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    Antranik Varosian
  • 5 years ago
    • Categories: 2019

Athena Manoukian expresses interest in Eurovision 2020 participation

ESCXTRA
Costa Christou

With the next edition of the contest still almost 10 months away, no artists have been confirmed to be participating. And so begins the speculation for who broadcasters may be considering for their internal shortlists for both national finals and internal selections. Greek-Armenian singer Athena Manoukian has recently expressed her interest in participating.

Last year, the first artist confirmation was announced in November – Srbuk for Armenia. If the trend is similar for this coming season, we have a while to wait before the first artist confirmation is released for Eurovision 2020.

In the meantime, now is often a period where several artists from across the continent express their interest (and disinterest) in going to the contest. Sometimes this is to appease fans, other times it could be a genuine bid to throw their hats into the ring, which broadcasters may pick up on in their discussions.

Athena Manoukian, a Greek singer of Armenian decent, expressed interest in participating in the contest. Answering fan questions on her Instagram story, she was met with a number of requests for her to participate in the contest for both Greece and Armenia. Her positive response to these requests prompted an article from ESCTakeover. Last year, she made the Six Chair Challenge stage of X Factor UK.

This wouldn’t be the first time Athena has engaged in a Eurovision-adjacent contest. Back in 2008, she placed third in the Greek selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest with the song “To fili tis Afroditis”.

At the time of writing, neither Armenia nor Greece have confirmed their participation for the 2020 contest. However, Armenia will be participating in the forthcoming Junior Eurovision Song Contest in November.

In recent years, both countries have struggled to maintain their past success. Despite a strong qualification record, Armenia have not qualified for the past two Grand Finals (2018 and 2019). Despite qualifying for this year’s Grand Final and carrying momentum throughout the season, Katerine Duska’s “Better Love” placed 21st.

With no guarantee of future participation, we hope to see both countries make a triumphant return next year! Be it internal selection or the return of national finals, there is plenty of talent in these two countries that could bring them success in The Netherlands.

https://escxtra.com/2019/07/28/athena-manoukian-expresses-interest-in-eurovision-2020-participation/



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