ARMENIA 2024

     

In classic fashion, Armenia took absolutely forever to reveal their choice for Eurovision this year. Finally, it was announced that Ladaniva, with the song "Jako", would be heading to Sweden in May. Let's take a listen:



About the Artist

Ladaniva (named for a terrible Soviet SUV), are the duo of Jaklin Baghdasaryan and Louis Thomas. Jaklin, the band's singer, is from Yeghegnadzor in southern Armenia; jazz musician Louis is French. Both currently live in Lille.


Song Analysis

Very different from anything else we've seen at this year's contest, and extremely true to both Ladaniva's discography and Armenian music. "Jako" is the Armenian equivalent of Jackie - Jaklin Baghdasaryan's nickname. The song is about how she was always told to be quiet and conform, and how she very much has not done that. Standard Eurovision lyrical content, but presented in a new, unique way.

Armenia's History


Despite never having won the contest, Armenia's really one of the most consistent qualifiers out there, making the final in 7 of their last 9 participations. Like Georgia, they have a reputation for being very creative musically - look at the unconventional structures of songs like "Not Alone", "LoveWave", and "Future Lover".


As someone who loves when countries get creative, Armenia's one of my favorites - they're 11th in my overall rankings, and would be considerably higher if it weren't for their more conventional entries. 

Prognosis

Given Armenia's track record, I have high hopes for Ladaniva. This is certainly a song that depends a lot on the staging, and that's Armenia's strong suit. Unless this gets buried among the other uptempo entries in Semi 2, "Jako" should be in the final.

Current Rankings










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