#ESC2016: IVETA MUKUCHYAN TO REPRESENT ARMENIA!

Iveta Mukuchyan has been announced as the Armenian representative for Stockholm! In 2010, she placed 5th on Hay Superstar (Armenian Pop Idol) and also has appeared on The Voice of Germany. Watch her blind audition below.. y'all might regonise the song :-)

I am really excited to hear her song! Great choice, Armenia.

Armenia: Artist to be announced on 13th October!

Armenia's representative is going to be revealed at 17:15 CET on 13th October and it's a girl! Who is she? Lilit Hovhannisyan and Iveta Mukuchyan are tipped but wasn't Iveta heavily rumoured last year? All shall be revealed in a couple of weeks!

Armenia: Tamar Kaprelian joins forces with Elina, Elhaida, Maria-Elena and Stephanie!

Tamar Kaprelian from Genealogy has teamed up with Elina Born from Estonia, Elhaida Dani from Albania, Maria-Elena Kyriakou from Greece and Stephanie Topalian also from Armenia to collaborate on her new song. The Otherside was written by Tamar and Xandy Barry. It's an incredible piece. The video-clip is stunning. It's a story many of us can relate with. Their voices work wonderfully together.. Elhaida's part is my favourite though :-)What do you think? Listen below:

REVIEWING THE CLASS OF 2015: ARMENIA!

Armenia opted for supergroup Genealogy to represent their country in Vienna. The group consists of six musicians from different continents but all are of Armenian descent. Genealogy was formed for Eurovision and unofficially to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.. On paper, it sounds very promising but does the song live up to our expectations?

Ana: Although this song is not bad I find it a little repetitive. I think that it would fit better in a musical than in a song contest. Being 6 people with different voices and personalities don’t help them; even it’ll be a problem to design a good staging. 6/10

Ilkar: With all the polemics and change of title where are we now? On paper a very promising act. Great individual voices and a song written for them to win. Shame it doesn't work. It's a musical tune that works when they sing their solo parts even if not still going anywhere. When they sing together it's all over the place and a mess. And why don't they sing even a bit of the song in Armenian? What kind of tribute this is without an Armenian part? Politics aside, this is the worst Armenian entry ever 2/10

Jack: I expected something really good here but I'm afraid Face The Shadow doesn't really reach my expectations. All the artists are very different, and great in their own respective genre - but together? Hmm. Could be a disaster on stage. Remember Switzerland 2006? Armenia will probably make the final. Not for me. 3.5/10

Jess: When I first heard this song I was not sure what to think, but now I really like it! 7/10

John: I have to admit to liking this a lot. With an almost anthemic quality it is a very easy-on-the ear ballad with its trio of strong vocalists. Goes off the rails a bit at 2.30 but gets back on track for the finish. 7/10

OUR VERDICT - 25.5/50
OVERALL SCORE - 5.1/10

Armenia: Genealogy's song title changed!

The Armenian entry is no longer called Don't Deny but Face The Shadow instead. It was changed to avoid any controversy as the songs title may have been deemed too political.

Armenia: 'Don't Deny' revealed!

The Armenian entry has been revealed! It's another ballad, and not a bad one, but I'm not quite sure what to think about it yet... Judge for yourself here.

Armenia: The members of Genealogy!

Armenia's act for Vienna, Genealogy, will consist of 6 singers and the members will all be released in due course. On this post, Ill update it with the members once revealed along with some background information.

Essaï Altounian, commonly known as Essaï, is a French/Armenian musician and actor. To centennial the 1915 Armenian genocide, he composed the song Je n'oublie pas- Chem morana. More information here.

On 20th February, it was announced American based Tamar Kaprelian would be the 2nd member of the group. Her previous songs include New Day and California..

Vahe Tilbian has been announced as the third member of Genealogy. He is a 34 year old singer, dancer and musician. He's Ethiopian, with Armenian decent. The fourth member will be revealed later...

Stephanie Topalian has been announced as the forth member of Genealogy. She's a Japanese American singer, songwriter and also an actress of mixed Japanese and Armenian descent. She was born to a Japanese mother and an Armenian father in America. The next member will be announced on 3rd March and will have links to Australia!

Mary-Jean O'Doherty is the firth member. She's an Australian opera singer - with Armenian decent of course.. the final singer is going to be revealed next week! Will it be Inga from Eurovision 2009?

Azerbaijan: "Eurovision shouldn't be converted into a political arena"

Uh oh.. Armenia recently announced their entry will be entitled Don't Deny and it is to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Armenian Genocide. Long term rivals, Azerbaijan, are not amused with this decision and said:

This contest can’t be a victim of any country’s political ambitions and converted into a political arena. The Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company state that if the news is confirmed, we will also take appropriate steps in the contest.

Does this mean Azerbaijan would threaten to withdraw if the Armenian entry goes ahead? More information here. The Armenian entry is yet to be released and it remains to be seen if the lyrics will also be politically themed.

GENEALOGY TO REPRESENT ARMENIA!

In order to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Armenia will send a group consisting of of five artists from Armenian diaspora in Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Australia. Genealogy's song is called Don't Deny and will be released later. The group members are yet to be officially revealed although Tamar Kaprelian, Athena Manoukian, Essai, Vahe Tilbian and Inga Arshakyan are said rumoured to be part of this special made group. If I'm honest, I don't know how to feel about this. Could be amazing although Switzerland 2006 also springs to mind...

Armenia: Should Hayk Kasparov do Eurovision?

Armenian TV said an announcement is due very soon regarding their act for Vienna so naturally, we are all curious to see who will succeed Aram MP3! Could it be Hayk Kasparov? Hayk Kasparov wouldn't be a bad choice at all because Ay Ay Ay is a song this blogger likes very much. He has tried to represent Armenia in the past on a couple of occasions. Give me an answer was his song in the 2009 Armenian national final. He tried again in 2010 with Du Gites. Lilit Hovhannisyan is another possible candidate but isn't she is rumoured every year? We should know soon!

Introducing 2014: Armenia!

Aram Mp3 was announced as the Armenian representative on 31st December - and the song he'll perform in Copenhagen, Not Alone, was released in March. Armenia will open the first semi-final. Although this doesn't matter whatsoever, Armenia are the main favourites to be victorious in Copenhagen. The song has clocked almost 2.3 million views on YouTube and Armenia are #1 with the bookmakers. I really like the song. The lyrics are great and he does have a good voice. But why is this song the favourite? Don't get me wrong, I like it very much, although I feel there are other songs that are better and stronger... I'm sure Armenia will be top five and it could indeed win. Looking forward to seeing this on stage. 

Armenia: Aram Mp3 presents his Eurovision entry!

Aram Mp3 has released Not Alone! This is the song he'll represent Armenia with in Copenhagen. I've only heard the song twice and I think it's brilliant already. This song could easily be in the British charts - it's that good. Great lyrics too. Well done Armenia! Remember, Valentina will officially reveal her song this evening!

Copenhagen 2014: Three songs to be presented tomorrow!

NuVidz: Aram MP3, Greta Salóme, Tooji, Farid Mammadov!

Aram MP3 was announced as the Armenian representative on New Year's Eve and the day after he released Just go on. Nice song and it's defiantly a brave choice from Armenia... his ESC track will be revealed next month - I'm very excited about Armenia's song actually. I think it'll be great. Greta Salóme, Iceland's 2012 representative, has re-worked a well known Norwegian hymn. It's entitled Vetrarsálmur. What do you think? Rebels is very different from Tooji's normal style but I really love it. Why have I only just discovered it? Anyway, I always thought he was really underrated in Baku and "Stay" was amoung my favourites that year. Azerbaijan are always successful in Eurovision - and 2013 was no exception as they came 2nd with Farid Mammadov. Well he's back with a new single! Farid has released Her an yanimda, which is kinda boring but the Azeri language is so beautiful! I really wish Azerbaijan would sing in their native language one year.

Armenia: Aram MP3 selected for Copenhagen!

Last night, the Armenian broadcaster announced that Aram MP3 would represent the country in 2014. This was announced through a special New Year's Eve variety show. Many fans are disappointed - as it's not the lovely Sirusho!

Aram MP3's real name is Aram Sargsyan and the song he represents Armenia with will be revealed in February. Aram MP3 is a comedian, showman and singer - and he also hosted the Armenian version of The X Factor! Is this a good choice? I don't know... I'm keeping an open mind until I hear the song. His most noticeable songs are Shine and If I Tried.

Armenia: Internal selection on New Year's Eve!

The Armenian representative will be revealed on New Year's Eve! The announcement will take place on Big Night Gala TV Show.

AMPTV, the Armenian broadcaster, has said they have already selected their entrant for 2014... who will it be? The song will be released in sometime in February. Many fans are hoping that either Sirusho or Lilit Hovhannisyan will have the honour of flying the Armenian flag in 2014. We will know next week!