Bulgarian Singer El Ma Competes at Italy’s Sanremo Music Festival

One of the world’s oldest song contests, the Sanremo Music Festival, has opened in Italy, and tonight includes Bulgarian participation. Young performer Elmira Marinova, known as El Ma, will compete for a place in the grand final.

The singer is due to be the first to take the stage at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo as she attempts to qualify for the final in the festival’s “Newcomers” (Nuove Proposte) category, Italian media report.

As part of the tradition, the Newcomers section features four young artists or groups. This year, only two will progress to Thursday’s final. To determine the finalists, the contestants will face off in two head-to-head duels tonight, with the winners advancing.

One duel is between Angelica Bove and Niccolò Filippucci, while the second sees Antonio Mazzariello compete against the trio Blind – El Ma – Soniko, which includes the young Bulgarian singer.

Blind rose to prominence on The X Factor, while Soniko is a producer. The trio’s entry, Nei miei DM (“In My Direct Messages”), is described as an urban-pop track reflecting the language and dynamics of the digital generation.

Like the other contestants, the trio secured their place in the Newcomers category through a preliminary selection process held last year.