If Love Was a Crime

"If Love Was a Crime"
Single by Poli Genova
Released	21 March 2016
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2016
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	2:59
Label	BNT Universal
Poli Genova singles chronology
"Щом си с мен" (2014) "If Love Was a Crime" (2016)
"If Love Was a Crime" Eurovision Song Contest 2016 entry Country Bulgaria Artist(s) Poli Genova Languages English Bulgarian Composer(s) Borislav Milanov Sebastian Arman Joachim Persson Johnny K. Palmer Lyricist(s) Borislav Milanov Sebastian Arman Joachim Persson Poli Genova Finals performance Semi-final result 5th Semi-final points 220 Final result 4th Final points 307 Appearance chronology ◄ "Samo shampioni" (2013)

"If Love Was a Crime" is a song recorded by Bulgarian recording artist Poli Genova. Written by Borislav Milanov, Sebastian Arman, Joacim Bo Persson, Johnny K. Palmer and Genova, the track represented Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. As a result, it came in fourth place in the final, with it remaining the best placing in the contest for Bulgaria. An accompanying music video for "If Love Was a Crime" was released on 21 March 2016, followed by the launching of the single on 30 March 2016 through the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) and Universal. Upon its appearance in the contest, the recording charted at number 200 on the UK Singles Chart and peaked within the top eighty in Austria, Belgium, Scotland and Sweden.

Eurovision Song Contest

On 19 February 2016, BNT announced that the broadcaster's managing board had internally selected Poli Genova to represent Bulgaria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.^[1] The song "If Love Was a Crime" was also internally selected for Genova and was presented to the public on 21 March 2016 through the release of the official music video via the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.^[2][3] Genova performed the song during Eurovision Song Contest 2016 second semi-final on 12 May 2016, held at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden.^[4] In the final, on 14 May 2016, after the results came through, "If Love Was a Crime" finished the contest in 4th place with 307 points. It is Bulgaria's highest scoring entry at Eurovision ever. It was also the first participation for Bulgaria on the final since 2007.

Track listing

Digital download[5]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"If Love Was a Crime"	2:59

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Europe	30 March 2016[5]	Digital download	BNT, Universal Music

Chart performance

The track has been streamed over 4 million times through Spotify.^[6][7] Since its release, the official video has been watched over 10 million times.^[8]

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9]	72
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[10]	32
France (SNEP)[11]	129
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[12]	73
Serbia (Top 50 Serbija)[13]	1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14]	47
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[15]	200

Other versions

"If Love Was a Crime" has also been performed by Greek singer Demy in the greek language under the title "Isovia Mazi" (Ισόβια Μαζί", meaning "Life Ιmprisonment Together").

References

1. Brey, Marco (19 February 2016). "Bulgaria: Poli Genova returns to Eurovision". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
2. "Вътрешна селекция 2016". bnt.bg (in Bulgarian). BNT. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
3. Brey, Marco (21 March 2016). "Bulgaria: Premiere of "If Love Was A Crime"". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
4. Jordan, Paul (25 January 2016). "Allocation Draw: The results!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
5. "If Love Was a Crime (Eurovision 2016 - Bulgaria) - Single by Poli Genova on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
6. "Eurovision Tracker".
7. "Eurovision 2016 stars dominate iTunes charts". Eurovision 2016 Predictions, Polls, Odds, Rankings - wiwibloggs.
8. Poli Genova - If Love Was A Crime (Bulgaria) 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. 21 March 2016 – via YouTube.
9. "Austriancharts.at – Poli Genova – If Love Was a Crime" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
10. "Ultratop.be – Poli Genova – If Love Was a Crime" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
11. "Lescharts.com – Poli Genova – If Love Was a Crime" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
12. "Archive Chart: 2016-05-20". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
13. "Serbia Top 50 Singles Chart". Pop Top Lista. 19 June 2016. Archived from the original on 19 June 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
14. "Swedishcharts.com – Poli Genova – If Love Was a Crime". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
15. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/160521cluk.txt