The second edition of Music Idol, the Bulgarian version of the popular reality-competition show, ended with a big concert and the selection of this years' winner on June 2 2008.

Viewers voted heavy metal fan Toma, aged 21, to become Bulgaria's music idol. Toma was chosen from the four competitors that reached the final, winning ahead of Denitsa, Yassen and Nora.

The concert started with a performance by last year's winner Nevena and runner-up Teodor Koichinov. It went on with a joint act of those that did worst, and hence were the most fun to watch in the initial stages of the casting.

Video presentations of the four finalists' track records from earlier in the competition followed. Then every one of the final four had to sing the song that, according to them, made their most successful appearance throughout the course of Music Idol. Yassen sang Twisted Sister's We're Not Gonna Take It, Denitsa - Respect by Aretha Franklin, while Nora chose Close My Eyes Forever by Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne.

Toma performed Obicham Te (I Love You) by Bulgarian pop-folk singer Azis, which brought him great popularity because of the metal sound he added to it. After these performances, the viewers decided that Denitsa was the first of the finalists that had to go.

The next round saw the remaining three finalists sing famous hits under a different musical arrangement. Yassen sang Elvis Presley's Love Me Tender as a Greek sirtaki, Nora sang Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On in a rock version and Toma did the Ode to Joy, the European anthem, as a Bulgarian rachenitsa.

After this round Yassen was voted out and Toma and Nora were left to compete for the first spot.

The two had to sing one and the same song, whose name was picked randomly by chairperson of the jury, famous Bulgarian composer and conductor Vili Kazassyan, from two sealed envelopes. This turned out to be Simply The Best by Tina Turner, with the other option being Queen's We Are The Champions.

Following these final performances the winner was announced. Toma won more than 54 per cent of the votes and was awarded a one-album recording contract with Virginia Records, with an option for two more albums. He also won 50 000 leva from private broadcaster bTV, which aired the show over the past three months.

The second edition of Music Idol enjoyed great success and was ranked at the top of Bulgarian TV ratings. It became famous abroad as well, with the unique performance of Mariah Carey's Without You during the casting stage of the show. Valentina Hassan sang the love ballade in a unique language, bearing almost no resemblance to English, which earned her millions of hits on video sharing websites and worldwide notoriety.

Hassan's groundbreaking performance of Without You (spelled as Ken Li or Ken Lee) is available on YouTube.