Maria Ilieva () is a Bulgarian singer, songwriter and producer. She is recognized as one of the most successful female vocal artists of the contemporary Bulgarian music scene. In the last over 20 years of active solo career, she has released over 30 hit singles, two award winning studio albums, a maxi single and a greatest hits album. She has received over 40 awards for music and style. Alongside her music career, Ilieva was a judge on the first, second and third seasons of X factor (Bulgaria) and part of the judging panel of The Masked Singer (Bulgarian TV series) season 1. In 2019 she finished second in the 8th season of the Bulgairan version of Your Face Sounds Familiar. She has appeared in a number of Bulgarian and international films and TV series. Maria has taken part in a vast number of social and philanthropy activities supporting regional and national causes. Early life Maria Ilieva was born in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, in a family of musicians. Her mother, Vanya Moneva, is the choir-master of the Vanya Moneva female choir and her late father, Krasimir Iliev, was the conductor of Sofia Wind Orchestra. Trained pianist since the age of five, she developed her vocal skills as a member of the “Petko Stainov” Choir Academy. Ilieva graduated from the Sofia High School of Mathematics. She proceeded to receive a master's degree in Insurance and a master's degree in International Relations. Her career as a performing vocal artist started in the late 1990 as the lead vocalist of the bands Visoko and Kaffe Band – the latter best known abroad for representing Bulgaria at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. Music career Moon Dream (2001 single & album) The launch of Maria Ilieva's solo career is marked by the release of her first single "Moon Dream" in the summer of 2001. The album (also titled Moon Dream) was duly released later on in the year, having been described by a Bulgarian website as a phenomenon in BG pop music. Singles released from the album ("Moon Dream", "Nothing") have gone straight to No.1 in all leading Bulgarian radio and television pop charts, while "Alright" (produced in collaboration with the avant-garde soul-funk band TE), shot to fame by staying on the top of Bulgarian Top 100 chart for an unprecedented 13 successive weeks. Stereo Room (2002 maxi single) Ilieva's next project, Stereo Room, included remixes