Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Armenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The Armenian broadcaster Public Television company of Armenia (AMPTV) organised a national final in order to select the Armenian entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal.
| Eurovision Song Contest 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Armenia | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Depi Evratesil 2018 | |||
| Selection date(s) | Semi-final 1: 19 February 2018 Semi-final 2: 22 February 2018 Final: 25 February 2018 | |||
| Selected entrant | Sevak Khanagyan | |||
| Selected song | "Qami" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | Sevak Khanagyan Anna Danielyan Viktorya Maloyan | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Failed to qualify (15th, 79 points) | |||
| Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Background
Prior to the 2018 Contest, Armenia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eleven times since its first entry in 2006.[1] Armenia's highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been fourth place, which the nation achieved on two occasions: in 2008 with the song "Qélé, Qélé" performed by Sirusho and in 2014 with the song "Not Alone" performed by Aram Mp3. Armenia had, to this point, failed to qualify to the final on only one occasion in 2011. The nation briefly withdrew from the contest in 2012 due to long-standing tensions with then host country Azerbaijan.[2] In 2016, "LoveWave" performed by Iveta Mukuchyan placed seventh in the final. In 2017, "Fly with Me" performed by Artsvik scored 79 points and placed 18 in the final.
The Armenian national broadcaster, Public Television of Armenia (AMPTV), broadcasts the event within Armenia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. AMPTV confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest on 27 October 2017.[3] Armenia has used various methods to select the Armenian entry in the past, such as a live televised national final to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision. In 2017 AMPTV launched a new national final Depi Evratesil in order to select the artist for Eurovision.[4] On 27 October AMPTV announced that Depi Evratesil would be organized again in 2018 to select the artist and song for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.[5]
Before Eurovision
Depi Evratesil
Depi Evratesil (Towards Eurovision) is the national final organised by AMPTV to select the artist and song that will represent Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.
Competing entries
On 27 December 2017, Armenian public broadcaster revealed the twenty participating acts.[6][7]
| Artist | Song (English translation) | Composer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| AlternatiV | "Stare at Me" | Sargis Burnazyan |
| Amalia Margaryan | “Waiting for the Sun” | Vahram Yanikyan, Amalia Margaryan |
| Angel | "Heartbeat" | Anzhela Barseghyan, Vahram Yanikyan |
| Arman Mesropyan | "What You Hide" | Vahram Yanikyan |
| Asmik Shiroyan | "You & I" | HAJ, Neil Ormandy, Marli Harwood |
| Gata Band | "Shogha" (Shine) | Andranik Manukyan |
| Gevorg Harutyunyan | "Stand Up" | Astghik Grigoryan, Gevorg Harutyunyan, Liana Aramyan |
| Hayk Kasparov | "Enamórame" (Make me fall in love with you) | Rafael Artesero Herrero, Jose Juan Santana Rodriguez |
| Kamil Show | "Puerto Rico" | Vahram Petrosyan, Arthur Abgar |
| Lusine Mardanyan | "If You Don't Walk Me Home" | Lusine Mardanyan, Gagach Derkhorenyan |
| Maria's Secret | "Escape" | Jorj Tonoyan |
| Mariam Petrosyan | "Fade" | Mariam Petrosyan |
| Mher Armenia | "Forever" | Arsen Barsamyan, Arshavir Stepanyan |
| Nemra | "I'm a Liar" | Van Yeghiazaryan |
| Robert Koloyan | "Get Away With Us" | Robert Koloyan, Arthur Armeni Mnatsakanyan, Grigor Kyokchyan |
| Sevak Khanagyan | "Qami" (Wind) | Sevak Khanagyan, Anna Danielyan, Viktorya Maloyan |
| Suren Poghosyan | "The Voice" | Georgios Kalpakidis, Natasha Turner, Jonas Gladnikoff |
| Tamar Kaprelian | "Poison (Ari Ari)" (Come come) | Tamar Kaprelian, Sebu Simonian, Harutyun Der-Hovagimian, Ovsanna Khublaryan, Yana Karapetyan, Sanahin Papazian |
| TyoM | “Follow the Ocean” | Gevorg Gevorgyan, Inna Mkrtchyan |
| Zhanna Davtyan | "Unbreakable" | Nikolayn Egibyan, Zhanna Davtyan |
Semi-Final 1 (February 19)
The first semi-final took place on 19 February 2018. Ten songs competed for five spots in the final with the outcome decided upon by the combination of the votes from a jury panel and a public televote. The jury panel that voted in the first semi-final consists of Sacha Jean Baptiste, Mart Normet, Zita Kaminska, Tali Eshkoli, Evi Papamichael, and Mateusz Grzesinski.[8]
| Semi-final 1 – 19 February 2018 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | ||
| 1 | Gevorg Harutyunyan | "Stand Up" | 31 | 6 | 2,261 | 12 | 18 | 2 |
| 2 | Angel | "Heartbeat" | 22 | 1 | 54 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Lusine Mardanyan | "If You Don't Walk Me Home" | 44 | 10 | 313 | 3 | 13 | 4 |
| 4 | Zhanna Davtyan | "Unbreakable" | 31 | 7 | 259 | 2 | 9 | 8 |
| 5 | Mger Armenia | "Forever" | 28 | 4 | 1,898 | 8 | 12 | 5 |
| 6 | Nemra | "I'm a Liar" | 66 | 12 | 2,125 | 10 | 22 | 1 |
| 7 | Hayk Kasparov | "Enamórame" | 27 | 3 | 361 | 4 | 7 | 9 |
| 8 | Tamar Kaprelian | "Poison (Ari Ari)" | 31 | 5 | 543 | 5 | 10 | 6 |
| 9 | Robert Koloyan | "Get Away With Us" | 42 | 8 | 789 | 6 | 14 | 3 |
| 10 | Gata Band | "Shogha" | 26 | 2 | 1,512 | 7 | 9 | 7 |
| Detailed Jury Votes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Song | Jury 1 | Jury 2 | Jury 3 | Jury 4 | Jury 5 | Jury 6 | Total |
| 1 | "Stand Up" | 2 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 31 |
| 2 | "Heartbeat" | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 22 |
| 3 | "If You Don't Walk Me Home" | 12 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 44 |
| 4 | "Unbreakable" | 3 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 31 |
| 5 | "Forever" | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 28 |
| 6 | "I'm a Liar" | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 66 |
| 7 | "Enamórame" | 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 27 |
| 8 | "Poison (Ari Ari)" | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 31 |
| 9 | "Get Away With Us" | 8 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 42 |
| 10 | "Shogha" | 6 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 26 |
Semi-Final 2 (February 22)
The second semi-final took place on 22 February 2018. Ten songs competed for five spots in the final with the outcome decided upon by the combination of the votes from a jury panel and a public televote. The jury panel that voted in the second semi-final consists of Gordon Bonello, Molly Plank, Felix Bergsson, Jan Bors, Olga Salamakha, and Natia Mshvenieradze.[8]
| Semi-final 2 – 22 February 2018 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | ||
| 1 | Maria's Secret | "Escape" | 30 | 5 | 237 | 3 | 8 | 7 |
| 2 | Arman Mesropyan | "What You Hide" | 19 | 2 | 301 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
| 3 | Kamil Show | "Puerto Rico" | 15 | 1 | 1,917 | 10 | 11 | 5 |
| 4 | Suren Poghosyan | "The Voice" | 27 | 4 | 202 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| 5 | Amalia Margaryan | "Waiting for the Sun" | 56 | 10 | 1,913 | 8 | 18 | 2 |
| 6 | AlternatiV | "Stare at Me" | 42 | 7 | 172 | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| 7 | TyoM | "Follow the Ocean" | 27 | 3 | 336 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| 8 | Sevak Khanagyan | "Qami" | 59 | 12 | 4,146 | 12 | 24 | 1 |
| 9 | Mariam Petrosyan | "Fade" | 34 | 6 | 898 | 7 | 13 | 4 |
| 10 | Asmik Shiroyan | "You and I" | 42 | 8 | 740 | 6 | 14 | 3 |
| Detailed Jury Votes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Song | Jury 1 | Jury 2 | Jury 3 | Jury 4 | Jury 5 | Jury 6 | Total |
| 1 | "Escape" | 10 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 30 |
| 2 | "What You Hide" | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
| 3 | "Puerto Rico" | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 15 |
| 4 | "The Voice" | 2 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 27 |
| 5 | "Waiting for the Sun" | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 56 |
| 6 | "Stare at Me" | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 42 |
| 7 | "Follow the Ocean" | 4 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 27 |
| 8 | "Qami" | 12 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 59 |
| 9 | "Fade" | 6 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 34 |
| 10 | "You and I" | 5 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 42 |
Final (February 25)
The final took place on 25 February 2018. Ten songs competed for five spots in the final with the outcome decided upon by the combination of the votes from a jury panel and a public televote. The jury panel that voted in the final consists of Nicola Caligiore, Olga Salamakha, Sacha Jean Baptiste, Natia Mshvenieradze, Gordon Bonello, Mart Normet, Ovi, Edoardo Grassi, and Christer Bjorkman.[8]
| Final – 25 February 2018 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | ||
| 1 | Sevak Khanagyan | "Qami" | 84 | 12 | 11,391 | 12 | 24 | 1 |
| 2 | Gevorg Harutyunyan | "Stand Up" | 40 | 3 | 2,849 | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| 3 | Lusine Mardanyan | "If You Don't Walk Me Home" | 54 | 7 | 343 | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| 4 | Kamil Show | "Puerto Rico" | 35 | 2 | 5,961 | 10 | 12 | 4 |
| 5 | Amalia Margaryan | "Waiting for the Sun" | 64 | 8 | 3,507 | 7 | 15 | 3 |
| 6 | Nemra | "I'm a Liar" | 75 | 10 | 5,815 | 8 | 18 | 2 |
| 7 | Mariam Petrosyan | "Fade" | 47 | 5 | 1,445 | 4 | 9 | 5 |
| 8 | Mger Armenia | "Forever" | 31 | 1 | 3,364 | 6 | 7 | 9 |
| 9 | Robert Koloyan | "Get Away With Us" | 41 | 4 | 872 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| 10 | Asmik Shiroyan | "You and I" | 51 | 6 | 1,229 | 3 | 9 | 6 |
| Detailed Jury Votes | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Song | Jury 1 | Jury 2 | Jury 3 | Jury 4 | Jury 5 | Jury 6 | Jury 7 | Jury 8 | Jury 9 | Total |
| 1 | "Qami" | 10 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 84 |
| 2 | "Stand Up" | 1 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 40 |
| 3 | "If You Don't Walk Me Home" | 4 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 54 |
| 4 | "Puerto Rico" | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 35 |
| 5 | "Waiting for the Sun" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 64 |
| 6 | "I'm a Liar" | 8 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 75 |
| 7 | "Fade" | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 47 |
| 8 | "Forever" | 6 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 31 |
| 9 | "Get Away With Us" | 12 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 41 |
| 10 | "You and I" | 3 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 51 |
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 29 January 2018, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Armenia was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 8 May 2018, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[9]
Once all the competing songs for the 2018 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Armenia was set to perform in position 16, following the entry from Finland and preceding the entry from Switzerland.[10]
Semi-final
Armenia performed sixteenth in the first semi-final, following the entry from Finland and preceding the entry from Switzerland. At the end of the night, Armenia was not included among the ten countries who qualified for the grand final, making it their second non-qualification (after 2011). It was later revealed that Armenia placed fifteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 79 points: 41 points from the televoting and 38 points from the juries.
Voting
Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.
Points awarded to Armenia
| Points awarded to Armenia (Semi-final 1) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Televote | ||||
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
| Jury | ||||
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
Points awarded by Armenia
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Split voting results
The following five members comprised the Armenian jury:[11]
- Aram Gevorgyan (Aramo) – Chairperson – singer, actor
- Alla Levonyan – singer, composer
- Armen Galyan – stylist, fashion editor
- Meri Mnjoyan (Masha Mnjoyan) – singer
- Shushanik Arevshatyan – producer
| Split voting results from Armenia (Semi-final 1) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
| A. Galyan | Aramo | Manch | M. Mnjoyan | S. Arevshatyan | Average Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 |  Azerbaijan | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | ||
| 02 |  Iceland | 17 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 18 | ||
| 03 |  Albania | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 15 | |
| 04 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium | 6 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 3 |
| 05 |  Czech Republic | 3 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 7 |
| 06 |  Lithuania | 15 | 17 | 3 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 12 | ||
| 07 |  Israel | 1 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 4 |
| 08 |  Belarus | 9 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 09 |  Estonia | 4 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 5 |
| 10 |  Bulgaria | 11 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 9 | 2 | |
| 11 |  Macedonia | 12 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 16 | ||
| 12 |  Croatia | 10 | 11 | 16 | 5 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 1 | |
| 13 |  Austria | 14 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 14 |  Greece | 13 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 15 |  Finland | 16 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 11 | 17 | 13 | ||
| 16 | Armenia | |||||||||
| 17 |  Switzerland | 8 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 11 | |
| 18 |  Ireland | 7 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 11 | 14 | ||
| 19 |  Cyprus | 2 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 12 |
| Split voting results from Armenia (final) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
| A. Galyan | Aramo | Manch | M. Mnjoyan | S. Arevshatyan | Average Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 |  Ukraine | 19 | 7 | 20 | 17 | 24 | 19 | 7 | 4 | |
| 02 |  Spain | 23 | 19 | 15 | 20 | 26 | 23 | 19 | ||
| 03 |  Slovenia | 24 | 18 | 19 | 24 | 20 | 26 | 25 | ||
| 04 | Lithuania | 16 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 13 | ||
| 05 | Austria | 18 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 06 | Estonia | 13 | 17 | 4 | 12 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 2 | |
| 07 |  Norway | 9 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 21 | 12 | 4 | 7 | |
| 08 |  Portugal | 10 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 26 | ||
| 09 |  United Kingdom | 21 | 15 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 18 | 22 | ||
| 10 |  Serbia | 26 | 14 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 21 | 20 | ||
| 11 |  Germany | 4 | 13 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 12 | |
| 12 | Albania | 15 | 12 | 24 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 23 | ||
| 13 |  France | 3 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| 14 | Czech Republic | 6 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 8 |
| 15 |  Denmark | 11 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 20 | 14 | ||
| 16 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia | 25 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 21 | |
| 17 | Finland | 22 | 22 | 16 | 18 | 23 | 24 | 16 | ||
| 18 | Bulgaria | 7 | 23 | 22 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 11 | ||
| 19 |  Moldova | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 1 |
| 20 |  Sweden | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 24 | |
| 21 |  Hungary | 20 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 15 | 25 | 18 | ||
| 22 | Israel | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| 23 |  Netherlands | 8 | 25 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 15 | |
| 24 | Ireland | 14 | 5 | 17 | 23 | 25 | 16 | 17 | ||
| 25 | Cyprus | 5 | 4 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 12 |
| 26 |  Italy | 17 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 14 | 22 | 8 | 3 | |
References
- "Armenia Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- Kramer, Andrew E. (7 March 2012). "Armenians Are Shunning Song Contest in Azerbaijan". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- "Armenia: AMPTV confirms participation in Eurovision 2018". esctoday.com. Esctoday. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- "AMPTV's new groundbreaking format of national selection for Eurovision 2017". eurovision.am. AMPTV. 30 June 2016. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- Adams, William Lee (27 October 2017). "ARMENIA OPENS DEPI EVRATESIL 2018 SUBMISSIONS — AND ASKS SINGERS FOR ORIGINAL SONGS". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- Gallagher, Robyn (27 December 2017). "Armenia: Tamar Kaprelian among acts confirmed for Depi Evratesil". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
- Granger, Anthony (27 December 2017). "Armenia: Depi Evratesil 2018 Participants Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
- "The voting results of the 2nd season of Depi Evratesil - Eurovision". Eurovision.am. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
- Jordan, Paul (29 January 2018). "Which countries will perform in which Semi-Final at Eurovision 2018?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- "Running order for Eurovision 2018 Semi-Finals revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 3 April 2018. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- Groot, Evert (30 April 2018). "Exclusive: They are the expert jurors for Eurovision 2018". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
| Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest | |||||||||||
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(Note: Entries scored out are when Armenia did not compete) | |||||||||||