Eurovision 2026: Meet Armenia’s SIMÓN and his song Paloma Rumba

We profile the 2026 entry from Armenia including details on the artist, song, how it was chosen, odds, fan reaction and how the nation has fared at Eurovision.

With a solid and consistent record since their debut in 2006, Armenia’s Eurovision history is full of ethnicity, powerful vocals and great tunes.

Of their 17 appearances at Eurovision, they have been in the Grand Final 14 times. Their highest result is 4th place, jointly achieved by Sirusho’s Qélé, Qélé (2008) and Aram Mp3’s Not Alone (2014).

In the last few years, Armenia's results have been a little more mid-table, with forays into the Top 10 by Iveta Mukuchyan’s LoveWave (2016, 7th place) and Ladaniva’s Jako (2024, 8th place).

After briefly reviving their national selection last year, Armenia have once again opted to select internally. Representing Armenia this year will be SIMÓN with his song Paloma Rumba.

You can find out more about SIMÓN and his song below!

2026 entry: SIMÓN - Paloma Rumba

• SIMÓN will perform 6th in semi-final 2

• My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 30th

• Odds to win ranking: 24th

(Rankings as of 28 April 2026)

About the Artist

Simon Hovhannisyan, known by his stage name SIMÓN, is a 31-year-old singer-songwriter and dancer that hails from Hrazdan in central Armenia. Growing up in a family of doctors, it was music and dance that SIMÓN showed a strong passion for from a very early age. He cites Michael Jackson as one of his biggest influences.

After majoring in economics at university, SIMÓN chose to focus on pursuing a career in music and dance. In recent years he has become a prominent dancer in the Armenian entertainment industry, performing at all kinds of festivals and shows across the country. He is also a lead performer at Coba, one of the most popular live entertainment venues in Yerevan. 

Since 2021, SIMÓN has put more focus into the singing and songwriting aspect of his career. In 2025 he participated in Depi Evratesil and placed second overall. He won both the Armenian and International jury votes and came fourth in the televote.

On 29 March 2026, SIMÓN was honoured at the Khazer Armenian Music Awards, where he won the Revelation of the Year category, which is a category for new and upcoming artists in Armenia. 

SIMÓN is known to be very quiet in regard to his personal life. He is married to Anush Avagyan, who is also his producer, and together they have twin sons. He often credits his family for their support of his career.

About the song

Paloma Rumba is a high energy, anthemic track about breaking free from monotony and routine. The track is designed to showcase SIMÓN’s skills in dancing as well as his boundless charisma. 

The title, literally translating to Dove’s Dance, is meant to symbolise the joyful freedom that dancing brings. Both the lyrics and music video for the track reference the idea of leaving behind a dull office job in order to pursue dancing and take a chance on following passion.

The music video loosely follows a tongue-in-cheek narrative that, after missing out on going to Eurovision in 2022, SIMÓN returned to his office job and has spent the past year planning his big return to the contest.

Paloma Rumba was composed by Lilith Navasardyan, who previously composed Iveta Mukuchyan’s LoveWave (2016, 7th place) and Artsvik’s Fly With Me (2017, 18th place).

The lyrics for Paloma Rumba were written by David Tserunyan, who also worked on Artsvik’s Fly With Me; Eva Voskanian, one of the songwriters on Parg’s Survivor (2025, 20th place); and Rosa Kostandyan, better known as Rosa Linn, who represented Armenia in 2022 with the song Snap and placed 20th. 

How was SIMÓN chosen for Eurovision?

SIMÓN was selected internally by Armenian broadcaster AMPTV. He was announced as the country’s representative officially on 11 March, simultaneous to the release of his song. 

SIMÓN provided the following statement to eurovision.tv:

“For many years, I dreamed of performing on the big stage at the Eurovision Song Contest, and today my dream has finally come true. This moment is the result of years of hard work and unwavering belief. I hope my song inspires a sense of freedom, fills you with energy, and reminds you that sometimes, achieving your dreams only takes one brave step out of your comfort zone.”

Armenia will compete in the second semi-final of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest on 14 May 2026 in Vienna.

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