Anelia (spelled: Anelyia) Georgieva Atanasova (
Bulgarian: Анелија Георгиева Атанасова, born July 1, 1982 in
Stara Zagora,
Bulgaria), best known as
Anelia, is a famous
Bulgarian pop-folk singer. She gained popularity in Bulgaria with her second record "Pogledni me v ochite" (
English:
Look me in the eyes). Anelia has sold over 230 000 copies of her albums in Bulgaria. Fifteen of her singles have reached #1 in the Bulgarian music charts what makes her one of the most successful female artists in the Bulgarian
music.
Anelia Georgievna Atanasova was born in
Stara Zagora on July 1, 1982 to Svetla and Georgi Atanasov. The family members on her maternal site were professional musicians. She has an older sister, Radost. Discovered as a talent in the elementary school by her teacher Slavka Ivanova
[1] , she started performing on several occasions singing folk songs. At the age of 12 she became a part of trio Glasoviti Trakiicheta. In 1994 the band had recorded and released a compilation of Thracian songs through a record company Balkanton
[1].
[edit] Professional carrier
In 2002 Anelia has signed a contract with Payner, a major music company in Bulgaria. Under its label Pro Music she recorder her first song "Chuzhdi ustni" (English: "Vicarious lips") . The song was included in the compilation "Folk Party 1". Her second song recorded for Payner "Pogledni me v ochite"("Look into my eyes") became an instant hit in Bulgaria
[1]. It became one of the fastest selling singles in the Bulgarian music history and is still the most successful single of Anelia. In December 2002 had released her first album. The album
Poglednij me v otchite had become her all-time best selling album. According to her official website up to 100 000 copies of the album had been sold by year 2003
[2].
In April 2004 Anelia had released her second album. "Ne poglejdaj nazad" ("Don't look back") was sold in over 60 000 copies and brought hits like "Obichaj me" ("Love me"), "Iskam te" ("I want you"), "Dve tela" ("Two bodies") and "Edna minuta" ("One minute"). The song "Obichaj me" was dedicated to now her ex-husband, Konstantin Dinev. In March 2005 her first DVD compilation was released. In August was released her third studio album "Vsichko vodi kam teb" ("Everything leads to you"). The single "Everything leads to you" became the biggest summer hit in the BG. In 2006 she released her fourth album, called "Pepel ot rozi" ("Rose ashes"). "Pepel ot rozi" produced hits like "Do zori" ("By dawn"), Samo za mig ("Only for a moment"),Viatar v kosite ti ("Wind in your hair") and "Shtom si do men" ("When you are by my side").
On her fifth studio album
Edinstven ti ( One And Only You), released in 2008, she cooperated with Tencho Yanchev and Ivan Ivanov
[3]. The album features a new musical direction for Anelia into a pop dance music genre rather than chalga. The song
Vse endo mi e shows electronic, house and club music influences suggesting the new direction in the musical carrier of Anelia.
According to the Bulgarian celebrity portal "Slava.bg"
[4] Anelia will release her new album in November 2009
[5]. The album has been promoted with new singles - "Dva neshta" ("Two things") featuring Iliyan and "Obicham te" (I love you). "Dve neshta" has reached the peak position in "Nov Folk Hit Folk 30" on 21st November and became Anelia's 16th #1 single in the Bulgarian charts. In 13th December "Dve neshta" topped "Signal Plus Top 50".
[edit] On tour
In 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Anelia take place in the biggest music event in Bulgaria - the summer tour of the folk stars, called "Planeta Prima/Derbi". Each summer, for about 3 weeks, between 8 and 11 of the biggest stars in Bulgaria are crossing the country and singing their hits in front ot hundreds of thousands. In 2005, which is the only year, when Anelia missed the tour, she was preparing her third album. Recently a recording of one of her concerts leaked and was posted on
YouTube suggesting that Anelia was drunk while performing
[6].
[edit] Style
Style magazine Tiatolo.bg described Anelia as the most stylish and the best dressed pop-folk singer of Bulgaria
[7]. Apart from other
chalga starlets, Anelia's style is characterized by careful choice of accessories and not too heavy make-up. Anelia is known for her long, black hair which became her trademark. She was chosen a face for
Pantene in 2005. In 2008 the singer constantly surprised the public by switching from the pastel-oriented girl next door to a more diva style. On the Pop-Folk Awards 2009 she showed up in visibly shorter hair. On most of her videos Anelia is wearing greyish-colour
contact lenses. Her natural eye colour is dark brown.
[edit] Private Life
In 2003 Anelia married the owner of the Vihren Sandanski Footbal Club Konstantin Dinev. However their marriage ended up with divorce. One of the songs from Anelia's album "Edinstven ti" describes break-up of the couple. The singer has one child, a girl named Yvonne (born December 29, 2003).
In July 2009 Anelia while driving her jeep BMW had an accident on a highway to Burgas.Her car was severely damaged,yet the singer suffered only minor injuries and trauma
[8].
She is reportedly in a new relationship with a businessman from
Plovdiv [9].
ИЗВОР.