Not to be confused with Bangarang.
"Bangaranga"
Single by Dara
Released 2 March 2026 (2026-03-02)[1]
Genre
  • Electro dance[2]
  • dance-pop[3]
  • tropical pop[4]
Length 2:58
Lyricists
  • Darina Yotova
  • Anne Judith Wik
  • Cristian Tarcea
  • Dimitris Kontopoulos
Producers
  • Monoir
  • Dimitris Kontopoulos
Dara singles chronology
"This Is Me"
(2026)		 "Bangaranga"
(2026)		 "USK"
(2026)
Music video
"Bangaranga" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2026 entry
Country
Bulgaria
Finals performance
Semi-final result
1st
Semi-final points
278
Final result
1st
Final points
516
Entry chronology
◄ "Intention" (2022)

"Bangaranga" is a song by Bulgarian singer Dara, released on 2 March 2026. It was produced by Monoir. It represented Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, winning the contest with 516 points topping both the public and the jury vote for the first time since 2017.[5][6]

Background

"Bangaranga" was written and composed by Darina "Dara" Yotova and Anne Judith Wik together with Monoir[7] and Dīmītrīs "Starchyld X" Kontopoulos, the two who handled the production.[5] "Bangaranga" is partially inspired by the Bulgarian practice of Kukeri.[8] The song's title is in Jamaican Patois and has been translated as "a joyful kind of disorder",[4] "uproar",[9] or "mischief".[2] Dara said the lyrics were written to help her overcome anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, after being diagnosed with it in 2025.[9]

Music video and promotion

The music video for "Bangaranga", directed by the label K2ID Productions, was made available on 18 March 2026 through the Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel.[10]

To promote "Bangaranga" before the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, Dara participated in various Eurovision pre-parties. She performed at the Nordic Eurovision Party 2026 held at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway on 21 March 2026.[11] Additionally, she also performed at the Eurovision Pre-Party Bucharest 2026 held at Arenele Romane [ro] on 18 April 2026.[12]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Dagbladet ⚄[13]
OndaRock StarStarStarStar[14]
The Telegraph StarStarStar[2]
The Times StarStarStarStar[15]
Yle 5/10[16]

Neil McCormick of The Telegraph praised the song's catchiness.[2] Jon O'Brien of Vulture ranked "Bangaranga" seventh out of all Eurovision 2026 songs, calling it a "solid return" for Bulgaria.[17] Meanwhile, NPR's Glen Weldon placed the song at number five on his top-ten list,[18] and Ed Potton of The Times placed it first on his ranking of the 25 finalists.[15] Additionally, it was included in the unranked lists of top-ten Eurovision 2026 songs by Robert van Gijssel and Els de Grefte of de Volkskrant as well as Maria Sherman of the Associated Press.[19][20]

The refrain was compared to the song "A Little Bit Alexis" from Schitt's Creek,[17][18] while its verses were compared to "Uninvited" by Alanis Morissette.[17] Mark Savage of the BBC called the song "brilliantly unhinged and full of sass" as well as "totally lacking in substance".[21]

Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Main article: Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026

National selection

After qualifying to the second show,[22] Dara was selected as the winning artist by the combination of votes awarded by the public and jury.[23] On 28 February, for the song selection, she performed three candidate songs, among the three "Bangaranga" ended up first in both the jury vote and public vote.[24]

At Eurovision

Dara performing "Bangaranga" at the Eurovision final

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 took place at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and consisted of two semi-finals that were held on the respective dates of 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2026. During the allocation draw held on 12 January 2026, Bulgaria was drawn to compete in the second semi-final, competing in the first half of the show.[25] Dara was later drawn to open the semi-final.[26] Dara's performance was choreographed by Fredrik Rydman and Keisha von Arnold [sv], and she was backed by dancers Iker Cederblom Herrera, Ellinea Siambalis, Lisa Högström and Mateo Cordova Pomo.[27] She qualified to the grand final, having won the second semi-final with 278 points.[28]

In the final, Dara won with 516 points, winning both the jury and public votes, which was Bulgaria's first win in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest.[29][30]

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Bangaranga"
Chart (2026) Peak
position
Bulgaria Airplay (PROPHON)[31] 3
Bulgaria Domestic Airplay (PROPHON)[31] 1

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2026 Marcel Bezençon Awards Artistic Award "Bangaranga" Won [32]

References

  1. ^ "Bangaranga - Single by DARA". Apple Music. 2 March 2026. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d McCormick, Neil (17 May 2026). "Dara's mad banger gave Eurovision its bounce back". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  3. ^ Jones, Andrew (17 May 2026). "Bulgaria's bombastic 'Bangaranga' pulls off shock Eurovision win amid camp and controversy". NBC News. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  4. ^ a b Savage, Mark (15 May 2026). "Eurovision final: Sex, violins and seven other things to look out for". BBC. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Ποια είναι η εντυπωσιακή Ντάρα που θα εκπροσωπήσει τη Βουλγαρία στη Eurovision με τη συμμετοχή Έλληνα συνθέτη". Proto Thema (in Greek). 2026-03-03. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  6. ^ "Bangaranga is Bulgaria's song for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026". BNRNews.bg. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  7. ^ "Cine e românul care se află în spatele succesului Bulgariei de la Eurovision 2026. El a produs melodia „Bangaranga"" (in Romanian). Libertatea. 17 May 2026.
  8. ^ Oltermann, Philip; Belam, Martin (2026-05-16). "Bulgaria wins 70th Eurovision contest with Dara and Bangaranga". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-05-16.
  9. ^ a b Savage, Mark (17 May 2026). "Bangaranga! Bulgaria wins Eurovision - but UK comes last". BBC. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  10. ^ Neil Farren (17 March 2026). "Bulgaria: DARA Releases "Bangaranga" Music Video". Eurovoix. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  11. ^ Granger, Anthony (15 March 2026). "🇧🇬 Bulgaria: DARA to Perform in Oslo Ahead of Eurovision". Eurovoix News. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  12. ^ Farren, Neil (12 March 2026). "🇧🇬 DARA Announced for Eurovision Pre-Party Bucharest 2026". Eurovoix News. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  13. ^ Lofstad, Ralf (16 May 2026). "Vi anmeldte låt for låt". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  14. ^ Silvestri, Antonio. "La kermesse di Vienna". OndaRock (in Italian). Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  15. ^ a b Potton, Ed (15 May 2026). "Who should win Eurovision 2026? The finalists ranked". The Times. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  16. ^ Frantz, Eva (16 May 2026). "Dags för final i Eurovison Song Contest – så här bra är bidragen som Finland tävlar emot" (in Swedish). Yle. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  17. ^ a b c O'Brien, Jon (11 May 2026). "Every 2026 Eurovision Entry, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  18. ^ a b Weldon, Glen (14 May 2026). "The 10 best songs competing at (a very contentious) Eurovision". NPR. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  19. ^ van Gijssel, Robert; de Grefte, Els (11 May 2026). "Dit zijn de tien beste liedjes van het Songfestival, volgens de Volkskrant-experts". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  20. ^ Sherman, Maria (17 May 2026). "The 10 best performances at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest". Associated Press. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  21. ^ Savage, Mark (9 May 2026). "Anti-work anthems, Boy George and controversial lyrics: A guide to all 35 Eurovision songs". BBC. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  22. ^ Conte, Davide (2026-01-24). "🇧🇬 Bulgaria: Natsionalnata Selektsiya 2026 Show One Results". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  23. ^ "Dara will represent Bulgaria at Eurovision 2026". Eurovisionworld. 2026-01-31. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  24. ^ Farren, Neil (2026-02-28). "🇧🇬 Bulgaria: DARA to Perform "Bangaranga" at Eurovision 2026". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  25. ^ "Vienna 2026: Semi-Final Draw results". Eurovision Song Contest. 2026-01-12. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  26. ^ "Vienna 2026: Semi-Final Running Orders revealed". Eurovision Song Contest. 2026-04-02. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  27. ^ "Svenska koreografernas ord efter Bulgariens vinst i Eurovision". Expressen (in Swedish). 2026-05-17. Retrieved 2026-05-17.
  28. ^ "Semi-final 2 of Vienna 2026 – Results". Eurovision.tv. 17 May 2026. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  29. ^ Spivey, Matt; Burgess, Jack; Bushby, with Helen; London, Emma Saunders in; Contest, Mark Savage at the Eurovision Song (16 May 2026). "Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026 as UK comes last". BBC News.
  30. ^ "Bulgarije wint songfestival • Israël tweede". Nos.nl (in Dutch). 2026-05-16. Retrieved 2026-05-16.
  31. ^ a b "Класации – Световният Top 10 – 09.04.2026 – 16.04.2026" [Rankings – World Top 10 – 09.04.2026 – 16.04.2026] (in Bulgarian). PROPHON. 17 April 2026. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  32. ^ "The 2026 Marcel Bezençon Award Winners". Eurovision.com. EBU. 2026-05-16. Retrieved 2026-05-16.