The eighth season of Bulgarian reality singing competition Glasat na Bulgaria premiered on 12 September 2021 and broadcasts every 20:00, at bTV. For this season, Ivan Lechev returned for his coaching duties for the fifth time, and three new coaches were announced, who include Lubo Kirov, Galena, and Dara who will replace Grafa Ampov, Kamelia and Mihaela Fileva.
Petya Paneva was crowned as the "voice", marking Galena's first win as a coach. This is the third time that a first-time coach wins their first season (first being Desi Slava on season three, and then Ivan Lechev on season four). The top two, Petya Paneva and Georgi Kostadinov, were both from Galena's team, marking the first time this has happened in any season. This was also the first time where the first contestant to audition went on winning the season.
In June 2021, bTV announced the return of the musical competition show. Of the four coaches of the previous season, only Ivan Lechev returned, marking his fifth season as a coach. Debuting coaches. Dara, Galena, and Lubo Kirov were announced, replacing Mihaela Fileva, Kamelia and Grafa.[1] Kamelia was supposed to return for her fifth time as a coach but opted not to return on the show.
After the announcement of new coaches, Ivan Tishev takes the hosting responsibility. He will replace Pavell and Venci Venc' who were hosts on the series from 2017 until 2020. Also, Alexandra Bogdanska served as backstage host for second year.[2]
Production
The filming of Glasat na Bulgaria started on July, at bTV studios. Unlike previous seasons, audiences are reduced from its full capacity to maintain social distancing as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
Note: Italicized names are stolen artists (names struck through within former teams).
Blind auditions
In this season, coaches complete their teams without a specific number of members. However, each one will be cut down to 14 contestants, on the last episode of the blinds.[4] In addition to the season, each coach is given two blocks to use during the auditions.[5][6]
The "final selection" follows right after the blind auditions. Coaches would finalize the number of artists on their team by choosing, randomly, 14 artists to proceed to the next stage. Artists chosen by their respective coach will proceed to the next round, the Battles, while the unselected ones will be eliminated.
Blind auditions color key
✔
Coach pressed "I WANT YOU" button
Artist joined this coach's team
Artist was eliminated as no coach pressed the button
Artist became initially part of the team, but eliminated on the cut rounds, therefore eliminated
✘
Coach pressed "I WANT YOU" button, but was blocked by another coach from getting the artist
The battles round begin airing on October 31. The battle advisers for this season are the following: Maria Ilieva (future coach in season 10-11) for Team Lubo, season 3 coach Atanas Penev for Team Ivan, Doni for Team Dara, Medi and Georgi Simeonov for Team Galena.
Each coach is entitled to one "steal" throughout the battles (as in season 6) to save a losing contestant.[7] At the end of the battles, eight contestants (seven winning and one stolen artists) will remain on each team, advancing through to the Knockouts.
Battles color key
Artist won the Battle and advanced to the Knockouts
Artist lost the Battle, but was stolen by another coach and advanced to the Knockouts
The Knockouts round begins airing on November 21. Ishtar is the Mega mentor for all teams in this phase. Each team has a total of eight contestants, and three will be chosen by their coach to go through to the Live shows. During this round, Galena has only seven artists to perform due to Galya Georgieva's withdrawal from the show.
Knockouts color key
Artist was given a chair and advanced to the Live shows
Artist was eliminated after being switched in favor of another artist
Detailed chairs' changes – Moved to another chair – Eliminated
Coach
Order
Chair 1
Chair 2
Chair 3
Dara's team
3
Hristina Yosifova
Nikolai Timenov
Viktoriya Glavcheva
4
Hristina Yosifova
Desislava Hristova
Nikolai Timenov
5
Hristina Yosifova
Desislava Hristova
Boryana Georgieva
6
Hristina Yosifova
Desislava Hristova
Gabriela Koleva
7
Hristina Yosifova
Daniel Staykov
Desislava Hristova
8
Lidiya Ganeva
Hristina Yosifova
Daniel Staykov
Lubo's team
3
Ivan T. Ivanov
Jamie Rashed
Elena Kokorska
4
Ivan T. Ivanov
Jamie Rashed
Stefan Zdravkovic
Galena's team
3
Volena Apostolova
Ivelina Andreeva
Dimitar Kolev
4
Ekaterina Sava
Volena Apostolova
Ivelina Andreeva
5
Ekaterina Sava
Hristina Raleva
Volena Apostolova
6
Ekaterina Sava
Georgi Kostadinov
Hristina Raleva
7
Petya Paneva
Ekaterina Sava
Georgi Kostadinov
Ivan's team
3
Richard Mantarliev
Aleksey Kozarev
Hristo Danailov
4
Raya Dimitrova
Richard Mantarliev
Aleksey Kozarev
5
Raya Dimitrova
Boyan Shahov
Richard Mantarliev
6
Raya Dimitrova
Boyan Shahov
Kristiyan Varbanovski
7
Boris Hristov
Raya Dimitrova
Boyan Shahov
8
Boris Hristov
Ivan E. Ivanov
Raya Dimitrova
Live shows
Episode 13: Cross Battles (December 5)
Cross Battles were broadcast on December 5. In this round, an artist would be sent by his or her coach to compete against an artist from another team. The selection of the artists and their order of appearance were all decided by their respective coaches, and all of them were done without the knowledge of the opposing coach. Therefore, the battle pairings were completely random, and would only be revealed when the coaches appeared with their selected artist on stage. This is the first time the Bulgarian version has had this phase.
As the Cross Battles are broadcast live the results of the battle will be determined by public vote in real-time. Public votes will be done only during the airing of the episode.[8] After this round, six artists will be remaining to move on in the Grand Final. It is the first time the series has a final with six finalists.
With the elimination of Rashed, Ivanov, and Zdravkovic, Lubo Kirov no longer has any artists remaining on his team. For the first time in the show's history, a coach's team does not have any artists in the grand finale.
Cross battles color key
Artist won the Cross Battle and advanced to the Final
The final was divided into three rounds. First, the six finalists performed with a guest, and then the sixth and fifth places were announced. In the second round, the four finalists remaining performed alone and the fourth and third places were, then, revealed. Finally, the Top 2 performed alone again, followed by the winner announcement.
