Diana Mihova: Nothing is impossible with hard work

Diana Mihova was born in Plovdiv but has lived in what many call the “Bulgarian city” across the ocean – Chicago – since the age of 16. It was one of the few decisions in her life over which she had no control – she simply followed her mother, who had won a Green Card.

Equestrian sport was a passion for Mihova, who trained professionally in Bulgaria, but in the United States she had to give it up. Instead, she turned to singing – a field in which she is entirely self-taught.

“A friend took me to a piano bar in Chicago where the singer invited me to perform a song. The owner was there, liked what he heard, and asked if I would like to perform one evening during the week. I agreed and started working with a jazz band. I had to learn all the improvisations and songs in the repertoire very quickly. It wasn’t easy, but those four years at that bar were the best training ground for me.”

Mihova says she remains deeply grateful for the warm welcome, support and encouragement she has received from the Bulgarian community in the Windy City throughout her career so far.

“A few months ago, we organised an incredible event for the National Basketball Association team, the Chicago Bulls. This was made possible with the help of the Bulgarian community, the Little Bulgarian School, and my colleague, the violinist Svet Radoslavov. For me, that was the pinnacle of my career because performing on the stage of the United Center, the team’s home, is no mean feat.”

Before dedicating herself fully to her career as a singer and manager of her own trio, Mihova worked as a presenter and news reporter for a Bulgarian television station in the United States, with studios in Washington, Chicago and Sofia, which operated until 2019. She describes that period as a “boot camp”, but says she is grateful for the experience.

“That’s where I learned that anything can be achieved with enough hard work and effort. But time is always limited. You wake up, start working on a story, and within a few hours you need to have soundbites, footage and interviews ready. Then you bring everything together and appear on screen with a smile to present what you have uncovered. The next day, you wake up, forget about the previous day and start again – searching for information and meeting people. It’s an incredible skill to have your mind working so fast and to be able to create something under that kind of pressure.”

While working in television, positive stories and examples of Bulgarians who have built successful lives abroad were among her favourite topics. Her work brought her into contact with people from the arts, as well as scientists working at NASA and in various research institutes.

Mihova founded her trio, Jersey Girls, with her husband, Georgi Simeonov, whom she describes as the driving force behind their sound and visual identity. Over the years, the line-up has changed: what began as an all-Bulgarian trio now includes two American performers, one of Italian origin and the other of Puerto Rican descent.

When asked how they managed to establish themselves in the highly competitive US entertainment industry and convince venue owners and managers to include them in event programmes, she said:

"Convincing them is very difficult. We’ve taken the approach that they should come to us. For us, it was important to build and present our product in the best possible way, and to make the audience experience truly memorable. So far, there has always been someone in the audience who could open the door to the next stage for us. We’ve received quite a few invitations to appear on American television and radio.”

The trio is now looking to Europe for a reliable partner to organise performances across the continent, including in Bulgaria.

Editor: Elena Karkalanova