Sofi Marinova was born on December 5, 1975 in Sofia, Bulgaria, although her family was living near Etropole at the time. She showed musical and dancing talent at the age of two and was tutored in singing and dancing by her mother. In primary school Marinova was an excellent pupil. She spent a year at a professional builders' school. After 8th grade she moved to a professional school for tailors, though years later she admitted she never liked sewing. While at school Marinova fell for acting, appearing in school musicals such as Snow White. When she was in 10th grade, a local band offered her the position of lead singer. Her father didn't allow it at first but relented after the insistence of her mother: "I started crying and my mother supported me, because when she married my father she put an end to her singing career".
At 17 Marinova began singing at weddings and christenings. Her repertoire included songs of Dragana Mirkovic, Michael Jackson, Sandra, Whitney Huston as well as Romani music. IAround this time she and the band took part in a music competition in the village of Osikovitsa near Sofia. She won the singers event and the admirations of the jury, chaired by the famous Romani-Bulgarian musician Angelo Malikov. At the competition she also met Petar, a drummer, who later became the father of her only child, Lorenzo. After Osikovitsa, Marinova won the Grand prize at the Stara Zagora festival with her songs "Stari Rani" (Old wounds) and "Slanchitse moe" (My Little Sun).
Marinova was introduced to the big stage by Nencho Kasamov, president of the record company ARA Music, after he saw her performing in a restaurant. Kasamov invited her to record for ARA, because he sensed the future music star in her "by the look in her eyes". Marinova and her band recorded for ARA the album "Stari Rani", which is believed to be one of the best-selling music albums in Bulgaria of all time.
In 2004 Marinova signed with Sunny Music, working with the producer Krum Krumov. She recorded the albums 5 oktavi ljubov and Obicham. Her cooperation with the Bulgarian hip-hop singer Ustata resulted in some of her most successful songs. In that period she also recorded a Romani cover of "Vetrove" by Lili Ivanova, Bulgaria's most established music artist. The compilation "Sofi Marinova Best MP3 Collection" consisting of her 64 most popular songs from her Sunny Music period, was released in 2009. She stated that she was "happy that my project was accomplished and I hope my fans accept it as a gift for their loyalty and love for me for so many years."
In March 28th, as part of the pre-celebrations for the International Romani Day, Sofi Marinova sang Romani songs and her Eurovision song "Love Unlimited" in front of MEPs and official guests in the building of the European Parliament in Brussels. She was invited there by the MEPs from Bulgaria.
Philantropy and charity workIn 2008 Marinova and Ustata joined a campaign against human trafficking, for which they recorded Chuzhdi ustni (A Stranger's Lips). Both of them travelled around Bulgaria and met with youths in the risk groups for becoming victims of human trafficking. In 2010 Marinova was appointed ambassador against poverty and social isolation. Her tasks include raising awareness about the issues, taking part in various activities and sharing her own experience. On her appointment she told the journalists: "I think I can be useful to the campaign. In addition I myself come from a poor family and I'm aware of the concerns of poor and underprivileged people."
Marinova has one son, called Lorenzo, with whom she has had some collaboration singles. She was married once (to Lorenzo's father Peter). She then had a long-term relationship with Dacho, who is as well son of Peter. They tried to marry two times, but they didn't and finally broke up in 2010. She is well-known for her honest and direct answers to media's questions in interviews.
Sofi Marinova was chosen to represent Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku in May 2012 with the song "Love Unlimited". She won the National final, which was held on February 29, receiving a total of 20 points - the maximum 12 points from the public and 8 points from the jury. She was one of the favourites to win after coming second in the public vote in the semifinals. The song "Love Unlimited" was written by Yassen Kotsev and Krum Georgiev. Its lyrics talk about the transcending and all-embracing power of love ("The song has no borders, language and colour") The song is in Bulgarian but contains the phrase "I love you" in Turkish, Greek, Spanish, Serbo-Croatian, French, Romani, English, Arabic, Azerbaijani and Italian. The song is characterised by the typical Romani glides, vocal power and Techno musical arrangement. Marinova will perform in the first half of the second semifinal that is scheduled for May 24.
This was Marinova's third appearance in the Bulgarian national finals for Eurovision. In 2005, her collaboration with Slavi Trifonov "Edinstveni" ("Only Ones") finished second. They tried again the following year with the song "Ljubovta e otrova" ("Love Is a Poison"), but fell out in the qualifications after taking 25th place, one place short of the semi-final. In 2007, her collaboration with Ustata, "Ya Tvoya" ("I'm yours" in Russian), finished third in the National final.
Beli ruji
Sofi Marinova Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Наше снове и любав да пазиш
Да ме имаш, само мой да си ноч и дан
Да ме нежано постели будиш
Мое устней душо да любиш
Да ме имаш, само мой да си ноч и дан
Беле руже да со наше ночи
Свато ви и среча да насхоче
Твою шапа том да я сто гърлим
И да желим да си мой, само мой
Беле руже да со наше ночи
Свато ви и среча да насхоче
Твою шапа том да я сто гърлим
И да желим да си мой, само мой
Желим да ме рука мамазиш
нашу любавно тайно да пазиш
Да ме имаш, само мой да си ноч и дан
Да ме нежано постели будиш
Мое устней душо да любиш
Да ме имаш, само мой да си ноч и дан
Беле руже да со наше ночи
Свато ви и среча да насхоче
Твою шапа том да я сто гърлим
И да желим да си мой, само мой
Беле руже да со наше ночи
Свато ви и среча да насхоче
Твою шапа том да я сто гърлим
И да желим да си мой, само мой
The song "Beli ruji" is a love song by Sofi Marinova, where she expresses her desire to be loved, cherished and protected by the person she loves. The lyrics are in Bulgarian and the song has a romantic feel to it.
The opening lines of the song, "Желим да ме очи мамазиш / Наше снове и любав да пазиш" mean "I wish for you to hug me tightly / to keep our dreams and love safe". She desires to be with her lover all through the day and night, to be wakened tenderly by him and for him to love her passionately. The lines "Твою шапа том да я сто гърлим / И да желим да си мой, само мой" mean "to hug you tightly and wish to be yours, only yours".
The chorus of the song "Беле руже да со наше ночи / Свато ви и среча да насхоче" means "White roses for our nights / Happiness and luck to follow". The white roses symbolize the purity and innocence of their love, and they hope for happiness and luck to follow them in their relationship.
Overall, the song is a beautiful expression of love and the desire to be loved and cherished by someone special. It has a slow, romantic melody and a passionate feel to it.
Line by Line Meaning
Желим да ме очи мамазиш
I wish for you to seduce me with your eyes
Наше снове и любав да пазиш
To keep our dreams and love safe
Да ме имаш, само мой да си ноч и дан
To have me and be mine, day and night
Да ме нежано постели будиш
To gently lay me down and wake me up
Мое устней душо да любиш
To love my lips, my soul
Беле руже да со наше ночи
White roses to watch over us at night
Свато ви и среча да насхоче
May fate and luck be on our side
Твою шапа том да я сто гърлим
To hug you tightly with my scarf
И да желим да си мой, само мой
And to wish to be mine, only mine
Желим да ме рука мамазиш
I wish for you to caress me with your hand
нашу любавно тайно да пазиш
To keep our love secret
Беле руже да со наше ночи
White roses to watch over us at night
Свато ви и среча да насхоче
May fate and luck be on our side
Твою шапа том да я сто гърлим
To hug you tightly with my scarf
И да желим да си мой, само мой
And to wish to be mine, only mine
Contributed by Parker D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.