Dimitris Kontopoulos made a rather ambiguous statement and confirmed his friendship with a Putin supporter.
Philipp Kirkorov with the creators of the song DARA / © instagram.com/dimitriskontopoulos
Following the loud declarations of Putin supporter Philipp Kirkorov about his alleged involvement in Bulgaria’s victory at “Eurovision 2026”, the truth has begun to surface. It seems the Russian artist has indeed decided to claim credit for someone else’s triumph.
The pro-Kremlin singer had previously insisted he had a connection to the success of singer DARA (real name – Darina Yotova), who brought Bulgaria its first-ever victory at the competition with the song Bangaranga. However, the song’s composer, Romanian producer Cristian Tarța, effectively refuted these claims in comments to RFI journalists. According to the musician, a specific team worked on the contest version of the song, and Kirkorov was not part of it. Initially, the producer sharply stated: “I don’t know who Philipp Kirkorov is.”
Admittedly, he later clarified his stance after a conversation with Greek composer Dimitris Kontopoulos. Following this, Cristian referred to the Putin supporter as a “great Russian artist.” Nevertheless, it ultimately turned out that while Kirkorov had known the song’s author for a long time, he had no involvement in the winning track.
Dimitris Kontopoulos
“It seems that Philipp Kirkorov is a great Russian artist who worked with Dimitris on some previous selections, but has nothing to do with Bangaranga. Probably because he collaborated with Dimitris, he is proud that Dimitris is part of the song Bangaranga, and rejoices in the success,” Tarța stated.
Meanwhile, Kontopoulos himself did not deny his friendship with the controversial Russian artist, but at the same time did not confirm any collaboration on the winning track for Bulgaria: “He is a friend. He supports us. But no, this time it was a different project.”
Furthermore, the author of Bangaranga stated that he had not seen Kirkorov’s recent cynical remarks and suggested that he might have “meant something else.”
In the meantime, the scandal continues to escalate. Even before the final, the figure of Kontopoulos himself attracted much attention, having worked with Russian artists in the past, including Sergey Lazarev and Ani Lorak. It was also noted online that DARA was initially following Kirkorov on Instagram but unfollowed him after the wave of discussions.
Earlier, Ukrainian director Nicholas Chob, who worked with Bulgaria’s team, also stated that Kirkorov had no involvement in the creation of the contest number. It appears the story about the Putin supporter’s “participation” in Bulgaria’s victory increasingly resembles an attempt to cynically associate himself with someone else’s success.
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