VICTORIA will represent Bulgaria at Eurovision 2021, but which song should she sing? VICTORIA will perform one of the six tracks from her new EP A Little Dramatic. The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — has listened to the tracks and ranked our favourites. Read on to see what we thought!

Natalie

1. “Growing Up Is Getting Old”

Victoria is one of my favourite artists in the world right now. I low her raw, honest, dark and youthful music and her mystical voice. All these songs are enchanting to me, but this is the one that I think could make her a Eurovision star. It starts playful, but in a beautiful solemn way, and then builds to this big, bold orchestral moment. It’s spectacular, and Victoria’s voice rises magnificently on top of it. But above all, I love how it hits so true to the core of mental illness. The hopelessness, the hiding, the loneliness, the resignation, the boredom… it leaves me speechless. I can’t remember the last time a song from Eurovision made me cry, but this sure did. I love it. Please send it to Rotterdam.

2. “Dive into Unknown”
3. “Ugly Cry”
4. “The Funeral Song”
5. “Phantom Pain”
6. “Imaginary Friend”

Antranig

1. “Phantom Pain”

I’m pretty convinced that “Ugly Cry” would get VICTORIA the best result at Eurovision but “Phantom Pain” is easily one of my favourite songs of all time. This song bounces back and forth between deep and dark with almost as much erraticism as VICTORIA’s artistic performance in the music video. The message is so accessible that it wouldn’t be out of place in a horror movie or a break-up scene. More importantly, it would be right at home on the Eurovision stage.

2. “Ugly Cry”
3. “Imaginary Friend”
4. “The Funeral Song”
5. “Growing Up Is Getting Old”
6. “Dive into Unknown”

Deban

1.”The Funeral Song”

“The Funeral Song” has the biggest potential for visual impact. In trying to reconcile with the deathly tales of 2020 and unpacking life’s mess, this entry acknowledges the pain within. By doing so, beauty emerges. Victoria drapes this musical coffin with poetry whilst donning high-end couture. The production and orchestration here is rich. Her vocals are a perfect fit for a song that’s as brave as its title. Yes, all six songs are worthy, but let’s bring Victoria flowers and say goodbye to the other five songs in the running. “The Funeral Song” wouldn’t just finish in the top ten, it would make Eurovision history by being one of the most memorable entries ever!

2. “Imaginary Friend”
3. “Dive into Unknown”
4. ‘Growing Up Is Getting Old”
5. “Ugly Cry”
6. “Phantom Pain”

Sebastian

1. “Growing Up Is Getting Old”

With pervading ticks of a clock throughout, “Growing Up Is Getting Old” is a beautifully reflective masterpiece and a stunning finisher to what is a highly emotional journey across a little dramatic. In a year where no doubt many songs will be influenced by the new COVID-19 world, “Growing Up Is Getting Old” is an exasperated but realistic take on what many other country’s artists are trying to turn into a song-and-dance. VICTORIA is not in the mood to celebrate, and I’m here for it.  I also applaud the clever play on words when the words ‘growing’ and ‘getting’ are interchanged throughout the song.

2. “The Funeral Song”
3. “Phantom Pain”
4. “Ugly Cry”
5. “Imaginary Friend”
6. “Dive into Unknown”

Diego

1. “Imaginary Friend”

VICTORIA is Bulgaria’s queen of sadness. She emotes deep emotions in her songs. Despite her unhappy lyrics — which are always devoid of hope — her songs emerge with melodies that invite us to reflect on different situations that we’ve all been through. “Imaginary Friend” is a strong example of this. With a sad and yet powerfully strong message, Victoria’s melodic interpretation makes this entry a masterpiece. As the chorus grows stronger, its key message comes to the fore: “How can you miss someone that you never knew at all?”. A deeply personal sentiment that resonates with most listeners, and a sentiment that ripples so deeply. With the right staging, this could win Eurovision.

2. “Phantom Pain”
3. “Dive into Unknown”
4. “Growing Up Is Getting Old”
5. “The Funeral Song”
6. “Ugly Cry”

Luis

1. “Ugly Cry”

“Ugly Cry” is the most polished song out of VICTORIA’s selection. Its sound is distinctive enough to make it stand out. It’s basically the only one that has a clear hook and there’s a dynamism that lacks in most of the other songs. The slight revamp it needs, as it exceeds the three minutes mark, is a perfect opportunity to make it more exciting towards the end. Depending on the mood, in its actual form it plods a little, but it can be easily fixed.

2. “Phantom Pain”
3. “Imaginary Friend”
4. “Growing Up Is Getting Old”
5. “The Funeral Song”
6. “Dive into Unknown”

Robyn

1. “Growing Up Is Getting Old”

Some of VICTORIA’s music sounds like it was designed to be listened to on headphones, alone in a suburban bedroom. But “Growing Up Is Getting Old” brings some drama, emotion and a feeling of bigness, ready for the Eurovision stage. This is a song to be sung to the back row (even if there’s no one sitting there). There’s a vintage feeling to the song, evoking the choral-pop sounds of Queen, with a cute 90s reference in the lyric “playing Tetris with my feelings”. It would be great to see performed live — just as long as the backing vocals don’t overpower VICTORIA.

2. “The Funeral Song”
3. “Ugly Cry”
4. “Imaginary Friend”
5. “Dive into Unknown”
6. “Phantom Pain”

Oliver

1. “Phantom Pain”

It’s a risky pick, but “Phantom Pain” has the potential to be all the rage in Rotterdam. Its VICTORIA’s signature gothic dark-pop sound, but it’s also got the solid backbone of a bouncy beat that provides constant momentum throughout the track. And the chorus has an earworm quality that will have fans singing it to themselves on repeat for days after first listen. For Bulgaria to choose this song would provide a refreshing drop of genre diversification in the ocean of generic pop at Eurovision. In a bigger music market, “Phantom Pain” will make waves around Europe. A brilliant song by all standards.

2. “The Funeral Song”
3. “Growing Up Is Getting Old”
4. “Imaginary Friend”
5. “Ugly Cry”
6. “Dive into Unknown”

Josh

1. “Imaginary Friend”

The song’s primary theme of the flood of emotions behind a relationship ending, and the two parties no longer recognizing each other, strikes a strong chord. We’ve all built relationships with people who have come into our lives who we think will always be there, but for whatever reason, the connection only lasts for a temporary season. Lines like “Feels like I made you up — were you real at all?” drive home the notion of having to deal with a sudden, unsettling change to a part of our lives that previously felt settled, reliable, and comfortable. “Ugly Cry” and “Growing Up Is Getting Old” might be more jury-friendly in some ways, but “Imaginary Friend” has the most potential to strike a level of emotion that could hit big with both the jury and televote.

2. “Ugly Cry”
3. “Growing Up Is Getting Old”
4. “The Funeral Song”
5. “Phantom Pain”
6. “Dive Into Unknown”

What do you think? What is your favourite track from A Little Dramatic? Which song should VICTORIA take to Rotterdam? Tell us your thoughts below!

Read more Bulgaria Eurovision news here

19 Comments
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Sabrina
Sabrina
3 years ago

Victoria tweeted the song was already chosen and will be revealed in March 10th: https://twitter.com/victoriageorge_/status/1366450604386713602

Javi
Javi
3 years ago

Phantom pain is the hit but “phantom pain its of copy of billie ellish” blah blah! Oh come on, Imaginary friends its similar to Lana del Rey too. Best choices are Dive into unkwon or Phanton pain.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago

Imaginary Friend is the best

Biyonse
Biyonse
3 years ago

its growing up is getting old for me and i really don’t understand why imaginary friend has yoo many fans, its simple as hell and probably the worst option for eurovision

Reverb
Reverb
3 years ago
Reply to  Biyonse

PREACH!

GojoSatoru
GojoSatoru
3 years ago
Reply to  Biyonse

“Simple as hell” Simplicity is what made Duncan Laurence and Salvador Sobral win their years.

Aplk
Aplk
3 years ago

I like all songs but imo Imaginary Friend or Growing Up Is Getting Old are the best choices

Benny Hill
3 years ago

None of you has picked ‘Dive Into Unknown’ and a few picked ‘Phantom Pain’? I’m starting to doubt in the competences of editors here…

Alo
Alo
3 years ago

I like all 6 songs.
I think some of them need more than one listen.. So maybe “imaginary friend” should be the one because you can remember it after one listen.

Nils
Nils
3 years ago
Reply to  Alo

agree I loved it the first time I heard it. This is important for an Eurovision Song

GojoSatoru
GojoSatoru
3 years ago

Ugly Cry or Imaginary Friend. If none of these two will be Victoria’s entry, then it should be Dive Into Unknown in my opinion.

Aeria
Aeria
3 years ago

Honestly, for me Imaginary Friend is truly the best one, but a lot of others are good as well, but they don’t resonate with me as much

JustSaying
JustSaying
3 years ago

Growing up is getting old is the best song from those, it really transmits emotions, you don’t need to get a easy catchy chorus to get a top 10, there’s a lot of examples, hopefully they choose this one.

I will love to see Funeral Song, Dive Into unknown & Imaginary friend in Eurovision too.

I like Ugly cry & phantom pain but for eurovision no :/

Last edited 3 years ago by JustSaying
Miguel
Miguel
3 years ago

For me imaginary friend is the best

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
3 years ago

Just when it comes to my own personal ranking, I don’t think any of the songs are as good as TGS, which for 2020, slotted into my 6-10 category after initially being about 5th. I’m not a huge fan of Victoria’s musical style (I am calling it HER style and not getting into that) but it was a quality song. I think “Dive Into Unknown” and “Imaginary Friend” have the potential to get into my 6-10 area depending on what other countries end up sending. The rest of her selection probably wouldn’t get into my top 20 in an average… Read more »

Robert
Robert
3 years ago

Phantom Pain hands down.. So much potential for Eurovision and for staging.. Memorable hook, the other songs aren’t memorabilia enough for me.. In fact somewhat bland

Ashton Schier
Ashton Schier
3 years ago

I added the scores together to see what the Wiwi choice would be and it was very very close:

6th: Dive Into Unknown 57 points
5th: Ugly Cry 72 points
4th: Phantom Pain 74 points
Tied for 2nd: Imaginary Friend & The Funeral Song 75 points
1st: Growing Up Is Getting Old 79 points

Ashton Schier
Ashton Schier
3 years ago
Reply to  Ashton Schier

Yeah, I agree!

Reverb
Reverb
3 years ago

The wiwi jury is right. We’re not talking about growing up is getting old as much as we should.