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Slavi Trifonov returned with a bang on the stage! A unique impersonator and Doppelgänger of the Long is blowing up pubs across the country and getting everyone on their feet. 40-year-old Mladen Kirilov copies Slavi down to the smallest detail – he goes on stage in leather clothes and black glasses, regularly shaves his head, wears the same earrings as Dalgia and even climbs like him. The mannerisms are polished to perfection, and the impersonator’s voice is exactly like Trifonov’s. Sometimes Mladen sits on a chair, as Slavi does in his last concerts.
Kirilov began imitating Trifonov as a student and gradually realized that things were getting better and better for him. The imitator brings exactly the same timbre as Slavi and often his voice cannot be distinguished from the original. The audience is emotional, Bulgarian flags are flying.
“I’ve been singing Slavi’s songs since I can remember – Mladen tells “Bulgaria Today“. – When the album “One red Ferrari” came out in 1997, I made instrumentals and started practicing on them. I saw that with time and practice it more or less works. I was in 7th grade then. There is no Slavi song , that I don’t know by heart. There are some that I sing less often, but in general I know absolutely all of them. It’s very difficult for me to say which one is my favorite, there are so many of them. From the older ones, from the new ones, the ones with folk elements, as well as the revival ones. The audience enjoys the big hits – “Hell and Paradise”, “Studio X”, “Living Wound”, the folk ones – “When the noises start”, “Captain Petko Voivoda”.
Mladen has the personal permission from Slavi and “Ku-ku band” to perform their songs. Trifonov’s people know the impersonator well and often run into him. In one period, the doppelgänger was in the audience of “Slavi’s Show” every day and almost never missed a “Ku-ku Band” concert.
“Slavi and I know each other personally, I have sung in front of him – says Kirilov. – At first he looked at me with distrust, but then he liked me. He doesn’t mind me performing his songs and I have permission to do so. From “Ku-ku Band” they also know who I am. But I’m a bit shy and I try not to enter people’s personal space. I don’t have photos with Slavi, for example.”
Mladen’s obsession with Slavi went so far that the impersonator tattooed Trifonov’s face on his shoulder along with a large inscription “Koo-koo band”. On his other arm, his tattoos are also almost the same as Long’s.
“The tattoo is a kind of respect for Slavi and for what he does,” says Mladen. he did it as a kind of thanks to him. I did Slavi’s logo first, then other tattoos. I have a dragon and a samurai similar to Slavi’s. It’s not intentional, it just happened.”
Mladen also has another talent – painting, often portraying Slavi Trifonov. “This is my hobby since I was a student, I don’t do it professionally. I give the paintings to friends. When the muse comes to me, I can paint for a whole week”. Kirilov also has another profession – he deals with organic foods, although he has enough participations in establishments.
“I sing all over the country, I go together with two DJs. We have performances by the sea, on New Year’s I was in Pamporovo, now they invite me to Spain to sing for the Bulgarian community. I have enough performances, but I’m a little satisfied.”
Like Trifonov, his imitator has quite a few haters. Some call him “Slavi Trifonov from Ali Express”, but Mladen doesn’t pay much attention to them.
“At first, people look at me with disbelief. Some think I’m singing playback, but then they see that everything is live, and they are pleasantly surprised – says the double. – Of course, there are haters. But these people are a minority. The positive comments are much more, I can say – 90%. If it were the other way around, I would probably give up. I try to be myself and do his gestures and facial expressions. The audience feels it and it becomes cool. In 2012, I participated in ” “Bulgaria is looking for talent” and from then on things took off for me. I started to shave my head, pierced my ears. To imitate a person like Slavi, everything has to be right. I have always taken myself seriously, without any irony or joke. There are different people with shows like that, sometimes you get a parody, and I don’t want that.”
One of the big differences between Mladen and Slavi is the height. Trifonov is nearly 2 meters tall, while the imitator has a modest height of about 1.76 cm against this background. “I have no way to achieve the height,” laughs the lookalike and adds that he supports Slavi in politics as well. “When you get to know a person for many years, it’s normal to support him. I was almost every night in the audience of Slavi’s Show, I watched him behave in rehearsals, I approve of his views.”
