Բարեւ Ձեզ or Barev DZez! Today is Armenia's Independence Day which celebrates their independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
A relative newcomer to the competition, Armenia first competed at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 and have participated 13 times. They did not compete in 2012 at Baku due to political tensions with Azerbaijan.
Armenia have an outstanding record at Eurovision, qualifying for the final on 10 occasions. They missed the finals in 2011, 2018 and 2019. Out of the 10 songs that made the final, only 3 did not finish in the top 10.
In true Aussievision style, the team have decided to celebrate the day with a poll to determine who our favourite Armenian entry is.
Grab yourself some yoghurt soup, a nip of brandy and read on.
5th Place: Eva Rivas - 'Apricot Stone' (2010
32 points
Taking her stage name from her Greek great-grandmonther, 193cm tall Valeria Reshetnikova-Tsatouryan’s folk-pop song is the Aussievision team’s fifth choice. ‘Apricot Stone’ also reached no.54 on the Swiss Music Chart.
Rumoured to be a political song about the Armenian genocide, ‘Apricot Stone’ tells a story of pride despite the hardships that have been experienced through the eyes of a child. Armenia is known as “the motherland of the apricot’ and it is the nation’s national fruit. Rivas’ performance featured musician Djivan Gasparyan playing a traditional instrument called a duduk. Gasparyan was 81-years-old at the time and was the oldest person to perform at the contest, until 95-year-old Emil Ramsauer of Takasa represented Switzerland in 2013. The duduk is also traditionally constructed from apricot wood.
Since Eurovision, Rivas has gone on to be a judge on ‘The Voice: Armenia’.
4th Place: Artsvik - 'Fly with Me' (2017)
36 points
Despite finishing in 18th place in 2017, Artsvik Harutyunyan’s worldbeat track is the Aussievision team’s fourth favourite song. ‘Fly with Me’ also had some minor success on the Norwegian iTunes chart.
Artsvik hails from Kapan, a town in south east Armenia. Her family moved to Moscow when she was 5-years-old and she has resided there since. After qualifying as a speech pathologist, Artsvik entered ‘Golos’- otherwise known as the Russian version of ‘The Voice’, progressing through to the battle rounds.
Since Eurovision Artsvik has released and often performs at festivals in her adoptive homeland of Russia.
3rd Place: Aram Mp3 - 'Not Alone' (2014)
48 points
In third place is Aram Mp3’s dubstep ballad, ‘Not Alone’. Aram Sargsyan is a singer and comedian who hails from Yerevan. ‘Not Alone’ is one of two Armenian entries to finish in 4th place at the Eurovision Song Contest. The nation’s best result.
Prior to commencing a career in entertainment, Aram Sargsyan completed a degree in medicine. Whilst at university, Sargsyan participated in a several comedy revues. Part of his routine was to perform humorous covers of popular songs, thus earning the nickname ‘Aram Mp3’. Later he started to concentrate on music and soon became a fixture on Yerevan’s jazz and blues club circuit.
Since his Eurovision experience, Sargsyan has continued with his music career namely collaborating with 2016 Armenian representative Iveta Mukuchyan on their concept project ‘Dashterov’. He has also continued with his television hosting career.
2nd Place: Iveta Mukuchyan - 'LoveWave' (2016)
52 points
Providing Eurovision fans with one of Armenia’s most iconic performances. Armenian-German singer, model and actress Iveta Mukuchyan finishes 2nd with our team.
Mukuchyan was born in Yerevan but spent much of her childhood in Hamburg after her father travelled to Germany to purchase a car and decided to reside there. The rest of the family moved shortly afterwards.
Originally focusing her career on design, Mukuchyan’s musical talent was discovered during a performance of Celine Dion's ‘My Heart Will Go On’ at her music club. She then returned to her homeland to study at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory. She has been a contestant on the Armenia version of ‘Pop Idol’ and ‘The Voice of Germany’.
Since her 7th place at the 2016, Mukuchyan has gone on to record more music as well as feature in a couple of films. As mentioned above, Mukuchyan collaborated with Aram Mp3 for their ‘Dashterov’ concept album. In 2019 she held a concert in the USA and appeared Armenian TV-programs whilst there. She has featured in plenty of magazines and is known for her looks and sex appeal.
Mukuchyan is also an activist. She has attended protests and support anti-government protesters on a few occasions. Mukuchyan controversially held the flag of the disputed Republic of Artsakh during her Eurovision semi final. This sparked a backlash from the Azerbaijani press. The performer responded with "My thoughts are with my Motherland. I want peace everywhere.”
Together with her sister Marianna, they launched their new "Mukuchyan" brand with focuses on jewellery and other fashion accessories. Marianna Mukuchyan is a renowned make up artist who is in high demand in the Bollywood movie industry.
1st Place: Sirusho - 'Qélé, Qélé' (2008)
68 points
With the 2008 Marcel Bezençon Fan Award under her belt, it is no surprise that Sirusho finishes in first place. Qélé, Qélé received votes from every Aussievision team member that was surveyed, the only song to do so. The song became a hit in Greece and Cyprus and continues to receive plenty of airplay in Greek speaking communities internationally.
Along with Aram Mp3, Sirusho also finished in 4th place at the Eurovision Song Contest. However, Qélé, Qélé received the most 12 point votes in the 2008 contest. Making it arguably Armenia’s most successful entry.
Qélé, Qélé which translates as ‘Come on, come on’ was co-written by Sirusho herself. With 199 points, it had received the most points for an Armenian song until the new voting system was introduced in 2016.
Sirusho, full name Siranush Harutyunyan, has been involved in the Armenian music scene for over 20 years. She started out as a 9-year-old winning an award for her song ‘Lusabats’ and released her first album in 2000. She has won numerous awards for her music since. The BBC also describing her as a “national treasure of Armenia”.
Sirusho performed at the opening ceremony of the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup and continues to release music. She also introduced a range of silver handcrafted jewellery in 2012.
Other Armenian entries that received votes from the Aussievision team were:
6th place Inga and Anush - 'Jan Jan'- 28 points
= 7th place Geneology - 'Face the Shadow'- 18 points
= 7th place Athena Manoukian - 'Chains on You'- 18 points
9th place Sevak Khanagyan - 'Qami'- 10 points
10th place Srbuk - 'Walking Out'- 8 points
11th place Dorians - 'Lonely Planet'- 2 points