Bulgaria was one of the first countries to announce they would give a second chance to their 2020 entrant, announcing only 3 days after last year's cancellation that Varna-born singer VICTORIA would return in 2021. Because she was leading the odds by the end of the period tracked by the bookmakers, all eyes were on the country to come back with a track as strong as "Tears Getting Sober," and VICTORIA and her team worked tirelessly over the following months to create one of the most anticipated selections of the season.
A total of 6 songs were publicly revealed as candidate songs for Bulgaria's 2021 participation; one was released as a single with a music video in November, and the remaining five with lyric videos over one week in February which constituted her debut EP, a little dramatic. National broadcaster BNT then held an open feedback period where international listeners could share their opinions and predictions for the songs which they would take into consideration before selecting the final song.
This process culminated in the 'a little dramatic' concert on 10 March, where pre-recorded performances by VICTORIA were revealed of her planned 2020 entry "Tears Getting Sober" and her non-Eurovision related singles "I Wanna Know" and "Alright," along with the 6 candidate songs: ballads "Dive Into Unknown," "Growing Up Is Getting Old" and "Imaginary Friend," and mid-tempo songs "Phantom Pain," "The Funeral Song" and "Ugly Cry." The show also featured clips of her team discussing her journey in the music industry and through life in Bulgaria, and the process of preparing their Eurovision participation.
In the last few minutes, VICTORIA revealed that after hearing from the public as well as international music experts, the two favorites were "Imaginary Friend" and "Growing Up Is Getting Old." She described choosing between her songs as the hardest part of the process as they were all special to her, but she knew in her heart which song she would perform in Rotterdam. "Growing Up Is Getting Old" was revealed as Bulgaria's Eurovision 2021 entry at the end of the concert, accompanied by a new music video, and will compete in the second semi-final on Thursday, 20 May.