Gracing the top 10 once again is Bulgaria – after many years of non-qualification, they stormed to 4th place last year with Poli Genova and the hyper-catchy “If Love Was a Crime” (my favourite song from last year’s contest). It seems when Bulgaria qualify, they do very well as in their other time in the final (in 2007) they finished 5th.  Can Kristian Kostov reach the final and maintain Bulgaria’s top 5 record?

Kristian officially makes me feel old! He is the first contestant to be born in the 21st century, only turning 17 in March. Yet his performance, his voice, his manner and media-friendliness (he is remarkably fluent in English) are way beyond his tender years. This is a real contender – and of all the male ballads, probably the strongest. I love the way Bulgaria infuse a distinctly Balkan/east European sound into a strong pop song – just as they did last year. It makes it stand out from the other songs – too often, even good songs are not distinct from one another, but this haunting song certainly is.

In the betting, this has risen to second place and does seem like one of the few songs that could trouble the current overwhelming favourite (yet to appear in this countdown obviously!). I’m confident this will be top 5 again for Bulgaria – he gave a very impressive performance at the London Eurovision Preview Party – and it was his first live performance of the song! He’s also got Russian heritage, being born in Russia (to a Bulgarian father and Kazakh mother) and

A final word just to heap some praise on Bulgaria’s Eurovision social media work – it’s really the best of any country, both last year and this year. Give them a look/follow on Twitter!

Mum’s reaction: No comment

Official music video:

Live at London Eurovision Preview Party:

(This was his first live public performance of the song!)

Bulgaria at the Eurovision Song Contest:

First entered: 2005

Appearances (excluding this year): 10

Best result: 4th in 2016

Last year’s result: 4th