BITTER LESSON OF EUROVISION: ARMENIA TAKES THE 10TH PLACE

ArmInfo
2009-05-18 12:06:00

ArmInfo. Inga & Anush representing Armenia at Eurovision finished
the tenth.

First was Norwegian representative, charming Alexander Rybak with the
song ‘Fairytale’. Johanna from Iceland took the ‘silver’ and Aysel &
Arash representing Azerbaijan took the ‘bronze’. Konstantin Meladze’s
protege Anastasia Prikhodko with the song ‘Mamo’ occurred in the 11th
position, which was Russia’s lowest result over the last three years
at Eurovision.

The final on May 16 was really exciting. Since Rybak was leading
from the very beginning of voting, the main fight was for the second
and third places. During voting Armenia also occurred in the third
position just for few minutes. Sentimental Johanna with her song
‘Is It True?’ and oriental Aysel with her opus ‘Always’ melted the
hearts of European spectators.

Armenia should learn a lesson from Eurovision 2009. First, PR
campaign for Inga & Anush Arhakyans launched by Sharm Company long
before the qualification tour created unequal conditions for other
Armenian singers. If Sharm spent more time to analyze the last final
of Eurovision, it would find out that no song in folk style had ever
taken high points at Eurovision. The maximal result is such case
is the way to the grand final, but not ‘a crucial point in history’
which the Armenian commentators Khoren Levonyan and Diana Mnatsakanyan
urged the voters for. Logically, if Armenian folk-pop should have
become a sensation in Europe, next year Russia should send women in
‘kokoshniks’ and Tziganes with bears to Eurovision. Eurovision is a
pop song contest. The only participant that rejected this axiom was
‘outrageous’ Finnish Lordi in 2006. Andre, Hayko and Sirusho from
Armenia presented high quality pop- songs at Eurovision in previous
years and took high places in Top Ten. In addition, voting showed
that hopes that some states will give high points to Armenia despite
anything are senseless. Russia, France and even Turkey with big
Armenian communities did not give us the desirable 12 points just 5-6
points. From CIS states Inga & Anush did not receive even a single
point. So, Armenia has to draw relevant conclusions and think twice
before giving Azerbaijan 1 point despite the sharp (to put it softly)
assessment of Inga & Anush by that country.

Another good advice: never use the international contest to settle
political problems. Yet in March Georgia with its anti-Russian song got
a bust on the nose, but Armenia chose another way and showed the world
the photo of the monument We Are Our Mountains, widely recognized as
a symbol of Nagorno-Karabakh. We are afraid this ‘pop-anti-diplomacy’
will affect the ‘soccer diplomacy’ since it was the war in Karabakh
that led to the blockade of the Armenian-Turkish border in 1993. ‘Such
a pretty kettle of fish. Help yourself if it is not bitter’.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress