In the last few days the semi finals of Depi Evratesil took place in Armenia where 10 artists out of 20 advanced to the final with 5 finalists from each semifinal. Our reporter Ani Shahoyan will now look ahead to that final on Sunday!
One of the biggest names of this year’s contest Tamar Kaprelian, who represented Armenia as a member of Genealogy in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, was eliminated in the first semifinal which shocked many fans as in Armenia as abroad. On February 25, the winner and Armenian representative for Lisbon will be determined by SMS voting and international jury. Below are comments on each finalist separately.
Hasmik Shiroyan is perhaps the most wanted artist to sing in Eurovision for many Armenians. Last year when she was eliminated in the first edition of Depi Evratesil, it triggered a huge complains among the fans as she was a favorite for many. Hasmik was hesitating to take part in this year’s contest however see the motivation of her fans she committed again. She returns to the contest with the aim of victory only and has gathered a big team on this purpose.
Her international team includes Neil Ormandy, Marli Harwood and HAJ who have worked with artists like James Arthur Kelly Clarkson and many others. Her song for Depi Evratesil “You and I” is up tempo pop which bring cheerful vibes to her audience. She seems close to the victory, however she needs to perform better vocals in the final.
Last year Gevorg Harutyunyan participated in the first edition of Depi Evratesil. Being in the team Inga he managed to show his vocals and dancing talent as his performances were full of artistic play and dance. Besides, he performed songs penned by himself. This year as well he is composer of his own song. While performing his song “Stand up” with some ethno elements in it, he feels his song and delivers his message through his specific vocals, dance show and emotions.
However, it will be difficult to convince everyone with this type of song and performance. Gevorg states that music and dance are important part of his life and he dreams seriously to sing on Eurovision stage. So it seems like if he is not strong enough for winning Armenian Final then he would do everything to reach for his dream.
Lusine was Tamar Kaprelian’s student in Nvak Foundation, where she started her first steps in professional singing. Although Tamar herself didn’t make it to the final being in the same semifinal of Depi Evratesil, she was still happy to see her student qualifying to the final. During performance Lusine is in black and white outfit and during her performance the screen remains black and white. Lusine’s song is a low-tempo ballad which she has composed herself. During her performance she makes a few vocalic errors which she has to improve for the final.
Mger is one of the famous artists of this contest for Armenians as he is an honored artist of Armenia. He has represented Armenia in international contest like Novaya Volna. He was a runner up in the 2009 Armenian national selection which was not called Depi Evratesil back then. However after nine years he tries himself once again to reach the popular stage of European contest. His vocals are one of the strongest in the contest however we will see if his stage performance and song about longing to live forever will help him to win a ticket to Lisbon.
The band decided to take part in this contest because of the motivation of their fans as they have acquired a huge FanClub on social media who give them a great support and inspiration. For Depi Evratesil they perform their own song ’I am a lier”. The members of the rock band that want to have a nice time in Eurovison and see Portugal keep their vocals strong and confident. During their performance “No Show, Enjoy the music” is displayed on the backdrops which itself is a nice flavor of their show. Nemra is one of the serious contenders and top favorites to win the Armenian Final.
Robert Koloyan sings from his early childhood. Apart from singing he is also a professional Photographer whose pictures got their places in the online version of Italian Vogue. His song “Take away with us” is about time and Robert tells that time is the most important thing that people have. For his staging he is dressed I black and white on a chess board with his dancers. Chess figures are displayed on his blackdrops. His vocals were not bad but perhaps he should try better for the final. T It doesn’t seem that this act will represent Armenia, however, it still can reach a good place in the Armeanian final.
Kamil is a humorous character by Arsen Grigoryan who in his turn in real life is a quite serious and talented artist. He is both known for his acting and singing career. However, while taking part in comedy shows he has created this character of confident and somehow arrogant Kamil. It is worthy to mention that Kamil also has three backing vocalists who provide the act with great vocals.
Kamil’s show with Spanish song “Puerto Rico”has been one of the most discussed acts of this contest. It is liked by many Eurovision fans but at the same time it is also criticized by many others both in Armenia and abroad. However, we will see if Armenia agrees with the humorous act and decides to take Eurovision less seriously by sending Kamil. Still good result in Eurovision with this act is not excluded either.
Amalya is known for Eurovision fans for her participation in last year’s episode of Depi Evratesil followed by her experience in Eurvision Song Contest 2017 as backing vocalist for Artsvik. She states that she was not ready for victory last year indicating that she retrns to competition with better experience and better intentions. Amalya has also participated in talen shows like the voice of Russia and Ukraine. Amalya has co-written her own song for Depi Evratesil, which is about hope and light.
She sings it with tied eyes and unties only in the middle of the song (maybe indicating that she hopes and reaches the light). She says that her dream to represent Armenia in Eurovision is like this bright light for which she waits hopefully. Amalya also opens her wings in the end of her song as huge wings appear on her back on the backdrops.
Sevak is another serious contender for many people with determined intetons to win the contest. Sevak has won the 7th edition of Ukrainian X- factor and is among the judges of the Voice of Armenia. He composed his own song for Depi Evratesil “Qami” (Wind) in Armenian. His staging for the contest is simple but memorable at the same time as he is alone in a black outfitwith his vest reminding of an ancient Greek armor. Sevak delivers his song emotionally with strong vocals.
Mariam is fond of songwriting and she was happy to hear of Depi Evratesil which is an oprtunity for her to present her own song. She takes part in the competition with the song Fade which she delivers with flawless vocals with simple staging. Mariam has recently won Serj Tankian’s 7 Notes music challenge. Let’s see if she can record another victory on Depi Evratesil Stage in Armenian Final.
It seems like the top will comprise Hasmik Shiroyan, Nemra, Sevak Khanagyan, Kamil Show and Mger Armenia. All in all, Armenia has organized a good show with a new and different format from that of last year (link to the article to be added). However it doesn’t seem like there is 100% winner for Eurovision among the acts that we have seen during the semifinals, although a lot can be changed in the Eurovision show.
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