’ is a minor step down from Bulgaria’s two precious efforts, but still very much deserves a spot in the final based on the studio version.
So how will this all play out live? It seems like all members in the group are experienced performers with strong voices and judging by their first live performance, they deliver the harmonies perfectly. My only worry here is that the staging is going to look messy with five vocalists doing their thing. The Bulgarian delegation definitely needs to come up with a tight choreography, staging and harmonies to not let this become a mess like Armenia’s supergroup back in 2015. If they will get it right, another top 10 finish, or maybe even top 5, is in sight.
Review of Semi Final Performance:
After doing exceptionally well in Eurovision for two years in a row, the Bulgarian Eurovision team formed a super group named Equinox in hopes of bringing in another great result. Making the final is only a formality with a strong song like ‘Bones’. It is contemporary, it has a memorable chorus and it stood out enough in the competition. The vocal performance was flawless and it all looked simple, but polished. Personally I did not feel this entry as much as I did others, but Bulgaria surely deserved their spot in the final!
Review of Final Performance:
After a 4th and 2nd place in 2016 and 2017, all eyes were on Bulgaria again to do well. They formed super group Equinox to perform the electro pop composition ‘Bones’. Vocally the five performers did a good job and visually, the act was simple but effective. Somehow, something did not really connect with me. I did not feel their performance as much as I did others and it turns out the same happened to the televoters. While the juries gave them the 9th spot, televoters placed them 14th, which resulted in a 14th position overall.
Read our other Eurovision 2018 reviews: ALBANIA – ARMENIA – AUSTRALIA –AUSTRIA – AZERBAIJAN – BELARUS –BELGIUM – CROATIA – CYPRUS –CZECH REPUBLIC – DENMARK – ESTONIA – FINLAND – FRANCE – FYR MACEDONIA – GEORGIA – GERMANY – GREECE – HUNGARY – ICELAND –IRELAND – ISRAEL –ITALY – LATVIA – LITHUANIA –MALTA – MOLDOVA – MONTENEGRO – THE NETHERLANDS – NORWAY – POLAND – PORTUGAL – ROMANIA – RUSSIA – SAN MARINO – SERBIA – SLOVENIA – SPAIN – SWEDEN – SWITZERLAND – UKRAINE – UNITED KINGDOM