Quick Facts
LibraBiography
Zhana Bergendorff (Bulgarian: Жана Бергендорф, born 20 October 1985) is a Bulgarian singer and songwriter. She is known for winning the second series of Bulgarian X Factor in 2013.
Biography
Early life
Zhana was born in Sofia, Bulgaria under the name Zhana Vladimirova Brankova, adopting the father and family name of her second father. She started singing at the age of 7. Her mother (a paratrooper) played the piano, and her maternal grandparents (both practicing jurists) played the violin. When she was 18 years old she moved to sing in South Korea. She lived there until 2010 and later moved to Denmark with her fiance Stefan. They met in Korea in 2007. In Denmark she entered X Factor Denmark.
2013: X Factor Bulgaria
Zhana participated in X Factor Bulgaria 2013. In all the weeks of the show, she was never threatened by elimination. She reached the finals with Ana-Maria Yanakieva and Atanas Kolev. Ana-Maria gained 3rd place, Zhana won the public vote by 69,9% winning the 2013 X factor title.
| The X Factor performances and results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | Theme | Song | Result |
| First audition | Free choice | "Price Tag" | Through to bootcamp |
| Bootcamp – stage 1 | Group performance | "" | Through to stage 2 |
| Bootcamp – stage 2 | Solo performance | "" | Through to judges' houses |
| Judges' houses | Free choice | "Истина" | Through to live shows |
| Live show 1 | Heroes | "Girl on Fire" | Safe |
| Live show 2 | Bulgarian hits | "Ти ужасно закъсня" | Safe |
| Live show 3 | Dance and R&B hits | "Hot n Cold" | Safe |
| Live show 4 | Number-ones | "Rolling in the Deep" | Safe |
| Live show 5 | Halloween | "Zombie" | Safe |
| Live show 6 | Concert optional | "One Night Only" | Safe |
| Live show 7 | British hits | "Someone like You" | Safe |
| Live show 8 | Love songs | "My Heart Will Go On" | Safe |
| Live show 9 | Movie Soundtracks | "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)" | Safe |
| Live show 10 | Love is everything | "Impossible" | Safe |
| "When You Believe" (with Ana-Maria Yanakieva) | |||
| Semi-final | One English and one Bulgarian song | "Listen" | Safe |
| "Малкия принц" | |||
| Final | One solo and one duet song | "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)" | Winner |
| "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (with Lyubo Kirov) | |||
| Songs of the series | "I Have Nothing" | ||
2014–2017: Virginia Records and VIP Brother Bulgaria
On 12 June 2014, Bergendorff's debut single, titled "Samuray" was released by Virginia Records. The song was written by Rushi Vidinliev, and the music and arrangement were done by Ray Hedges and Nigel Butler. In December, a collaboration between Zhana and Kristo was released, with the name "Igraem S Teb Do Kraya". Few months later, on 9 May 2015, her second single was released, titled "Nevazmozhni Sme Sami". In 2016, Zhana took part of the VIP Brother 2016 season, where she entered second, lasted 41 days and was the fourth person eliminated from the house. Her last record with Virginia Records, called "Dokrai", was released on 7 January 2017 and she announced her departure from the company in mid–August when her contract wasn't renewed.
2018: Eurovision Song Contest
On 12 March 2018, it was announced that Bergendorff will be part of the group named Equinox, which will represent Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with their song "Bones". They finished 14th in the Grand Final.
Personal life
Zhana has one son Leon, born in 2010. She has lived in South Korea and Denmark. She speaks Bulgarian, English, Korean and Danish.
Discography
| Title | Year | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Samuray" | 2014 | Non-album singles | ||||||||||
| "Igraem s teb do kraya" (Kristo featuring Zhana Bergendorff) | ||||||||||||
| "Nevazmozhni sme sami" | 2015 | |||||||||||
| "Vreme" (Moisey featuring Zhana Bergendorff) | ||||||||||||
| "Dokrai" | 2017 | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||
Tours
- The Voice of Summer Tour 2014
- Coca-Cola Happy Energy Tour 2014
- The Voice of Summer Tour 2015