Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017

Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Country  Armenia
National selection
Selection process Artist: Depi Evratesil
Song: Internal Selection
Selection date(s) Artist: 24 December 2016
Song: 18 March 2017
Selected entrant Artsvik
Selected song "Fly with Me"
Selected songwriter(s) Lilith Navasardyan
Levon Navasardyan
Avet Barseghyan
David Tserunyan
Finals performance
Semi-final result Qualified (7th, 152 points)
Final result 18th, 79 points
Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2016 • 2017

Armenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Fly with Me" which was selected internally by the Armenian broadcaster Public Television of Armenia (AMPTV). It was performed by singer Artsvik who was chosen through the national final Depi Evratesil (English: Towards Eurovision).

Armenia was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 2017. Performing during the show in position 16, "Fly with Me" was announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 13 May.

Background

Prior to the 2017 Contest, Armenia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest ten times since its first entry in 2006.[1] Armenia's highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been fourth place, which the nation achieved on two occasions: in 2008 with the song "Qélé, Qélé" performed by Sirusho and in 2014 with the song "Not Alone" performed by Aram Mp3. Armenia had, to this point, failed to qualify to the final on only one occasion in 2011. The nation briefly withdrew from the contest in 2012 due to long-standing tensions with then host country Azerbaijan.[2] In 2016, "LoveWave" performed by Iveta Mukuchyan placed seventh in the final.

The Armenian national broadcaster, Public Television of Armenia (AMPTV), broadcasts the event within Armenia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. AMPTV confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest on 30 June 2016.[3] Armenia has used various methods to select the Armenian entry in the past, such as a live televised national final to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision. However internal selections have also been held on occasion. After three consecutive years of selecting both the artist and song internally, AMPTV announced that a national final would be organized to select the artist for the 2017 contest.[3]

Before Eurovision

Depi Evratesil

Depi Evratesil (English: Towards Eurovision) is the national final organised by AMPTV to select the artist that will represent Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.[4] All shows in the competition will be broadcast on Armenia 1.[5]

Format

The competition compromises of four stages and it is expected to run for three months between October and December 2016.[4] The winning artist will be determined by a combination of votes from a jury panel and a public SMS vote. Six previous Armenian Eurovision entrants will comprise the jury:[5]

Competing artists

An online application period was open from 6 July 2016 until 25 August 2016 for interested artists to apply. Eligible applicants were required to be at least 16 years old and either Armenian citizens or of Armenian heritage.[4]

Teams

Judges Top 24 artists
Anush Arshakyan Stepan Hovhannisyan Marta Alexander Plato Anna Sedrakyan
Hayko Egine Anna Danielyan Yeva Kans Amaliya Margaryan
Iveta Mukuchyan Christina Mangasaryan Vahe Aleksanyan Hasmik Shiroyan Sona Dunoyan
Aram Mp3 Lucy Saro Gevorgyan Jujo Lilit Harutyunyan
Inga Arshakyan Syuzanna Melqonyan Gevorg Harutyunyan Karina Harutyunyan Narine Jinanyan
Essaï Altounian Opera Viva Artsvik Only Girls Marissa

First Stage: Auditions

Auditions for contestants were held in September and were broadcast during three weeks from 1 October. Hundreds of applicants entered from the US, France, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Lebanon as well as Armenia. Only 80 of them were shortlisted to join the televised competition. During the auditions each participant had only two minutes to perform and convince the judges that they have to be chosen as Armenia’s delegate at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. Jury members focused on the vocal capacity of the artist(s), the performance on stage, and the overall impression by the act. If a jury member liked the performance, they pressed the button in front of them. The participants were allowed to continue to the next stage only if more than three judges pressed their buttons.

Second Stage: Judges Selection

The second stage of the project started on October 22, with 37 in the competition. The six judges competed to choose acts for their groups. The judges had the option of pressing their buttons in the last ten seconds of each performance. The first judge to press their button got the artist, with each judge looking for four artists to join their team. If none of the judges press their button, the contestant is eliminated from the competition.

Day 1 (October 22)

Nine artists performed on Day 1.

Artist Song Left Seconds Selected Judge
Veronika Grigoryan "Rijeka Bez Imena" Eliminated -
Lucy "Mercy" 10 Aram Mp3
Egine "Sledgehammer" 9 Hayko
Syuzanna Melqonyan "The Power of Love" 9 Inga
Opera Viva "Nessun dorma" 10 Essaï
Mery Mheryan "One Night Only" Eliminated -
Christina Mangasaryan "Try" 10 Iveta
Saro Gevorgyan "Bang Bang" 10 Aram Mp3
Rob Avalyan "Yassou Maria" Eliminated -
Day 2 (October 29)

Nine artists performed on Day 2.

Artist Song Left Seconds Selected Judge
Vahe Aleksanyan "Tonight Again" 10 Iveta
Payla Kevorkian "Too Close" Eliminated -
Marissa "Sweet People" Eliminated Essaï1
Jujo "Virtual Insanity" 9 Aram Mp3
Albert Ghazaryan "Pero Te Extraño" Eliminated -
Stepan Hovhannisyan "Mamma Knows Best" 10 Anush
Artsvik "Sweet Dreams" 10 Essaï
Armenuhi Gasparyan "Feeling Good" Eliminated -
Anna Danielyan "Dancing On My Own" 2 Hayko
Day 3 (November 5)

Ten artists performed on Day 3.

Artist Song Left Seconds Selected Judge
Mariam Yevriyan "Beggin'" Eliminated -
Lilit Harutyunyan "All of Me" 10 Aram Mp3
Marta "How Deep Is Your Love" 9 Anush
Diana Adamyan "Bang Bang" Eliminated -
Kristina Avtisyan "Hit the Road Jack" Eliminated -
Alexander Plato "Monologue" 10 Anush
Anna Sedrakyan "Wicked Game" 8 Anush
Diana Dikovski "Georgia on My Mind" Eliminated -
Arthur Abgar "Te quiero, te quiero" Eliminated -
Hasmik Shiroyan "Dziwny jest ten świat" 10 Iveta
Day 4 (November 12)

Nine artists performed on Day 4.

Artist Song Left Seconds Selected Judge
Only Girls "Kukushka" (The Cuckoo) 10 Essaï
Sona Dunoyan "Sorry" 6 Iveta
Gevorg Harutyunyan "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" 7 Inga
Axel Daveyan "Feeling Good" Eliminated -
Karine Harutyunyan "Listen" 10 Inga
Zemfira Fridon "Simply the Best" Eliminated -
Yeva Kans "We Are the World" 9 Hayko
Amaliya Margaryan "The Show Must Go On" 9 Hayko
Narine Jinanyan "Love On Top" 10 Inga

Third Stage: One of Two

The third stage of the project started on November 19. During this round only 24 contestants remain in the competition. The six judges pit two of their own team members to compete against each other. One is saved, the other one is eliminated. Five judges have an opportunity to give one point to their favourite artist. After those votes are made, the team's judge votes by giving three points. To win the battle the participants must receive more points than their opponents. After that, the last two artists of each team compete against each other, but this time only their own judge selects who continues the fight.

Day 5 (November 19)

During the fifth day, 12 participants performed; two from each team. Only six artists were given the chance to continue the fight.

Order Own Judge Artist Song Judges Total Votes
Anush Hayko Iveta Aram Mp3 Inga Essaï
1 Aram Mp3 Saro Gevorgyan "Cheating" ✔ ✔ ✔ 3
Lucy "Euphoria" ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 5
2 Inga Karina Harutyunyan "Think" ✔ 1
Gevorg Harutyunyan "I Am Alive" ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 7
3 Hayko Amaliya Margaryan "Jason's Song (Gave It Away)" ✔ 1
Anna Danielyan "I See Fire" ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 7
4 Anush Marta "Back in the Day (Puff)" ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 7
Stepan Hovhannisyan "Say Something" ✔ 1
5 Essaï Only Girls "Arshaluys er..." (It Was Sunrise) 0
Artsvik "If I Ain't Got You" ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 8
6 Iveta Christina Mangasaryan "I Put a Spell on You" ✔ ✔ 2
Hasmik Shiroyan "Sweet Lovin'" ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 6
Day 6 (November 26)

During the sixth day the remaining twelve acts performed, two acts from each team. Only six artists were given the chance to continue the fight.

Order Own Judge Artist Song Judges Total Votes
Anush Hayko Iveta Aram Mp3 Inga Essaï
1 Aram Mp3 Lilit Harutyunyan "Price Tag" ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 5
Jujo "River" ✔ ✔ ✔ 3
2 Inga Narine Jinanyan "Impossible" ✔ ✔ ✔ 3
Syuzanna Melqonyan "Ain't No Other Man" ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 5
3 Hayko Yeva Kans "I'm Outta Love" ✔ 1
Egine "Tired"/"Burnin' Up" ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 7
4 Anush Anna Sedrakyan "Seven Nation Army" 0
Alexander Plato "Ke qeler" / "Lily" ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 8
5 Essaï Opera Viva "Maria" ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 6
Marissa "Stop!" ✔ ✔ 2
6 Iveta Sona Dunoyan "Dangerous Woman" ✔ 1
Vahe Aleksanyan "My Prayer" ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 7
Day 7 (December 3)

During the seventh day two artists within each team performed against each other. As a result, 6 artists, one of each team, get to advance to semi-final.

Color key:

       Artist won the battle and advanced to Semi-Final
       Artist lost the battle and was eliminated
Order Judge Song Artists Song
First Second
1 Iveta "Radioactive" Vahe Aleksanyan Hasmik Shiroyan "The Way You Make Me Feel"
2 Inga "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" Syuzanna Melqonyan Gevorg Harutyunyan "A Song for You"
3 Hayko "Sexy Silk" Egine Anna Danielyan "Rumour Has It"
4 Essaï "You Raise Me Up" Opera Viva Artsvik "Stand Up for Love"
5 Aram Mp3 "Say Something" Lucy Lilit Harutyunyan "Nothing Compares 2 U"
6 Anush "Siro Kamar" (Սիրո կամար) Marta Alexander Plato "Faust Cantata"

Semi-Final 1 (December 10)

The first semi-final show took place on 10 December 2016 and the top four from the six competing artists qualified to the second semi-final. Top 4 was selected by a 50/50 combination of public votes and 9 professional juries. The viewers and the juries each had a total of 189 points to award. Each jury distributed his/her points from 1 to 6. The televote was based on the percentage of votes each song achieved through SMS voting.

In addition to the performances of the competing artits, the interval act featured 2016 Junior Eurovision Armenian entrants Anahit & Mary with their song "Tarber".

Draw Judge Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
Percentage Points
1 Anush Marta "Naughty Girl" 48 25.9% 49 97 1
2 Essaï Artsvik "Hurt" 32 20.6% 39 71 2
3 Hayko Egine "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)" 25 17.5% 33 58 4
4 Aram Mp3 Lusine Aghabekyan "Turn Around" 20 9% 17 37 6
5 Inga Syuzanna Melqonyan "Je suis malade" 31 19.1% 36 67 3
6 Iveta Vahe Aleksanyan "Writing's on the Wall" 33 7.9% 15 48 5
Non-competition performances
Order Performer Song Translation
7 Marta & Anush Arshakyan "Amenic Amena" (Ամենից ամենա) The Best
8 Artsvik & Essaï "Hayastan ashkharh" (Հայաստան աշխարհ) Armenian World
9 Egine & Hayko "Somos novios" We Are a Couple
10 Lucy & Aram Mp3 "Beneath Your Beautiful" -
11 Syuzanna Melkonyan & Inga Arshakyan "Forma de vida" Lifestyle
12 Vahe Aleksanyan & Iveta Mukuchyan "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You" -
Professional Jury Members
  • Naira Gyurjinyan (Conductor)
  • Lira Kocharyan (Music Producer)
  • Lilit Navasardyan (Composer)
  • Artur Asatryan (Music Producer)
  • Avet Barseghyan (TV Presenter, Songwriter)
  • Artur Manukyan (TV Producer)
  • Kristina Avagimyan (Choreographer)
  • Arthur Ghukasyan (TV Producer)
  • Nur (Designer, Sculpture)

Semi-Final 2 (December 17)

The second semi-final show took place on 17 December 2016 and the top two from the four competing artists qualified to the Final. Top 2 was selected by a 50/50 combination of public votes and 11 international professional juries headed by Swedish producer Christer Björkman. The viewers and the juries each had a total of 110 points to award. Each jury distributed his/her points from 1 to 4. The televote was based on the percentage of votes each song achieved through SMS voting.

In addition to the performances of the competing artits, the interval act featured Sos and Victoria Petrosyan with their quick-change acts.

Draw Judge Artist First Song Draw Eurovision Hit Jury Televote Total Place
Percentage Points
1 Anush Marta "Popuri" (by Komitas) 5 "Rhythm Inside" 21 36.4% 40 61 2
2 Inga Syuzanna Melqonyan "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" 6 "Sweet People" 30 21,8% 24 54 3
3 Essaï Artsvik "Crazy" 7 "A Million Voices" 35 24.6% 27 62 1
4 Hayko Egine "Crazy in Love" 8 "Warrior" 24 17.2% 19 43 4
International Jury Members
  • Belarus – Olga Salamakha (TV Presenter)
  • Bulgaria – Joana Levieva-Sawyer (TV Producer)
  • Cyprus – Klitos Klitou (TV Producer)
  • Estonia – Mart Normet (TV Producer)
  • Georgia (country) – Nodiko Tatishvili (Singer)
  • Georgia (country) – Sopho Gelovani (Singer)
  • Lithuania – Audrius Giržadas (TV and Radio Journalist)
  • Malta – Gordon Bonello (TV Producer)
  • Sweden – Christer Björkman (Producer, Singer)
  • Sweden – Sacha Jean-Baptiste (Artistic Director)
  • United Kingdom – William Lee Adams (Editor)

Final (December 24)

The final show took place on 24 December 2016 and top two artists, Marta and Artsvik, performed two songs. The winner was selected by a 50/50 combination of public votes and 7 panarmenian juries from Armenian diaspora. The televote and jury's votes was based on the percentage of votes each song achieved through SMS voting or by jury members.

In addition to the performances of the competing artists, the opening act featured Voices of Artsakh performing a mashup of all Armenian 10 entries in Eurovision Song Contest. The interval acts featured Hovig with a mashup of his songs and "Hayi acher" and Iveta Mukuchyan with "LoveWave" and "Amenic amena".

Draw Judge Artist First Song Draw Armenian Hit Jury Televote Total Place
1 Anush Marta "Don't Stop the Music"/"Only Girl (In the World)" 3 "Tsov" (Ծով) 19% 10% 29% 2
2 Essaï Artsvik "I Have Nothing" 4 "Aprelu april" (Ապրելու ապրիլ) 31% 40% 71% 1
Panarmenian Jury Members
  • Austria – Karen Asatryan (Musician, Composer)
  • Austria – Rita Movsesian (Singer)
  • Belarus – Iskui Abalyan (Singer)
  • France – Arthur Aharonyan (Violinist)
  • Russia – Araksya Mushegyan (Music Producer, Composer)
  • United Kingdom – Anais Heghoyan (Opera Singer)
  • United Kingdom – Arthur Gourounlian (Dancer, Choreographer)

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 will take place at the International Exhibition Centre in Kiev, Ukraine and will consist of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May and the final on 13 May 2017.[6] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[7] On 25 January 2016, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Armenia was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2016, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[8]

Once all the competing songs for the 2017 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Armenia was set to perform in position 16, following the entry from Cyprus and before the entry from Slovenia.[9]

Semi-final

Artsvik took part in technical rehearsals on 30 April and 4 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 8 and 9 May. This included the jury show on 8 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.

At the end of the show, Armenia was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final.

Final

Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the reverse order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Armenia was drawn to compete in the first half.

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Armenia and awarded by Armenia in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:[10][11]

Points awarded to Armenia

Points awarded by Armenia

Split voting results

The following five members will comprise the Armenian jury:[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Armenia Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  2. ↑ Kramer, Andrew E. (7 March 2012). "Armenians Are Shunning Song Contest in Azerbaijan". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 "AMPTV's new groundbreaking format of national selection for Eurovision 2017". eurovision.am. AMPTV. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Brey, Marco (1 July 2016). "Armenia launches ambitious search for Eurovision 2017 act". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Armenia unveils 'Dream Team' for 2017". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  6. ↑ Jordan, Paul (9 September 2016). "Kyiv to host Eurovision 2017!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  7. ↑ Jordan, Paul (21 January 2016). "Semi-Final Allocation Draw on Monday, pots revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  8. ↑ Jordan, Paul (25 January 2016). "Allocation Draw: The results!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Semi-Final running order for Eurovision 2017 revealed". Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  10. ↑ "Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 First Semi-Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  11. ↑ "Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  12. ↑ Jordan, Paul (29 April 2017). "Who will be the expert jurors for Eurovision 2017?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
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