ARMENIA PICKS REPRESENTATIVE FOR EUROVISION 2010, TURKS REACT
By Nanore Barsoumian
24/armenia-picks-representative-for-eurovision-201 0-turks-react/
February 24, 2010
On Feb. 14, ARMTV, Armenia’s public television company, held the
country’s national final to select the winner(s) that will represent
Armenia at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, Norway from May
25-29. The event took place in the National Opera Theatre in Yerevan
and was broadcast live. Nine contestants vied for the position. The
winner was determined by a panel of jurists and SMS text voting. The
Grant Thornton Amyot Audit Organization monitored the votes on behalf
of Armenian public television and InterMob CJSC.
The performances ranged from ballads to rock, pop, and R&B songs.
"Another Story," a four-member rock band, performed first. Their song,
"Ays Dzmer" ("This Winter"), was the only entirely Armenian-language
song. The rest of the songs performed that evening were in English.
Some, however, incorporated Armenian elements, such as a duduk player,
Armenian background vocals, or traditional costumes.
Since 1999, Eurovision contest rules allow contestants to sing in any
language. In the past, Eurovision has had language restrictions in
place. From 1966-72 and 1978-98, contestants were required to perform
their songs in their national languages. Now, many of the songs are
performed partially or entirely in English to reach broader audiences.
Some contestants have even opted to perform in entirely made-up
languages. (In 2003, Belgium’s "Urban Trad" sang "Sanomi" in an
entirely fictional language.)
In any case, Rivas, the 22-year old Russian-Armenian, claimed the
winning spot with her song "Apricot Stone" (lyrics by Moscow-based
Karen Kavaleryan, music by Armen Martirosyan). The performance started
with a cloaked man, face hidden, playing the duduk, soon accompanied
by a guitarist and a pianist (the composer himself). Rivas took the
stage-wearing a white gown with a chiffon wrap floating about her,
her wavy black hair reaching well below her waist-and began singing
her already-controversial song:
"Many, many years ago when I was a little child, mama told me you
should know our world is cruel and wild, but to make your way through
cold and heat love is all that you need…"
According to Rivas and her producer, "Apricot Stone"
() speaks of the need for world
peace and love. It is also a song that symbolizes the Armenian
Diaspora, to which Eva belongs. It is about yearning for her homeland.
Rivas enjoys the support of Andre, the first Armenian representative
to Eurovision (2006), and Lys Assia, the first ever winner of the
Eurovision Song Contest (1956). Contestants Emmy and Mihran duo had
the support of Ricky Martin, the Puerto Rican pop singer, who wished
them good luck in a YouTube clip.
Armenia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 with Andre’s
song "Without Your Love," which came in 8th place. In 2007, Hayko
represented Armenia with his song "Anytime You Need," and came in 8th.
In 2008, Sirusho’s "Qele, Qele" came in 4th. In 2009, Inga and Anush
Arshakyans performed "Jan Jan," and came in 10th.
Accusations of Foul Play at National Finals
Eva’s victory is contested by some who believe the results were
rigged. Nadezhda Sargsyan, the mother of pop icon and contestant Emmy,
has threatened to take the matter to court. Sargsyan claims that
soon after the 15-minute SMS voting started, some names were blocked,
and consequently some of the contestants, like her daughter Emmy, lost.
Rivas received 5,000 SMS votes, while the Emmy and Mihran duo
received 1,400.
During a press conference on Feb. 20, Nadezhda Sargsyan claimed that
ARMTV’s chairman, Alexan Harutyunyan, had reassured her that Emmy
and Mihran would "definitely" represent Armenia at Eurovision. Her
lawyer, Vrej Giragosyan, questioned the legality of the results due
to the blocked SMS votes. According to him, Eurovision rules do not
give any guidance on how to deal with a situation in which the SMS
voting system gets disrupted.
Turkish Composer Accuses ‘Apricot Stone’ of Being Political
Meanwhile, the Turkish composer Yagoub Mutlu, who was present at
Armenia’s national finals, has accused "Apricot Stone" of having a
clear political message. Mutlu, who assures the public that "I am not
an enemy of Armenians," has claimed that the song’s first seven lines
(see above) refer to the Armenian Genocide He believes that the term
"motherland" refers to Turkish territories, while the rest of the
song is a clear message directed at Turkey. The story has appeared in
numerous Turkish and Azerbaijani newspapers, such as the Anadolu Ajansi
(Anatolian News Agency), the Azeri Press Agency, CNN Turk, and Radikal.
Eurovision bans songs that have a political message. Last year,
Georgia’s representatives, Stephane and 3G, were instructed to change
the lyrics of their song "We Don’t Wanna Put In," which apparently
took a jab at Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Georgia refused
to participate in the contest.
"Apricot Stone" was written by Karen Kavaleryan, an experienced
Russian-Armenian lyricist familiar with the Eurovision Contest world
and their rules. In 2002 and 2006, he co-wrote the lyrics for the
Russian entries (which placed 10th and 2nd place, respectively),
the Belarusian lyrics in 2007 (6th place), the Armenian lyrics in
2007 (8th place), the Georgian lyrics in 2008 (11th place), and the
Ukranian lyrics in 2008 (2nd place).
Rivas’ public relations manager, Hayk Markosyan has told ArmeniaNow
that "the song has nothing to do with the Armenian Genocide, and
it does not have a political context. The song simply presents the
Armenian culture, the Armenian traditions, the apricot, which is just
an Armenian fruit and it is the symbol of Armenia, and the thoughts
of a young (Armenian) woman who lived far from the homeland for years."
Meanwhile, following the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, Azerbaijani
authorities launched a campaign tracking and interrogating dozens of
individuals who had voted for Armenia’s Inga and Anush Arshakyan
sisters and their song "Jan Jan." Forty-three individuals had
reportedly voted for the song. (The European Broadcasting Union
(EBU) found that the Azerbaijani broadcaster, Ictimai Televiziya,
had distorted the TV signal when the Armenian contestants were up,
blurring the telephone number.) According to the Azeri Press Agency
(APA), EBU fined the TV station ~@2700 and gave them a warning. APA
claims that Armenia also received a warning from EBU, since "Armenia’s
Eurovision 2009 spot contained political points."
Eva’s Background
Rivas was born on July 13, 1987 in Rostov-na-Donu, Russia, to an
Armenian mother and an Armenian-Greek-Russian father. Her real name
is Valeriya Reshetnikova-Tsaturyan. She left Rostov in 2006, and
soon adopted her Greek great-grandmother’s name, Eva Rivas, as her
stage name.
According to her website, from 1996 to 2004 she was a soloist in the
Arevik ensemble in Rostov, through which she earned recognition,
awards, and medals. In 2003, she graduated from Image Elite, a
modeling studio. She has earned titles such as "Little Beauty of
Rostov," "Golden Voice of Rostov," "Miss Pearl of Don," and while
in Yerevan, "Vice-miss of the Caucasus." After leaving Arevik,
Eva continued to enter contests, and in 2008, signed a contract
with Armenian Production. She gained even more popularity when in
2009 she chose to sing Sayat Nova’s "Tamam Ashkharh" at the Tashir
2009 Music Festival. That same year, Eva released a music video for
"Tamam Ashkharh," which was directed by Bookhadir Yuldeshev and shot
in Armenia, Afghanistan, Algeria, and Uzbekistan (watch video here:
). She has also appeared
in Armenian TV shows.
Nanore Barsoumian is a staff writer for the Armenian Weekly.