Duet Mania () is a Bulgarian pop duo formed in Sofia in 1999 and consisting of the sisters Daniela Petkova and Julia Dimitrova.
Duet Mania began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens in their home town Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria, as members of a children choir called "Happy Childhood" and as lead vocalists of a band called "Sparkles". After years of performing underground they were signed to "PolySound" as Duet Mania. In 1999 they released their first best-selling album called Ne e istina, which contained the number one singles "Svetat e za dvama", "Pesenta na shturcite", "Ne e istina", "Ne iskam, ne moga". The album went on to become a critical and commercial success, with estimated sales of more than 50 thousand. They are the most successful Bulgarian female duet in the history of pop music, topping the charts all over the country from 1999 to present All the songs from the album became part of the series hit-song compilations of "PolySound" called Klubna ataka.
In the year of 2000 Duet Mania was pronounced "Best Bulgarian Pop Duet", by "Art Rock Center". The same year during their Macedonian tour, they were the opening act for the concert of the Serbian star Zeljko Samardzic.
In 2001 the song "Ne iskam, ne moga" became hit song of the compilation "Love songs for loved people".
Duet Mania are producers of their second album Hladni ochi, released in 2003. It was published by Select Music and distributed by Stefko's Music. Signature hits of the album became "Hladni ochi", "Mnogo dalech", "Dajd ot liubov", "Shte bada tam", "Bialo", etc. In 2003 "Forever in Love" was pronounced “Golden Hit” of Planeta TV. The same year they had been invited by the diva of the Bulgarian pop music - Lili Ivanova as an opening act for her concert, which was attended by her close friend Jean-Claude Van Damme.
In 2005 after taking a short break Daniela and Julia released the single "Whatcha Waiting For", written by Ivan Dinev and Simeon Somlev, followed by the single "Bittersweet", written for the most prestigious song contest in Europe, the Eurovision Song Contest. Duet Mania's performance on Eurovision brought them popularity all over Europe.
In 2007 they released the single "I Didn't Know You".
The sisters had worked with the most famous Bulgarian artists - Lili Ivanova, Vasil Naydenov, B.T.R., Tonika, Orlin Goranov, , , , Margarita Hranova, Yordanka Hristova, , and Ilia Angelov. They had recorded backing vocals for , Kamelia Todorova, Petia Buiuklieva and Ilia Angelov.
Daniela and Julia had been touring all over the world and had captured the hearts of millions of fans in Norway, Germany, Denmark, Russia, Cyprus, Israel, Egypt, Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Switzerland, North Macedonia, China, South Korea, United States. In the summer of 2011 they were the opening act for ABBA at a private event in Bulgaria.
Early life Daniela and Julia were born and raised in a small town situated in the south part of Bulgaria, called Dimitrovgrad They grew up in a musician's family. Their father is a guitarist and a singer. He was the one who inspired the girls to start singing from an early age. Their grandmother was a singer and their grandfather was a kaval player. Their mother is a former model and an artist. They both attended PMG Ivan Vazov high school.
At the age of 11 and 13 Julia and Daniela started singing in a choir called "Happy Childhood". They were part of many music festivals and competitions around the country and they always came back home with the 1st prize. At the same age Julia and Daniela influenced by the movie “Heavenly Bodies” fell in love with the aerobics and in 2003 they became certified aerobics and fitness instructors. In high school they became lead singers of a band called "Sparkles". After graduating high school the sisters, one after another, became lead singers of their father's band Consonance.
Music career Duet Mania was created in 1999, by the Bulgarian music producer Valio Markov, "PolySound". Until 1999 both of the sisters had been performing solo. Daniela graduated from the National Academy of Music as a Bachelor of pop and jazz singing in the class of prof. and studied saxophone in the class of prof. Vlaio Vlaev. Julia took vocal lessons from prof. Stefka Onikian.
The sisters started singing together in 1998 as lead singers of the band "Step on fire". They were signed by the Norwegian music agency “Ram” and they started singing on ships of the cruise company Color line, travelling from Norway to Denmark and Germany. In 1999 Daniela and Julia participated in the International Music Festival for Young Talents “Melfest”, Macedonia with the song When you believe and won 1st prize. Their debut song "Svetat e za dvama", brought them huge success. The song is a dance cover of a Bulgarian old hit song, originally recorded by Orlin Goranov. The second song they recorded, "Pesenta na shturcite" became their second big hit. It's another cover song, originally recorded by Roksana Beleva. Their 1st original song “Ne e istina”, became a popular hit, too. But the single “Ne iskam, ne moga” brought them the biggest success. The song became a Golden Hit of and it was part of two CD compilations – “Club Attack” and “Love songs for loved people”. “Ne iskam, ne moga” is considered a Bulgarian evergreen song. Their 1st album “Ne e istina” was released in October 1999.
In 2000, they were pronounced "Best Duet of 2000" by “Art Rock Center”, Bulgaria. The same year the sisters participated in the "World Championships of Performing Arts" held in Los Angeles, CA and grabbed the 1st prize and the gold with the song “When you believe” in the category for female pop duet. During the event the sisters were noticed by some local record labels, TV-commercials production companies, model agencies who were interested working with them and who offered them to sign contracts starting from September 2001. On 11 September 2001, the World Trade Center in New York City was destroyed in a terrorist attack and many people died. The tragedy prevented the sisters from returning to America and the desire of pursuing their dreams there was deeply buried. The same year the girls started a new Las Vegas style show and named it “Shake Mania”. The show was created especially for the cruise company Color Line.
In 2003, Daniela and Julia were invited to participate in the “International Folk Song and Arts Festival” held in Nanning, China. They had 10 outdoor live concerts and one at "Nanning Theater". They were on the first pages of the Chinese newspapers and on the TV. More than 16 million people became familiar with duet Mania and their music. In November 2003 the sisters released their 2nd album “Hladni ochi”. Popular hits became “Mnogo dalech”, nominated as a Golden hit of Planeta TV, “Hladni ochi” and “Dajd ot liubov”.
In 2004, Daniela and Julia were invited to take part in another International festival “Meet in Beijing”, China. They performed there with a popular Bulgarian rock band called B.T.R. The same year they participated in the International Music Song Contest “Universetalent”, held in Prague, Czech Republic where they received the 3rd prize with the song “Hladni ochi”.
In 2005, the sisters took a new challenge. In 2005 after taking a short break Daniela and Julia released the single “Whatcha waiting for” with the idea to participate in one of the biggest European Song Contests "Eurovision". But their manager Stefan Shirokov asked them to participate with another song, “Bitter-sweet”, written by Georgi Gogov, violinist and bassist of the German rock band “City”. The song was written especially for the contest. Their performance on "Eurovision" brought them popularity all over Europe and they had conquered the hearts of millions of fans. The same year they participated in another Music Festival, “Discovery” held in Varna, Bulgaria. They received the award “Best Performance”. The same year they signed a contract with a Korean Music Agency and went to perform in Seoul, South Korea.
In 2006, Daniela and Julia were invited to participate in “Blues to Bob Festival” held in Lugano, Switzerland where they performed with Angel Zaberski – piano, Ivelin Atanasov – piano, Mitko Shanov – bass, Mitko Semov – drums, and the Bulgarian Frank Sinatra, Vasil Petrov. The same year they were special guests of the International “Jazz Festival Bansko” where they performed with Ivelin Atanasov – piano, Radoslav Slavchev – bass, Stoyan Koprinkov – drums, Kiril Tashkov – guitar.
In 2007, the sisters recorded a new single “Ne poznavah teb”, written by Magomed Aliev-Maga and shot the video for the song. The same year Daniela's boyfriend, the former pianist of the band "”, Ivelin Atanasov won a Green Card and proposed Daniela. They got married and moved to New York City. Since 2008 the sisters had been touring mostly in United States. In the summer of 2009 Duet Mania had been invited to sing on board of the cruise line ship M/S Julia travelling from Cork, Ireland to Swansea, Wales.
In 2014, Daniela leftNew York and moved back to Bulgaria for good. The sisters got together again which speeded up the growth of their music career. The same year they recorded the single “Hiliadi vaprosi” written and arranged by Stamen Yanev and lyrics by Geri Turiiska.
In 2015, was released DJ Diass' remix of their biggest hit song "Ne iskam, ne moga". The same year they were invited by Ruse's Philharmonic Orchestra to become a part of a series of concerts "ABBA Tribute". Daniela and Julia performed with Ruse's Philharmonic Orchestra and the conductor Dimitar Kosev as they presented together "ABBA Tribute" in Ruse, Silistra and Popovo, where they made the audience stand up multiple times.
In 2016, the sisters released many singles. The first one was "Whatcha waiting for" in a new arrangement made by Svetlin Kaslev. The next single was “Parva sreshta” written and arranged by Aleksander Kostov and lyrics by Valentina Cenova with the special featuring of the rapper Julias Celestin. The same year the director of the International Music Festival „Discovery“, Dono Tzvetkov composed two songs for them – the Christmas song “Biala prikazka” and the song “Ako dal si nadejda”, recorded together with the children vocal group “Da”. “Biala prikazka” became part of the Christmas album “Prikazka srebarnobiala”, and “Ako dal si nadejda” became part of the album Valshebnici. With the song "Аko dal si nadejda" starts the music student's book for seventh grade, Anubis Edition. In the summer of 2015, 2016 and 2017 Daniela and Julia had been performing the shows "ABBA Tribute" and ""Queens of Dance & Soul" at one of the best Bulgarian summer resorts - "Sunny Beach". Three years in row, in 2016, 2017 and 2018 Duet Mania was invited as a special guest of the International Music Festival „Discovery“ held in Varna.
In June 2017, the sisters were pronounced “Artists of the week” by Market Radio. The single “Formata” was released the same year. It was written and arranged by Daniela's husband Ivelin Atanasov and lyrics by Daniela Petkova, provoked by iniquity in the music business in Bulgaria, the attitude of the media towards Bulgarian pop artists and a single case in which the duet became a victim of a fraud committed by a man, part of the rapper's guild. The same year they performed with “Groove Connection” band on board of a cruise line ship M/S Amorella, “Viking Line” which travelled from Finland to Sweden. In 2017 Daniela and Julia participated in the Music Festival „Burgas I moreto “, Burgas with the song “Pareshti sledi” written and arranged by Stamen Yanev and lyrics by Valentina Cenova. The same year sisters released the single “Tvoia biah” written and arranged by Aleksander Kostov and lyrics by Valentina Cenova.