A conversation about 25 years in music brought Lucy Diakovska back to one of the most painful chapters of her life. During an appearance on a German podcast, the singer burst into tears as she spoke about the death of her mother, Rositsa Diakovska, and the impact the loss had on her.
“After my mother died, I developed problems with my vocal cords and couldn’t sing,” Lucy Diakovska said. The host of the conversation tried to calm her, but the singer was unable to control her emotions for quite some time. Her statement showed how profoundly her personal loss had affected her professional life.
Rositsa Diakovska died in 2020 after suffering a severe stroke. She had been a pianist, music educator and longtime accompanist, and in Pleven she was known as a respected figure in musical circles.
When her mother’s condition deteriorated, Lucy left her commitments in Germany and returned to Bulgaria to be by her side. Despite the care and the doctors’ efforts, Rositsa Diakovska did not recover. After her death, the singer went through a difficult period that temporarily kept her away from the stage.
The unspoken recognition
For Lucy Diakovska, however, the deepest pain was not only connected to the illness and the loss. She said that until the end of her mother’s life, she had not received the open recognition and expressions of love she had needed.
Rositsa Diakovska had been extremely demanding of her daughter’s professional development and personal choices. Despite her international career and success with No Angels, Lucy continued to long for parental approval.
The singer linked this emotional distance to her mother’s own history. Rositsa, too, had not received the recognition she wanted from her father, Ivan Valev, a renowned folk composer and conductor. Thus, what was passed down between the two generations was not so much a lack of feelings as the difficulty of expressing them openly.
The emotional conversation took place against the backdrop of No Angels’ anniversary. The group, which Lucy Diakovska has been part of since its creation, is marking 25 years since the beginning of its musical journey.
To mark the occasion, the documentary series “No Angels – Das sind WIR!” was created. In it, Lucy Diakovska, Nadja Benaissa, Sandy Mölling and Jessica Wahls look back on the group’s rise, its crises, breakup and subsequent reunion. The story of No Angels is presented not only through its hits and success on stage, but also through topics such as family, identity, mental health and personal freedom.