After the ESC triumph with “Bangaranga”, DARA holds up a cardboard sign – and even Sofia’s mayor comments on their collab request to fred again.
The newly crowned ESC winner from Bulgaria wants a collaboration with the British producer – and has communicated this in a way that lies somewhere between charming naivety and a calculated viral moment.
The shield
There are several ways to ask someone for a favor. You could write an email, ask a mutual friend — or, and this is the option DARA chose — on the evening of their greatest triumph, in front of thousands of cheering Bulgarians at Alexanderplatz in Sofia, hold up a handwritten cardboard sign that says: “fred again.. Let’s Collab.”
For classification
DARA, real name Darina Nikolaeva Yotova, 27 years old, from Varna on the Black Sea, had won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna 48 hours earlier. With “Bangaranga” she achieved a landslide victory, on which the jury and televote agreed. The fact that Bulgaria is allowed to host the ESC 2027 is now a fact that the Bulgarian infrastructure is currently confronted with in real time.
The campaign
The request didn’t come out of nowhere. Shortly after returning from Vienna, DARA had already posted an Instagram story. It was a clip from fred again.., Underworld and Mike Skinner – asking your followers to tag them in the comments under the video. Within less than 24 hours, thousands of comments appeared emphatically pointing out the potential of a collaboration to the British producer. Among the commentators: musicians, actors, influencers and the mayor of Sofia.
You have to imagine this for a moment: Vasil Tersiew, mayor of the Bulgarian capital, comments on a post by fred again.. so that a pop singer can record a track. This is foreign policy in action.
Who is fred again..?
For everyone who stopped paying attention when it came to electronic music: someone who produced for others for a long time — Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, FKA twigs — before he started releasing music himself during the lockdown. Voice messages, TikTok excerpts, documented everyday moments: the “Actual Life” trilogy. When the Internet discovered them in real time, the behind-the-scenes producer became one of today’s most sought-after acts.
Musical distance
Musically, DARA and fred again are not on the same planet. “Bangaranga” is a Balkan-pop stomper with choreography inspired by the Kukeri rituals of Bulgarian folklore — demon-exorcising mask runs translated into Vienna Stadthalle energy. Fred again.. usually does something that feels like a very good conversation at four in the morning at a small party. However, that does not rule out collaboration.
A reaction from fred again… is not yet known. But he probably only saw the sign, because the Internet made sure of that.
