Darina Nikolaeva Yotova (, born 9 September 1998), known mononymously as Dara (), is a Bulgarian singer. She rose to prominence in 2015 after reaching the final in the Bulgarian edition of The X Factor. In 2016, she released her debut single "K'vo ne chu" under . She is set to represent in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
Born in Varna, in 2015 Yotova participated in the Bulgarian version of the reality show The X Factor where she finished third, with Bulgarian rapper Krisko being her mentor.
Following her departure from The X Factor, Yotova signed a record deal with Bulgarian music label Virginia Records and adopted the stage name Dara. In the summer of 2016, she released her debut single "K'vo ne chu", accompanied by a music video. A few weeks later, the single peaked the Bulgarian charts and a subsequent English version of the song by the name of "Onto You" was released on 29 September, directed towards an international audience.
On 12 March 2017, Dara released her second single entitled "Rodena takava", also accompanied by a music video. A few months later, on 21 July, she made her first guest appearance on a single named "Nyama da si tragnesh s drug" by labelmates Plamen & Ivo alongside Bulgarian hip-hop duo Pavell and Venci Venc'. On 29 September, Dara's third single "Nedei" was released on YouTube with an official music video. On 20 June 2018, Dara released her fourth single entitled "Vse na men", along with a music video.
In early 2020, Dara starred in the TV show ', the Bulgarian version of Your Face Sounds Familiar, finishing in third place in the final.
Since 2021, Dara has been a coach on The Voice of Bulgaria. In 2022, on the ninth season, Jacklyn Tarrakci, a member of Team Dara, won the competition. This made Dara the winning coach. In 2024, on the eleventh season, Dara's artist Slaveya Ivanova won the competition, marking Dara's second win in four seasons as a coach.
On 7 March 2022, Dara announced her debut album Rodena takava set to be released on 20 April 2022, accompanied with a live concert showcasing the album in Joy Station, Sofia.
In March 2023, Kai released "Rover", a remake of Dara's original "Mr. Rover", with his solo album Rover. In the Spring of 2024 she participated in Dancing Stars, where she finished as the runner-up.
She is set to represent Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 after winning the 2026 Bulgarian national final, Natsionalnata selektsiya, with 30 points. After considering withdrawing from the contest, she confirmed her participation. Her song for the contest was selected on in a national final method which was broadcast on 28 February. The song selected was Bangaranga.
The staging of Dara's performance at the contest will be directed by Fredrik Rydman, who has previously done so for a number of entries, most notably , and .