Anelia

Aneliya Georgieva Atanasova (Анелия Георгиева Атанасова, born 1 July 1982), better known mononymously as Anelia (Анелия), is a Bulgarian pop-folk singer.

Anelia Georgieva Atanasova was born in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria on 1 July 1982, to Svetla and Georgi Atanasov.

The family members on her maternal side were professional musicians.

She has an older sister, Radost.

Discovered as a talent in the elementary school while she was in second grade by her teacher Slavka Ivanova, she started performing on several occasions singing folk songs.

At the age of 12 she became a part of trio "Гласовити Тракийчета".

In 1994 the band had recorded and released a compilation of Thracian songs through a record company Balkanton.

After that she was singing in the small chorus of ensemble "Загорче".

At the age of 19, she was signed up to the Payner Music, the biggest pop-folk company in Bulgaria.

In 1996 Anelia was accepted as a first student in her grade in "Philip Kutev" music school with a score of 100% on the Bulgarian instrument Gadulka.

Later on, she won many awards for her skills on the instrument.

In 1997, her father died.

When asked if she had three wishes, Anelia answered with "I don’t have three wishes- I have only one. That is for my father to see how far I’ve come and to share my success with him.”

In the second course of her studying, Anelia began singing more and training her voice to improve her singing technique.

In her third year at the school, she began singing in public bars in her native city.

She gained popularity in Bulgaria with her second single "Погледни ме в очите" (Look Me in the Eyes), released in 2002.

Throughout her career, 23 of her singles have topped the Bulgarian music charts which makes her one of the most successful recording female artists in Bulgarian music.

In 2002 she recorded her first song "Чужди устни" (English: "Stranger’s lips").

Her second song recorded for Payner "Погледни ме в очите" ("Look me in the eyes") became an instant hit in Bulgaria.

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 she released her first album.

The album Погледни ме в очите 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.

All the songs were co-written and co-produced with Todor Dimitrov.

In April 2004 Anelia released her second album.

Не поглеждай назад ("Don't look back") sold over 60,000 copies and brought hits like "Обичай ме" ("Love me"), "Искам те" ("I want you"), "Две тела" ("Two bodies") and "Една минута" ("One minute").

The song "Обичай ме" was dedicated to now her ex-husband, Konstantin Dinev.

In the summer of 2005, Anelia was accepted in "Pancho Vladigerov" as number one in her grade for pop and jazz.

In March 2005 her first DVD compilation was released.

In August, Anelia released her third studio album Всичко води към теб ("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 Пепел от рози ("Rose ashes").

"Пепел от рози" produced hits like "До зори" ("By dawn"), Само за миг ("Only for a moment"), Вятър в косите ти ("Wind in your hair") and "Щом си до мен" ("When you are by my side").

Dimitrov was also her manager, until the end of their cooperation in 2007.

On her fifth studio album Единствен ти (One And Only You), released in 2008, she cooperated with Tencho Yanchev and Ivan Ivanov.

The album features a new musical direction for Anelia into a pop dance music genre rather than chalga.

The song "Все едно ми е" shows electronic, house and club music influences, other songs like Забранявам си (I forbid you) or Единствен ти surprise with a more up-beat, electronic arrangements.

Her next album "Добрата, лошата (The good one, the bad one) was released in March 2010. Especially for his new album, the singer made a new, provocative and very avant-garde photo shoot with photographer Velislava Kaymakanova. "Добрата, лошата" features rich variety of music styles but remains faithful to its pop-folk background. The production has been promoted with very successful singles like "Две неща" ("Two things") featuring Eliyah and "Обичам те" (I love you). "Две неща" has reached Number 1 in "Nov Folk Hit Folk 30" November and "Signal Plus Top 50" charts. The next Anelia's single – "Ако с теб не съм" ("If I'm not with you") peaked Noof "Planeta Hit 50". In the beginning of June 2010, Anelia promoted her new single – "Four seconds", the first single after the release of the album. The songs features Gamzata, the most famous Bulgarian trumpeter. The video clip was shot by Nikolay Nankov, an award-winning Bulgarian director.

Her next single "Раздялата" (The break-up) was released in November 2010.

In 2012, for the first time in her career, Anelia won the Artist of the Year award at the Annual Music Awards of Planeta TV.