| Nevena Tsoneva | |
| Birth Name: | Невена Цонева |
| Birth Date: | 1986 8, df=y |
| Origin: | Sevlievo, Bulgaria |
| Genre: | Pop, R&B, Ethno |
| Years Active: | 2007–present |
| Label: | Seventeen LTD. |
| Website: | http://seventeenproduction.com |
| Background: | solo_singer |
Nevena Tsoneva (Bulgarian: Невена Цонева) (born 17 August 1986, in Sevlievo) is a Bulgarian singer who won the first season of the Bulgarian television series Music Idol in 2007.[1]
Born Nevena Tsvetanova Tsoneva, she began accompanying her dad to bar and restaurant performances at age six, and soon became a regular on the mic. After winning several awards Nevena recorded her first album at age 13, with the help of her ambitious father.
She conquered "Hit-1" with Christina Aguilera's song "The Voice Within". Two years later she won another contest, "Бургас и Морето" ("Burgas and the Sea"), performing the song "Мое Море" ("My Sea")- music by Mitko Shterev, lyrics: Lozan Takev. Nevena then recorded a pop-folk album, supported by her dad again. He wrote a song for the young star, called "Молитва за Теб" ("A Prayer for You"), which they often performed together.
Prior to her musical career, She took Secondary Specialized Education – Organizer of Medium and Small Business, Economics, English, Bulgarian language & Literature, Mathematics, IT, Fine Art at Vasil Levski General Secondary School at her native Sevlievo in 2002–2005, she also took Marketing at St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo in 2005 – 2006 and got her B.A (Bachelor of Arts) with honors at the prestigious International University College – University of Portsmouth Program, Sofia specializing Foundation degree – Business Administration in 2010 – 2011.
Other interests includes photography, drawing and travelling.
As a youngster, Nevena admired the singer Gloria and therefore auditioned for the first season of the Bulgarian TV show Music idol, where Gloria was one of the judges on the panel. At the first audition, Nevena performed "The Voice Within", "Даньова мама", Silvia Katzarova's "Топъл дъжд" and "Циганска е душата" a song by Gloria. She then made it to the finals, along with 11 other contestants. She gained an immediate advantage over the others after performing her first song, "Мой Стих" by Neli Rangelova. After a tough music battle, Nevena made it to the last round with competitor Teodor Koychinov. In the end, she won 64% of the votes, thus becoming Bulgaria's first Music Idol.
| Week # (Date) | Song | Original Artist | Theme | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 11 (3/26) | "Необясними неща" | Neli Rangelova | choice of song dating back to the contestant's year of birth | Safe | |
| Top 10 (4/2) | "It's Raining Men" | Everlasting hits | Safe | ||
| Top 9 (4/9) | "Плачещо сърце" | Sofi Marinova | pop-folk performance | Top 2 | |
| Top 8 (4/16) | "My Heart Will Go On" | Celine Dion | Movie soundtrack performance: Titanic | Top 3 | |
| Top 7 (4/23) | "Крепост" | Gloria | song originally performed by a Music Idol judge | Safe | |
| Top 6 (4/30) | "Буря" "Лудо младо" | Ustata – | duet performance with a singer: Ustata duet performance with a finalist: Preslava Peycheva | Safe | |
| Top 5 (5/7) | "Hit the Road Jack" "Прошепнати мечти" | Ray Charles Kamelia Todorova | English language performance Bulgarian language performance | Safe | |
| Top 4 (5/14) | "Lane moje" "Gyöngyhajú lány" | Željko Joksimović Omega | performance in a foreign language: Serbian performance in a foreign language: Hungarian | Btm 3 | |
| Top 3 (5/21) | "Objection" "Невено Моме" | Shakira – | performance with a ballet performance with a folk choir | Top 2 | |
| Top 2 (5/28) | "Даньова мама" "Една българска роза" "Habanera" | Bulgarian traditional folk song Pasha Hristova From the opera Carmen | performance with a choir song about Bulgaria classical music | Top 2 | |
| Final (6/7) | "I Will Always Love You" "The Show Must Go On" "The Voice Within" | Dolly Parton (covered by Whitney Houston) Queen Christina Aguilera | arranged for brass band viewer's choice contestant's choice | Winner | |
| Post-win (6/7) | "Излел е Дельо хайдутин" | Bulgarian folk song | Bagpipe accompaniment | Finale |
Nevena signed a record deal with Virginia Records (representative of Universal Music Group for Bulgaria), which was the prize as a winner of the Music Idol contest. Her first duet with Slavi Trifonov, a song called "Жестока" ("Cruel"), came out some weeks later and became a hit. Her first single "За тебе песен нямам" ("I Have no Song for You"), a mix of modern pop and R&B, was released on 28 September 2007. The single debuted on Slavi's show and its video came out a month later. Nevena's first solo album appeared on 16 November 2007 and contained eleven songs, including an English-language version of "За тебе песен нямам". Music producer and A&R of the album was Miro Gechev and many of the album's lyrics were written by Rushi Vidinliev.
Seven years after winning the Music Idol Nevena auditions in the third season of The Voice of Bulgaria where she performed the song of Ishtar "Horchat hai Caliptus". She kept going on the show teamed with Miro. She won vocal duel and continued to live concerts.
External
| Year | Song | Chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BNT40 | ||||
| 2007 | "Жестока" ft. Слави Трифонов & Ku-Ku Band | 1 | Без страх | |
| 2007 | "За тебе песен нямам" | 35 | Без Страх | |
| 2007 | "Не изчезвай" | 6 | Participant in choice on Bulgarian Song for Eurovision 2008 – semi-final and final | |
| 2008 | "Всеки път обиквам те" ft. Теодор Койчинов | 1 | Без Страх | |
| 2008 | "Името ми" (release: December 2008) | 7 | TBR | |
| 2009 | "Zoom (Bad Boys vs. Super Girls)" ft. Marius Moga and NiVo | 3 | TBR | |
| 2010 | "Бяла зима"(White winter) | TBR | TBR |