Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest
{{Short description|none}}
{{Infobox song contest country
| Name = Armenia
| Contest = ESC
| Member station = Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV)
| ESC apps = 17 (14 finals)
| ESC first = {{Escyr|2006}}
| ESC best = 4th: {{Escyr|2008}}, {{Escyr|2014}}
| Related = {{lang|hy|Depi Evratesil}}
| Website = [http://www.eurovision.am/hy/eurovision AMPTV page]
| Current = 2025
}}
Armenia has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 17 times since making its debut in {{escyr|2006}}, when André became the first participant representing Armenia and was the first singer from the Caucasus region to compete at Eurovision. The Armenian participating broadcaster in the contest is the Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV).
Armenia has reached the top 10 on eight occasions, with the country's best result in the contest being two fourth-place finishes, achieved by "Qélé, Qélé" by Sirusho ({{escyr|2008}}), and "Not Alone" by Aram Mp3 ({{escyr|2014}}). {{escyr|2011}} was the first year that Armenia failed to advance from the semi-final round. This was followed by the country withdrawing from the {{escyr|2012}} contest due to security concerns in the host city, Baku. In {{escyr|2018}} and {{escyr|2019}}, Armenia consecutively failed to qualify from the semi-finals for the second and third time respectively. Armenia planned to participate in the {{escyr|2021}} contest but withdrew before selecting an entry. Armenia has qualified for every grand final since it returned in {{escyr|2022}}.
History
In July 2003, private broadcaster Armenia TV claimed to be debuting at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, despite not being a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the event.{{Cite web|url=http://esctoday.com/1730/armenia_to_participate_in_song_contest_2004/|title='Armenia to participate in Song Contest 2004'|last=Rau|first=Oliver|date=19 July 2003|work=ESCToday|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103024857/http://www.esctoday.com/1730/armenia_to_participate_in_song_contest_2004/|archive-date=3 November 2013|url-status=live}} The EBU later denied this claim.{{Cite web|url=http://esctoday.com/1740/armenia_not_to_participate_in_2004_contest/|title=Armenia not to participate in 2004 contest|last=Bakker|first=Sietse|date=29 July 2003|work=ESCToday|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103024901/http://www.esctoday.com/1740/armenia_not_to_participate_in_2004_contest/|archive-date=3 November 2013|url-status=live}}
After the Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV) was promoted to active member in July 2005, Armenia debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in {{Escyr|2006}} with the song "Without Your Love" performed by one of Armenia's top artists, André, and produced by Anush Hovnanyan. At the time, only the top 10 countries from the previous edition and the "Big Four" were automatically qualified for the final, Armenia had to compete in the semi-final to qualify. André, who was first to perform in the semi-final, reached the final of the contest on 20 May 2006 and gave Armenia a successful debut coming in eighth position.
Having reached the top ten, Armenia did not have to compete in the semi-final in the 2007 contest, where the country achieved another 8th position.
In 2008, Armenia reached the top five for the first time, with Sirusho finishing fourth with the song "Qélé, Qélé", which received the most 12 points in the final, with a total of eight. This result was followed by two more top ten placements in 2009 and 2010, making Armenia, at the time, one of only three countries that had always placed in the top ten since the introduction of the semi-finals. This streak was broken in the 2011 contest, when Emmy and the song "Boom Boom" failed to qualify from the first semi-final by a margin of one point. On 7 March 2012, Armenia announced that it would withdraw from the 2012 contest due to security concerns in the host city Baku,{{cite web|last=Siim|first=Jarmo|title=Armenia withdraws from Eurovision 2012|url=http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=48413|work=Eurovision.tv|access-date=7 March 2012|date=7 March 2012}} and resumed its participation the following year.{{cite web|last=Jiandani|first=Sanjay|title=Armenia confirms participation|url=http://esctoday.com/38334/armenia-confirms-participation/|work=EscToday|access-date=31 October 2012|date=31 October 2012}}
In 2014, Armenia matched its highest placement in 2008, with Aram Mp3 and the song "Not Alone" reaching fourth place. Armenia has reached the final in 12 out of 15 contests, failing to advance to the final for the second time in 2018, finishing 15th in the first semi-final. In 2019, it failed to qualify for a third time, placing 16th in the second semi-final. Armenia had originally planned to participate in 2021, but later withdrew due to social and political crises in the aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.{{Cite web |url=https://eurovision.tv/story/armenia-withdraws-from-eurovision-2021 |title=Armenia withdraws from Eurovision Song Contest 2021 |date=2021-03-05 |website=Eurovision.tv |publisher=EBU}} Armenia returned to the contest in 2022, with Rosa Linn and the song "Snap" qualifying Armenia to the final for the first time since 2017 and ultimately placing 20th. Brunette with "Future Lover" placed 14th in 2023, followed by Ladaniva with "{{lang|hy-Latn|Jako|i=unset}}" placing eighth in 2024. In 2025, AMPTV reintroduced the {{lang|hy-Latn|Depi Evratesil}} national final format for the first time in five years, with Parg selected to represent Armenia with "Survivor". At the contest, he extended Armenia's qualification streak, progressing through the semi-final.
AMPTV also has a program titled Eurovision Diary, which details the experiences of Armenian Eurovision entrants. The program begins every year when the artist is chosen and ends with the Eurovision final.
Participation overview
class="wikitable"
|+ Table key |
style="background-color:#CCC; text-align:center;" | 2
| Second place |
style="background-color:#C96; text-align:center;" | 3
| Third place |
style="background-color:#A4EAA9; text-align:center;" | X
| Entry selected but did not compete |
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |
scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Artist ! scope="col" | Song ! scope="col" | Language ! scope="col" data-sort-type="number" | Final ! scope="col" data-sort-type="number" | Points ! scope="col" data-sort-type="number" | Semi ! scope="col" data-sort-type="number" | Points |
---|
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2006}}
| André | English | style="text-align:center;" | 8 | style="text-align:center;" | 129 | style="text-align:center;" | 6 | style="text-align:center;" | 150 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2007}}
| Hayko | "Anytime You Need" | English, Armenian | style="text-align:center;" | 8 | style="text-align:center;" | 138 | colspan="2" {{N/A|Top 10 in 2006 final}}{{efn|name=note2|According to the then-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the Grand Final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year's Grand Final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.}} |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2008}}
| Sirusho | "{{lang|hy-Latn|Qélé, Qélé|i=unset}}" {{small|({{lang|hy|Քելե, Քելե}})}} | English, Armenian | style="text-align:center;" | 4 | style="text-align:center;" | 199 | style="text-align:center; background-color:#CCC" | 2 | style="text-align:center; background-color:#CCC" | 139 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2009}}
| "{{lang|hy-Latn|Jan Jan|i=unset}}" {{small|({{lang|hy|Ջան Ջան}})}} | English, Armenian | style="text-align:center;" | 10 | style="text-align:center;" | 92 | style="text-align:center;" | 5 | style="text-align:center;" | 99 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2010}}
| "Apricot Stone" | English | style="text-align:center;" | 7 | style="text-align:center;" | 141 | style="text-align:center;" | 6 | style="text-align:center;" | 83 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2011}}
| Emmy | "Boom Boom" | English | colspan="2" {{N/A|Failed to qualify}} | style="text-align:center;" | 12 | style="text-align:center;" | 54 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2013}}
| Dorians | "Lonely Planet" | English | style="text-align:center;" | 18 | style="text-align:center;" | 41 | style="text-align:center;" | 7 | style="text-align:center;" | 69 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2014}}
| Aram Mp3 | "Not Alone" | English | style="text-align:center;" | 4 | style="text-align:center;" | 174 | style="text-align:center;" | 4 | style="text-align:center;" | 121 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2015}}
| "Face the Shadow" | English | style="text-align:center;" | 16 | style="text-align:center;" | 34 | style="text-align:center;" | 7 | style="text-align:center;" | 77 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2016}}
| "LoveWave" | English | style="text-align:center;" | 7 | style="text-align:center;" | 249 | style="text-align:center; background-color:#CCC" | 2 | style="text-align:center; background-color:#CCC" | 243 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2017}}
| Artsvik | "Fly with Me" | English | style="text-align:center;" | 18 | style="text-align:center;" | 79 | style="text-align:center;" | 7 | style="text-align:center;" | 152 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2018}}
| "{{lang|hy-Latn|Qami|i=unset}}" {{small|({{lang|hy|Քամի}})}} | Armenian | colspan="2" rowspan="2" {{N/A|Failed to qualify}} | style="text-align:center;" | 15 | style="text-align:center;" | 79 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2019}}
| Srbuk | "Walking Out" | English | style="text-align:center;" | 16 | style="text-align:center;" | 49 |
style="background-color:#A4EAA9"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2020}} | "Chains on You" | English | colspan="4" {{N/A|Contest cancelled}}{{Efn|The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.}} X |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2022}}
| "Snap" | English | style="text-align:center;" | 20 | style="text-align:center;" | 61 | style="text-align:center;" | 5 | style="text-align:center;" | 187 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2023}}
| Brunette | "Future Lover" | English, Armenian | style="text-align:center;" | 14 | style="text-align:center;" | 122 | style="text-align:center;" | 6 | style="text-align:center;" | 99 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2024}}
| Ladaniva | "{{lang|hy-Latn|Jako|i=unset}}" {{small|({{lang|hy|Ժակո}})}} | Armenian | style="text-align:center;" | 8 | style="text-align:center;" | 183 | style="text-align:center; background-color:#C96;" | 3 | style="text-align:center; background-color:#C96;" | 137 |
scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2025}}
| Parg | "Survivor" | English, Armenian | style="text-align:center;" | 20 | style="text-align:center;" | 72 | style="text-align:center;" | 10 | style="text-align:center;" | 51 |
Awards
class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Marcel Bezençon Awards won by Armenia ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Host city ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Song ! scope="col" | Performer(s) ! scope="col" | Composer(s) ! scope="col" | Final ! scope="col" | Points ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |
scope="row"|{{ESCYr|2008}}
|{{flagicon|Serbia|2004}} Belgrade |Fan Award |"Qélé, Qélé" |H.A. Der-Hovagimian, Sirusho |style="text-align:center;"|4 |style="text-align:center;"|199 | style="text-align: center;" | {{cite web|url=http://esctoday.com/12019/the_2008_bezenon_awards_winners/|title=The 2008 Bezençon Awards winners|website=esctoday.com|date=27 May 2008|access-date=8 December 2019|first=Stella|last=Floras}} |
---|
Related involvement
=Heads of delegation=
Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the performers, songwriters, composers, and backing vocalists, among others.{{cite news|url=https://eurovision.tv/about/organisers/heads-of-delegation/|title=Heads of Delegation|publisher=European Broadcasting Union (EBU)|access-date=27 May 2019|archive-date=26 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526062756/https://eurovision.tv/about/organisers/heads-of-delegation/|url-status=live}}
=Commentators and spokespersons=
==Other shows==
class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
! scope="col" | Show ! scope="col" | Commentators ! scope="col" | Channel ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |
scope="row"|Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light
|David Tserunyan and Emma Hakobyan |
---|
Photo gallery
File:ESC 2007 Armenia - Hayko - Anytime you need.jpg|Hayko performing "Anytime You Need" in Helsinki ({{Escyr|2007}})
File:ESC 2008 - Armenia - Sirusho, 1st semifinal.jpg|Sirusho performing "Qélé, Qélé" in Belgrade ({{Escyr|2008}})
File:Eva Rivas - May 2010 Semifinal.jpg|Eva Rivas performing "Apricot Stone" in Oslo ({{Escyr|2010}})
File:ESC2013 - Armenia 01.jpg|Dorians performing "Lonely Planet" in Malmö ({{Escyr|2013}})
File:ESC2014 - Armenia 01.jpg|Aram Mp3 performing "Not Alone" in Copenhagen ({{Escyr|2014}})
File:20150515 ESC 2015 Genealogy 6153.jpg|Genealogy performing "Face the Shadow" in Vienna ({{Escyr|2015}})
File:ESC2016 - Armenia 06.jpg|Iveta Mukuchyan performing "LoveWave" in Stockholm ({{Escyr|2016}})
File:Artsvik (Armenia). Photo 363.jpg|Artsvik performing "Fly with Me" in Kyiv ({{Escyr|2017}})
File:ESC2018 - Armenia 04.jpg|Sevak Khanagyan performing "Qami" in Lisbon ({{Escyr|2018}})
File:ESC2019-Armenia.jpg|Srbuk performing "Walking Out" in Tel Aviv ({{Escyr|2019}})
File:Eurovision 2023 - Jury Semi-final 2 - Armenia - Brunette (03).jpg|Brunette performing "Future Lover" in Liverpool ({{Escyr|2023}})
File:Ladaniva Eurovision Song Contest 2024 final Malmö dress rehearsal semi 2 01.jpg|Ladaniva performing "Jako" in Malmö ({{Escyr|2024}})
File:PARG at ESC2025 for Armenia 27.jpg|Parg performing "Survivor" in Basel ({{Escyr|2025}})
See also
{{Portal|Eurovision Song Contest|Europe|Music}}
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130605033945/http://ogae.am/ OGAE Armenia]
{{Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest}}
{{Eurovision Song Contest}}
{{Authority control}}