In 2018, she was a Bulgarian rose among thorns as the only female singer in the Eurovision group Equinox. But now Zhana Bergendorff has shone on her own, as finishing second on celebrity singing show The Masked Singer Bulgaria. She performed disguised as the Rose.
After performing anonymously over the series, Zhana made it to the grand final. There she finished second and was eventually revealed to the audience as the Rose.
The Masked Singer is a celebrity singing contest based on a popular South Korean show format. The acts range from established singers to amateurs from other fields, such as acting and sports, who just fancy a singalong. But while the contestants are household names in Bulgaria, they can’t rely on their fame.
The contestants all perform in disguise, wearing elaborate costumes that hide their true identity. The Bulgarian series featured a Bee, a Hat, a Scotsman, a Chicken and a Rose. But regardless of the costume, it ends up being all about the voice.
Over the weeks, Zhana as the Rose performed a number of songs which again showed off her vocal power and versatility as a singer. She tackled songs such as Queen’s “We Are the Champions”, Miley Cyrus’ “Mother’s Daughter”, ABBA’s “The Winner Takes it All”, AC/DC’s rock classic “You Shook Me All Night Long” as well as Alexandra Burke’s interpretation of “Hallelujah”.
The series was won by another X Factor Bulgaria star, Mihaela Marinova. She performed as the Raven and had the edge over Zhana in the grand final.
Making the grand final of The Masked Singer rounds out an eventful year for Zhana. In October, she won 250,000 lev (around 127,000 euros) on a national scratch lottery card. At the time, she said she would use the money to help support her singing career, as well as a family holiday to South Korea and to help a friend finish her education.
And 2019 is proving to also be an eventful year for former Eurovision stars competing on local editions of The Masked Singer. In August, Germany’s Eurovision 2004 singer Max Mutzke won the German edition of the show, while this past weekend France’s Eurovision 2001 singer Natasha St-Pier finished fifth on the French edition.
The success of these three acts suggests that we may see — or rather, hear — more former Eurovision acts on upcoming episodes of The Masked Singer. The UK edition of the show is due to premiere next month.
What do you think? Which former Eurovision acts would you like to see on The Masked Singer? Tell us your thoughts below!
Atresmedia and Fremantle are also working on a Spanish version for 2020. Maybe we could see other Eurovision stars in costume there…
Surprised she was the rose and not a skeleton! ?
I don’t get how can they keep it as a secret until the end of the show. Audience can easily find out who is singing by hearing their voices. Zhana’s voice is quite unique so it mustn’t be hard to guess. Am i missing a point here? Or someone from the inside(staff) could share the secret. I don’t believe the exposion in the grand final was surprising for audience. Was it?
I love watching the U.S. version; it’s a fluff show (very light entertainment), but fun to play along and try to guess who’s under the masks. It’s pretty cool to see the format spreading around the world and I like seeing these reports on Eurovision alumni taking part. That’s interesting that Zhana was The Rose in Bulgaria. Our version had a performer this season as The Flower (and she looked like a rose as well), and it was revealed to be legendary soul singer Patti LaBelle. I was kinda shocked she didn’t win (we still have maybe two or three… Read more »
The obviousness really depends on how well you know the artist and what they’re known for. If you’re a soul fan, you’ll know what Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight sound like. Not too many people know what Terry Bradshaw’s singing voice sounds like.
There were a couple this season I got wrong outright (Ice Cream and Ladybug; I had never heard of Ninja before this show and I had guessed Ashlee Simpson instead of Kelly Osbourne). Internet sleuthing can also really help in figuring out some of the clues, too.
Imagine how this show would have played out in the ‘80s or ‘90s, before the Internet was widespread!
Just like Your Face Sounds Familiar, I’ll be surprised if we don’t see more ESC stars popping up as The Masked Singer keeps spreading. (Speaking of the former: anyone else surprised by the lack of ESC covers so far? Would’ve expected a couple of Duncans or Tamaras at this point).
You know, I really think Zhana needs to come back to Eurovision and show us what she’s got. “Bones” is amazing and one of my most played tracks this decade from Eurovision but it didn’t do justice to Zhana’s vocal capabilities and her as an artist. I hope she would consider a return and grace the Eurovision stage