Meet Dara, the singer representing Bulgaria at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest. The pop singer, who released her latest album last year inspired by her adult ADHD diagnosis, is hoping to bring glory to her country.
Who is Dara?
Already a pop star in her home country, Dara will perform her song “Bangaranga” at this year’s contest in Vienna, Austria. Known for hits such as “Thunder” and “Call Me,” she has achieved multiple number-one singles in Bulgaria and mentored young musicians on The Voice of Bulgaria in 2021 and 2022. Her latest album, ADHDARA, was released last year. Dara will compete in the second semi-final on Thursday, 14 May.
“I'm Darina, a 27-year-old singer and songwriter from Varna, a city on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria,” she says. “I grew up with music obsessively, like there was no other option. I attended the National School of Arts in Varna, specialising in folklore singing, which might surprise people who hear ‘Bangaranga’ for the first time. That training in traditional Bulgarian vocal technique shaped the way I hear music and use my voice. I finished third on the Bulgarian X Factor at sixteen, signed to a major label, and have been releasing music ever since – in Bulgarian, English, whatever language a feeling demands. Over the years I've had number-one singles, mentored on The Voice, and last year released my most personal album, ADHDARA – named after my adult ADHD diagnosis. That album was about owning every contradictory part of yourself: the chaos, sensitivity, and fire. Now I'm taking all that to Eurovision in Vienna, representing Bulgaria.”
The Inspiration Behind “Bangaranga”
“Bangaranga” is pop music with folklore roots. The word comes from Jamaican slang meaning uproar or commotion – a beautiful kind of disorder. “It has a raw, phonetic power that bypasses translation – you feel it before you understand it,” Dara explains. “We wanted a song that hits you physically before intellectually. At its deepest level, it reminds me of the kukeri – an ancient Bulgarian ritual where men dress in costumes of bells and fur and animal masks, making ferocious noise to scare away bad spirits. The energy is overwhelming yet joyful, communal, and alive. That is ‘Bangaranga’ – noise and fire and rhythm deployed as a force for good, to chase away darkness and shake the room back to life. It's a happy riot, an invitation, not a threat.”
What Winning Would Mean
For Bulgaria, Eurovision success is rare. The country was absent for three years, and its best result was Kristian Kostov's second place in 2017. “Winning would be extraordinary, and I will compete to win,” Dara says. “But what drives me just as much is Bulgaria being seen – really seen. We are a small country with an enormous cultural soul. If ‘Bangaranga’ makes someone in Manchester or Edinburgh look up Bulgaria – its music, coast, literature, people – then I've already achieved something real.”
