ARMENIA 2011 - Boom Boom

Another of my favorite countries! I wonder if it's noticeable that almost all of the countries I have a particular interest in have one important thing in common ... ? ;-)

The Armenian entry has been one of my top favorites for the past three years, so I was really excited to see what they would come up with this time around. I'm sort of always hoping that I will like their song. And ... I do! In fact I almost kind of dig it. Armenia is a rather exotic country to me - I don't think I'm alone in that - so it's fascinating to see what their culture produces by the way of lightweight pop fare. It tends to be a little on the unusual side.

I really love the beat of this song. It's just an instant earworm. OK, I can see that for some it may be annoying. And I do agree that the lyrics are beyond atrocious from a grammatical point of view. Which I normally care about, a lot. But I don't care in this case, the rhythm has got hold of me! :-D This song just has such a fantastically fun beat, the singer is so sweet and the whole thing is just so much fun. I love this entry, I can't help it. I hope the audience does too and doesn't just think it's annoying. Go Armenia! again! :-D

I can't vote for them in the semi, because they're in the same one as us (boo-hoo!) but if they get to the final, which I'm pretty sure they will, I will definitely be sending a few votes their way. As commenter Ilona reminds me, I can in fact vote for them, and I will! :-D One day the contest will find its way to Yerevan ... !! :-D

This is Emmy (a stage name, yes, but a pretty normal one :-) performing Boom Boom by Hayk Hovhannisyan, Hayk Harutyunyan and Sosi Khanikyan. They will be competing for Armenia on Tuesday, May 10th.



Widescreen here.

Lyrics here.

ARMENIA 2010 - Apricot Stone

It's always exciting to see what the Armenians will come up with. They haven't been competing for long - only since 2006 - but they've consistently sent quality material and have done well every time. Their worst results, if you can even call it worst, is 10th place in Moscow last year. I fully expect to see the contest head to Yerevan before too long. :-)

Anyway ... the point is that I have high hopes of Armenia (which in their own language is called Hayastan, how weird is that?? :-D). And, way to go, they deliver again. This is a great entry ... one of my favorites this year. Beautiful singer with a lovely voice and a great stage presence, they can get far with just that. ;-) But the song itself has many strengths as well. A beautiful melody, pretty much as catchy as a ballad can get. Interesting lyrics, so much better than the usual lovey theme of ESC songs. (The German entry will serve as a good example of this, when I get that far. :-) To the extent that the audience understands English, or understands it well enough to get the point during the performance, this song will appeal to a lot of people down east. I love the title, it's so weird and meaningless, until you hear the song itself. Of course the English is a little shaky, but come on, it's the ESC, that's what we're here for. ;-) All in all a wonderful entry. I'm sure the Armenians will do very well this year too. Yerevan FTW!!

This is Eva Rivas (a rather un-Armenian name, isn't it) performing Apricot Stone by Armen Martirosyan and Karen Kavaleryan. They will be competing for Armenia on Thursday, May 27th, going on stage as #2, another thing in this entry's favor. Great slot for Armenia ... although I don't think they'll need it. :-)



Lyrics here.

Check out Rivas' official home page, here. I love it when people who speak bad English write websites in English. Now Eva is hardly preparing for the Eurovision song contest’s in Norway in May,2010. Eva is to present song “Apricot stone”(lyrics by Karen Kavaleryan, music by Armen Martirosyan). Aww!! :-D

Iceland, Greece, Armenia

Iceland:
A wonderful song that I hope will do well. The Icelanders need something nice to happen to them. :-)
She's a lovely singer, and the presentation is very good ... except for that dolphin. What is the deal with that dolphin ... ??

Greece:
Aerobics class ... !! Now everyone pull your shirts up ... !!
How this song is such a huge favorite I'll never know. It's gotta be just because it's Rouvas. Only explanation. o_O
But at least we've getting a great show out of it - Calyx and N. and trilltrall are totally dancing. LOL!!
Ridiculous performance for a man of Rouvas's age to be engaging in.
This may win, but I don't like it much. Still, a million times better than Ukraine.

Armenia:
OK, now we're talking!! Fantastic!!
A great song, it rocks. A great presentation. Love it.
This song had us all dancing in our seats. :-D And it got our first cheer of the night when it was over.
This'll do really well. I'd be happy to see the contest in Yerevan in 2010. Smokin'. :-D

Belarus, Sweden, Armenia

Belarus:
I have a confession to make.
I know I said at first that I though this song totally sucked ... but ...
The more I hear it the more I like it. I do like it.
Oh, the shame ... !!
He's changed his hair - a bit better. Outfit not so much improved.
Weird presentation. What the hell does that chick with the giant tablecloth have to do with anything?? o_O
I am willing to bet money that we will be seeing this again on Saturday.

Sweden:
Sweden has never not got through from the semi. If you count the wildcard selection last year as 'getting through'. Will this be the year they disgrace themselves ... ?? :-o
I don't know. I love the chorus of their song. But the rest doesn't measure up ... nowhere near.
The singer is a total pro, but that can be both a pro and a con.
Tactically speaking, the Swedes are surrounded by enemies right now ... supposedly. They are in a semi with lots of Easterners who normally don't vote for them. But of course that has nothing to do with the songs not being good enough, of course, naturally. It's only the Easterners who are biased like that, not us ... >:-)
I don't like her dress. It, like the song, could have been so much nicer.
And the presentation is ... a little bit boring. IMO.
Ouch, opera face ... o_O

Armenia:
Kewl!! :-D
Great presentation. And I love what they're doing with the stage.
Such a cool song.
Great outfits, great choreography.
Not much more to say. I dig this.
See you Saturday, girls. :-)

ARMENIA 2009: Inga & Anush - Jan jan

The first time I heard this song I didn't like it at all. I thought it was amateurish, badly performed, the singing wasn't good and the whole thing was just ... third world. It made me think, sheesh, this is what they're sending?? This was the best they had?? I really didn't like the song and I thought that it just ... wouldn't have a chance.

But then I saw the official video. WOW!! :-D It made my opinion do a total turnaround. I really like the video. And I like the song so much better, too. It is performed so much more professionally in the video, the melody comes through and you can tell that the song actually has a good rhythm. I like the singers too now. :-) The song has elements of folk music and mingles them well with a more modern beat; that should appeal to a big part of the audience. The video is fun ... which bodes well for the stage performance. I'm really looking forward to seeing this entry. This will be Armenia's 4th year competing ... they have done well every time so far, and I'm sure they will this year too. One day the ESC will be going to Yerevan. :-)

This is Inga and Anush Arshakyan performing Jan jan, with music and lyrics by Mane Hakobyan, Vardan Zadoyan and Avet Barseghyan who will be competing for Armenia in 6th place on May 12th. Yay. :-)

From the national contest:

The official video:

Lyrics here.

Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Israel

Armenia:
Excellent!!
This is a potential winner, definitely. Yerevan 2009?? :-)
Very well presented. Although she did sound a little out of breath towards the end there. :-)
Nice dress and she certainly knows how to shake her ... fringe.
V. good all round.

Bosnia & Herzegovina:
One of my favorites.
Original and creative, and great presentation.
I hope they do very well, they deserve to. I have high hopes for them this year.

Israel:
His voice keeps getting better every time I hear it. And the presentation is striking.
But I think the song is boring. I suppose they may do well, but I hope it won't. It's too standard ... there are a number of more original and entertaining songs in the lineup this year.

Andorra, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Armenia, the Netherlands

Andorra:
Is it catchy, or is it annoying?
It's certainly is a beat that sticks in your mind very quickly ...
But nil points for presentation! She looked so pretty in the video! What have they done with her? What on earth is that thing on her head??
Sorry, Andorra. I thought you might qualify this year ... but no, you won't.

Bosnia & Herzegovina:
LOL!! How come I can't stand those other gag entries, but I dig this?? :-)
This isn't a gag entry on the same level as those others, though - this is based on a rhyme for children, and like so many such rhymes it definitely has something undefinable. This song keeps getting better and better the more I hear it.
The presentation is weird, but it works.
Bosnia, you're in!!

Armenia:
Now here's an entry we should be keeping our eye on. No question, Sirusho will be on stage on Saturday. No doubt in my mind. I'll be seriously surprised if she's not.
A really good song, professionally performed and a good presentation.

The Netherlands:
This is good!!
I already like this song a lot. It has so many great elements. And she's wonderful. :-) Good presentation, I dig her dress.
The Netherlands have serious chances this year. I think a lot of Easterners will go for this ... and quite a few in the West too, though probably younger people mostly.
This is a really good entry. Me like. :-)

ARMENIA: Sirusho - Qele qele

The world's oldest state ... with eight million expatriates ... ;-)

This girl apparently was a child star when she started out. She certainly is professional enough. Kind of cool video ... it'll be fun to see what they'll do with this on stage.

As for the song- yes, why not!! Catchy, you remember it right away. And it has a bit of the ethnic thing that they go for down East. :-) And it has a modern beat that will appeal to us in the West. It's very cleverly done, this entry. The singer has both a good body and a good voice- that's a good combination in this contest. ;-) She's good and the song is good. This has serious chances of going far.

Yerevan 2009?? :-o

It's nice to see the drums again this year ... ! We can never get enough of the drums! :-D


http://youtube.com/watch?v=THKHdRAw3NE