Not to be confused with Bangarang or Bhangra (music) or Bangerang, Victoria.
Bangaranga
single
CoverDara - Bangaranga.jpg
ArtistDara
Released2 March 2026[1]
Length2:58
GenreElectro dance[2] · dance-pop[3] · tropical pop[4]
LyricistDarina Yotova · Anne Judith Wik · Cristian Tarcea · Dimitris Kontopoulos
ProducerMonoir · Dimitris Kontopoulos
Prev year2026
Next year2026
Bangaranga
Year2026
CountryBulgaria
Place1st
Points516
Place semi1st
Points semi278
Prev (2022)Intention

"Bangaranga" (Bulgarian: Бангаранга) is a song by Bulgarian singer Dara, released on 2 March 2026 and produced by Monoir. It in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, winning the contest with 516 points. It was the first entry since 2017 to top both the public and jury votes, and it gave its first victory in the competition.[5][6] The song reached number one in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Lithuania, Sweden and Turkey, as well as the top ten in Finland, Luxembourg and Switzerland. It also reached number 90 on the Billboard Global 200 chart.

Background

"Bangaranga" was written and composed by Darina "Dara" Yotova, Anne Judith Wik, Cristian "Monoir" Tarcea and Dimitris "Starchyld X" Kontopoulos; the latter two were responsible for the production.[5] The song is partly inspired by the Bulgarian tradition of Kukeri.[7] Its title is in Jamaican Patois and has been translated as "a joyful kind of disorder",[4] "uproar",[8] or "mischief".[2] Dara stated that she wrote the lyrics to help her overcome anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, following her diagnosis with the condition in 2025.[8]

Music video and promotion

The music video for "Bangaranga", directed by K2ID Productions, was released on 18 March 2026 through the Eurovision Song Contest's YouTube channel.[9]

To promote "Bangaranga" ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, Dara performed at several Eurovision pre-parties. She appeared at the Nordic Eurovision Party 2026 at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway, on 21 March 2026,[10] and at the Eurovision Pre-Party Bucharest 2026 at Arenele Romane on 18 April 2026.[11]

Reception

Neil McCormick of The Telegraph praised the song's catchiness.[2] Jon O'Brien of Vulture ranked "Bangaranga" seventh among all Eurovision 2026 entries, calling it a "solid return" for Bulgaria.[12] NPR's Glen Weldon placed the song fifth on his top-ten list,[13] while Ed Potton of The Times placed it first in his ranking of the 25 finalists.[14] The song was also included in unranked top-ten lists by Robert van Gijssel and Els de Grefte of de Volkskrant, and by Maria Sherman of the Associated Press.[15][16]

The song's refrain drew comparisons to "A Little Bit Alexis" from Schitt's Creek,[12][13] while its verses were likened to "Uninvited" by Alanis Morissette.[12] Mark Savage of the BBC described the song as "brilliantly unhinged and full of sass" while also noting it was "totally lacking in substance".[17]

Following its Eurovision victory, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz played the song to welcome Bulgaria's Rumen Radev during a meeting in Berlin.[18]

Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Main article: Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026

National selection

After qualifying to the second show,[19] Dara was selected as the winning artist by the combination of votes awarded by the public and judges of the show.[20] 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.[21] Dara had also stated that she had been considering withdrawing from competing at Eurovision due to the negative comments following her win and speculation that the Artist Final was rigged.[22]

At Eurovision

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.[23] Dara was later drawn to open the semi-final.[24] Dara's performance was choreographed by Fredrik Rydman and Keisha von Arnold, and she was backed by dancers Iker Cederblom Herrera, Ellinea Siambalis, Lisa Högström and Mateo Cordova Pomo.[25] She qualified to the grand final, having won the second semi-final with 278 points.[26]

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.[27][28]

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Bangaranga"
Chart (2026)Peak
position
Bulgaria Airplay (PROPHON)[29]1
Croatia (Billboard)[30]3
Croatia International Airplay (Top lista)[31]1
Estonia Airplay (TopHit)[32]134
Germany Dance (GfK)[33]1
Global 200 (Billboard)[34]90
Greece International (IFPI)[35]1
Iceland (Billboard)[36]13
Ireland (IRMA)[37]53
Israel (Mako Hit List)[38]49
Latvia Streaming (LaIPA)[39]2
Lithuania (AGATA)[40]1
Luxembourg (Billboard)[41]2
Netherlands (Tipparade)[42]13
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[43]26
Norway (VG-lista)[44]14
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[45]23
Romania (Billboard)[46]13
Turkey International Airplay (Radiomonitor Türkiye)[47]1
US Dance Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[48]13

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominee(s)ResultRef.
2026Marcel Bezençon AwardsArtistic Award"Bangaranga"[49]

References

  1. ^ "Bangaranga - Single by DARA". Apple Music. 2 March 2026. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  2. ^ 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. ^ Savage, Mark (15 May 2026). "Eurovision final: Sex, violins and seven other things to look out for". BBC. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  5. ^ "Ποια είναι η εντυπωσιακή Ντάρα που θα εκπροσωπήσει τη Βουλγαρία στη Eurovision με τη συμμετοχή Έλληνα συνθέτη" (in Greek). Proto Thema. 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. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Savage, Mark (17 May 2026). "Bangaranga! Bulgaria wins Eurovision - but UK comes last". BBC. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  9. ^ Neil Farren (17 March 2026). "Bulgaria: DARA Releases "Bangaranga" Music Video". Eurovoix. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  10. ^ Granger, Anthony (15 March 2026). "🇧🇬 Bulgaria: DARA to Perform in Oslo Ahead of Eurovision". Eurovoix News. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  11. ^ Farren, Neil (12 March 2026). "🇧🇬 DARA Announced for Eurovision Pre-Party Bucharest 2026". Eurovoix News. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  12. ^ O'Brien, Jon (11 May 2026). "Every 2026 Eurovision Entry, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  13. ^ Weldon, Glen (14 May 2026). "The 10 best songs competing at (a very contentious) Eurovision". NPR. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  14. ^ Potton, Ed (15 May 2026). "Who should win Eurovision 2026? The finalists ranked". The Times. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  15. ^ van Gijssel, Robert & de Grefte, Els (11 May 2026). "Dit zijn de tien beste liedjes van het Songfestival, volgens de Volkskrant-experts" (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  16. ^ Sherman, Maria (17 May 2026). "The 10 best performances at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest". Associated Press. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "PM Radev Tells Eurovision Winner Dara She Is "Already Part of European Politics"". Bulgarian News Agency. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  19. ^ Conte, Davide (2026-01-24). "🇧🇬 Bulgaria: Natsionalnata Selektsiya 2026 Show One Results". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  20. ^ "Dara will represent Bulgaria at Eurovision 2026". Eurovisionworld. 2026-01-31. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  21. ^ Farren, Neil (2026-02-28). "🇧🇬 Bulgaria: DARA to Perform "Bangaranga" at Eurovision 2026". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  22. ^ Farren, Neil (2026-02-02). "🇧🇬 Bulgaria: DARA Considering Withdrawing from Eurovision 2026". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  23. ^ "Vienna 2026: Semi-Final Draw results". Eurovision Song Contest. 2026-01-12. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  24. ^ "Vienna 2026: Semi-Final Running Orders revealed". Eurovision Song Contest. 2026-04-02. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  25. ^ "Svenska koreografernas ord efter Bulgariens vinst i Eurovision" (in Swedish). Expressen. 2026-05-17. Retrieved 2026-05-17.
  26. ^ "Semi-final 2 of Vienna 2026 – Results". Eurovision.tv. 17 May 2026. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  27. ^ 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
  28. ^ "Bulgarije wint songfestival • Israël tweede" (in Dutch). Nos.nl. 2026-05-16. Retrieved 2026-05-16.
  29. ^ "Класации – Световният Top 10 – 15.05.2026 – 21.05.2026" [Rankings – World Top 10 – 15.05.2026 – 21.05.2026] (in Bulgarian). PROPHON. 22 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  30. ^ "Croatia Songs: Week of May 30, 2026". Billboard. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  31. ^ "Airplay Radio Chart Top100 – 25. svibnja 2026." [Airplay Radio Chart Top100 – 25 May 2026] (in Croatian). Top lista. 26 May 2026. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  32. ^ CIS
  33. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts Top 20 Dance-Charts – 22 Mai 2026" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  34. ^ "Billboard Global 200: Week of May 30, 2026". Billboard. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  35. ^ "Official IFPI Charts − Digital Singles Chart (International) − Εβδομάδα: 20/2026" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived 27 May 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  36. ^ "Iceland Songs: Week of May 30, 2026". Billboard. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  37. ^ "IRMA – Irish Charts (Week 21, 2026)". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  38. ^ "he:המצעד השבועי: היטליסט – שבוע 22, 2026 – 19.05 – 25.05.2026" [Mako Hit List: Weekly Chart – Week 22, 2026 | 19.05 – 25.05.2026] (in Hebrew). Mako Hit List. May 26, 2026. Archived May 26, 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
  39. ^ "Kādas ir Eirovīzijas atskaņas Latvijas mūzikas topā?" [How is Eurovision doing on the Latvian music charts?] (in Latvian). TV Net. 26 May 2026. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  40. ^ "2026 21-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" [Most-Streamed Songs of Week 21 (Top 100)] (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 22 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  41. ^ "Luxembourg Songs: Week of May 30, 2026". Billboard. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  42. ^ "Dara – Bangaranga" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
  43. ^ "Hot 40 Singles". Recorded Music NZ. 22 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  44. ^ "Singel 2026 uke 21". IFPI Norge. Archived 22 May 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  45. ^ "OLiS – oficjalna lista sprzedaży – single w streamie" (Select week 15.05.2026–21.05.2026.) (in Polish). OLiS. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  46. ^ "Romania Songs: Week of May 30, 2026". Billboard. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  47. ^ "Radiomonitor Türkiye − Resmi Uluslararası Listesi − 22. Hafta − Top 10" [Radiomonitor Turkey − Official International Chart − Week 22 − Top 10] (in Turkish). No. 2060286523896103342. 29 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  48. ^ "Dance Digital Song Sales: Week of May 30, 2026". Billboard. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  49. ^ "The 2026 Marcel Bezençon Award Winners". Eurovision.com. EBU. 2026-05-16. Retrieved 2026-05-16.