Poli Genova

**Poli Plamenova Genova** (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. She also represented Bulgaria for the second time in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden, with the song "If Love Was a Crime", and reached fourth place in the finals – a record for the country. It was also the first time Bulgaria qualified for the final since 2007.

She hosted the Slavic Vision Song Contest 1 and the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

## Music career

### Eurovision Song Contest

Poli was one of the finalists of the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009. 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.

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". 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, Oikotimes and Escxtra. Since of its release, the official video has been watched over 10 million times. The songs was presented live during the pre-Eurovision parties in Riga, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv and London. In the Eurovision final Genova placed fourth, the highest placement for Bulgaria in the contest. The track charted iTunes in 26 countries, including No 1 in Bulgaria and No.2 in Malta, and has been streamed over 3 000 000 times through Spotify.

### Post-Eurovision

Following Eurovision, Poli performed in a concert in front of an audience of 12 000 people in Arena Armeec, Sofia. She was also invited to sing "If love was a crime" the BG Radio Music Awards 2016, where she was rewardеd with the special statuette *"BG Ambassador of the year"*. Meanwhile, the singer started working on a new project titled *"Do more of what makes you happy"*. It's not yet known whether the title refers to a new album or a new single.

On 5 June Poli performed a gig in London's Clapham Grand. Poli Genova was a special guest of the Mad TV Greece Music Awards on 28 June in Athens, where she collaborated with the Greek star Demy, performing "If Love Was a Crime".

Poli Genova and Destiny Chukunyere, winner of Junior Eurovision 2015 have been revealed as interval acts for the upcoming Junior Eurovision 2016, which takes place in Malta on Sunday 20th November.

Poli Genova was announced as a coach on the upcoming 4th season of Glasat na Bulgaria (The Voice of Bulgaria).

## Discography

### Albums

* Label: N/A
* Format: Digital download, CD