Duet Mania

Early life

Daniela and Julia were born and raised in a small town situated in the south part of Bulgaria, called Dimitrovgrad They grew up in a musician’s family. Their father is a guitarist and a singer. He was the one who inspired the girls to start singing from an early age. Their grandmother was a singer and their grandfather was a kaval player. Their mother is a former model and an artist. They both attended PMG Ivan Vazov high school.

At the age of 11 and 13 Julia and Daniela started singing in a choir called "Happy Childhood". They were part of many music festivals and competitions around the country and they always came back with the 1st prize. At the same age Julia and Daniela influenced by the movie “Heavenly Bodies” fell in love with the aerobics and in 2003 they became certified aerobics and fitness instructors. In high school they became lead singers of a band called Sparkles. When the sisters graduated high school one after another became lead singers of their father’s band Consonance.

Music career

Duet Mania was created in 1999, by the Bulgarian music producer Valio Markov, "PolySound". Until 1999 both of the sisters were performing solo. Daniela graduated the National Academy of Music with pop and jazz singing in the class of prof. Stefka Onikian and studied saxophone in the class of prof. Vlaio Vlaev. Julia took singing lessons from Stefka Onikian. The sisters started singing together in 1998 as lead singers of the band "Step on fire". They signed a contract with the Norwegian music agency “Ram” and they started singing on the cruise ships of the cruise company Color line, travelling from Norway to Denmark and Germany. In 1999 Daniela and Julia participated in the International Music Festival for Young Talents “Melfest”, Macedonia with the song When you believe and won 1st prize. Their debut song "The World is For Two", brought them huge success. The song is a cover of a Bulgarian old hit song, originally recorded by Orlin Goranov. The second song they recorded, "Cricket’s song" became their second big hit. It’s another cover song, originally recorded by Roksana Beleva. Their 1st original song “It’s not true”, became a popular hit, too. But the single “I don’t want, I can’t” brought them the biggest success. The song became a Golden Hit of BG Radio and it was part of two CD compilations – “Club Attack” and “Love songs for loved people”. “I don’t want, I can’t” is considered a Bulgarian evergreen song. Their 1st album “It’s not true” was released in October, 1999. In the year of 2000 they were pronounced "Best Duet of 2000" by “Art Rock Center”, Bulgaria. The same year the sisters participated in the "World Championships of Performing Arts" held in Los Angeles, CA and grabbed the 1st prize and the gold with the song “When you believe” in the category for female pop duet. During the event the sisters were noticed by representatives of some record labels, TV-commercials production companies, model agencies who were interested working with them and who offered them contracts starting in September, 2001. On September 11, 2001 the World Trade Center in New York City was destroyed by terrorists and many people lost their lives. The tragedy prevented the sisters from returning to America and the desire of pursuing their dreams there was deeply buried. The same year the girls created a Las Vegas style show and named it “Shake Mania”. The show was created especially for the cruise company Color Line. In 2003, Daniela and Julia were invited to participate in the “International Folk Song and Arts Festival” held in Nanning, China. They had 10 outdoor concerts and one in "Nanning Theater". They were on the Chinese newspapers and on TV. More than 16 million people became familiar with duet Mania and their music.

In November, 2003 the sisters released their 2nd album “Cold Eyes”. Famous songs became “Forever in love”, nominated as a Golden hit of TV Planeta, “Cold eyes” and “Signs of love”. In 2004 Daniela and Julia were invited to take part in another International festival “Meet in Beijing”, China. They performed with a popular Bulgarian rock group called BTR The same year they participated in the International Music Song Contest “Universetalent”, held in Prague, Czech Republic where they won 3rd prize with the song “Cold eyes”. In 2005 the sisters took a new challenge. In 2005 after taking a short break Daniela and Julia released the single “Whatcha waiting for” with the idea to participate in one of the biggest European Song Contests "Eurovision". But their manager Stefan Shirokov asked them to participate with another song, “Bitter-sweet”, written by Georgi Gogow, violinist and bassist of the German rock band “City”. The song was written especially for the contest. Their performance on "Eurovision" brought them popularity all over Europe and they had conquered the hearts of millions of fans. The same year they participated in another Music Festival, “Discovery” held in Varna, Bulgaria. They received the award for “Best Performance”. The same year they signed a contract with a Korean Music Agency and they went to perform in Seoul, South Korea. In 2006 Daniela and Julia were invited to participate in “Blues to Bob Festival” held in Lugano, Switzerland where they performed with Angel Zaberski – piano, Ivelin Atanasov – piano, Mitko Shanov – bass, Mitko Semov – drums, and the Bulgarian Frank Sinatra, Vasil Petrov. The same year they were guest singers of the International “Jazz Festival Bansko” where they performed with Ivelin Atanasov – piano, Radoslav Slavchev – bass, Stoyan Koprinkov – drums, Kiril Tashkov – guitar. In 2007 the sisters recorded a new single “I didn’t know you”, written by Magomed Aliev-Maga and shot the video of the song. The same year Daniela’s boyfriend, the former pianist of the band "Latin Partizans”, Ivelin Atanasov won a Green Card and proposed Daniela. They got married and moved to New York City. Since 2008 the sisters have been touring mostly in United States. They finished working on their new album in October 2011. The album is called “Forever in love”.

Influences

The sisters were influenced by Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Celine Dion, Tina Turner, Gladys Knight, Pattie LaBelle, Donna Summer, Michael Jackson, Kool & The Gang, Destiny's Child, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé and Pink.

Daniela was influenced by the saxophonists – Michael Brecker, Kenny G, Candy Dulfer, David Sanborn, John Coltrane, Eric Marienthal.

Legacy

Duet Mania is compared to ABBA and Destiny's Child.

“The ladies of Mania are an amazing singing duet. Full of beauty, talent and grace their voices soothe any room they perform in…couple that with their instrumental talents and you have a dynamic duo. One of the best things imported out of Bulgaria.” Michael Cory Davis – actor and filmmaker

Daniela and Julia are very beautiful and very talented. They have remarkable voices and when Dani plays the saxophone…that makes their performance extremely sexy.” Sam Krumov, CNN World Sport Producer

“It’s not only the beauty and the talent, that the sisters have… It’s the magic that they bring on stage with their presence and energy.” Ivelin Atanasov, musician

“Every time they are on stage they sing their hearts out…” Ben Cross, actor

Family

Daniela got married to Ivelin Atanasov, the former pianist of the band “Latin Partizans” in 2007. Julia got married to Emil Dimitrov in 2002. The couple welcomed their 1st child, Vanesa in April, 2007.

Activism and charity work

The sisters were financially supporting an orphanage located in Panagyurishte, Bulgaria. Daniela shared: “I would never forget how I wrote 55 Christmas card wishes for the kids. Every card kept a different message, because I wanted each and every one of them to feel special. We threw a concert for them. We brought them a huge cake with all their favorite sugar heroes on top. I would never forget how happy their faces were…” In 2000 the sisters were part of a series charity concerts "Against AIDS". In 2006 the girls were part of a charity concert held at the National Palace of Culture "Say No To Drugs". In February 2012 Daniela and Julia sang at a fund raising event for "Cycle for Survival" in support of research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on rare and underfunded cancers.

Discography

Awards and nominations

1. 1996 – International Song Festival, Golden Orpheus, Bulgaria – 2nd prize
2. 1999 – International festival for young talents - Melfest, Macedonia – 1st prize
3. 2000 – World Championships of Performing arts, Los Angeles, CA – 1st prize and gold medal
4. 2000 – Art Rock Center, Sofia, Bulgaria - Best duet of 2000
5. 2003 – The Spring Song Contest, radio Horizont” – 3rd prize
6. 2004 – International Song Contest, Universetalent, Prague, Czech Republic – 3rd prize
7. 2004 – International Art and Music Festival – Nan Ning, China
8. 2004 – International Music Festival, Meet in Beijing, China
9. 2005 - International Pop Music Festival, Discovery Varna, Bulgaria - Best performance
10. 2005 – World Championships of Performing Arts, Los Angeles, CA – 1st prize and gold medal
11. 2005 – European Song Contest, Eurovision
12. 2006 – Blues to Bop festival, Lugano, Switzerland
13. 2006 - International Jazz Festival, Bansko, Bulgaria

Tours