Armenia

**Arshakyan Sisters: Inga & Anush **

__//Artist Biography://__
Inga and Anush will be representing Armenia in the 54th annual Eurovision 2009 Song Contest. ([|Eurovision Page]) The Arshakyan Sisters have composed their own music and sung together since early childhood, and they have only started performing professionally as a Ethno Armenian duo in 2000. These Yerevan natives were both affiliated with the "State Song Theatre of Armenia". As of 2003, they began to tour independently in USA, London, Paris, Tehran, Russia, Germany as well as their native land of Armenia. [|(BBC - Eurovision])

Anush graduated from the S. Aslamazyan music school from the piano department. In 1997-2001 she studied at Arno Babajanyan Music College in Yerevan with an emphasis on piano. From 2001-2005, she studied in the jazz-vocal department at Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan. In 1994, she took the first prize for the Omsk contest and won the Audience Choice Award. Her soloist career reached high acclaim when she was accompanied by the State Philharmonic orchestra and chorus of Armenia in 1999.

Inga also graduated from the S. Aslamazyan music school. During 1998-2002, she studied violin at the Arno Babjanyan Music College in Yerevan. She was a part of the G. Atchemyan violinist ensemble. From 2002-2005, Inga also studied at Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan for jazz-vocals. ([|Official Website])

__//**Song Information:**//__
The song "Jan Jan" by the Arshakyan sisters will be performed May 12, 2009. The word "Jan" translates to dear in English and is also used to express happiness. It is said that this music is expected of the sister's style which is crazy, energetic, unexpected and experimental. In an interview with the sisters they said that the song represents the world in which we live in today, the globalization and the ever changing societies. The song is mainly in English but has a verse in Armenian. It starts off with a cry by one of the sisters and is proceeded by a solid drum beat which stays consistent throughout the song. It is in 4/4 time, which provides a steady beat that can be danced to.

The verse which is in Armenian translates to: "A dance for the spring, a dance for the flowers, this is the new glory dance for the big hope. For new life, may it save your soul. The dances for our mountains and valleys never end." This section of the song is accompanied by a very upbeat pace and is played with a flute of some sort in the background mimicking the singers voices. Both singers have very clear tone and the way in which they use their voices to construct harmonies is very interesting.

Reviews for this song range from dismal to extraordinary. Some people believe that there is not much substance and way too much going on, while others think that it is dynamic, unique and powerful. The song when it is performed live uses many different lights and provides a laser show, which I feel adds to the dynamics of this music. Very interesting and different! [|(Official Video)]

__//**Narrative of the Entry:**//__
The search for the Armenian representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 returned to a national contest after the success of the same representation style of 2008. The contest allowed artists who thought they could best represent Armenia to perform in the public eye. Each performance was then judged by a jury, as well as a televoting system. The Arshakyan sisters' entry of "Jan Jan" took the victory by a complete landslide, having roughly 35% of the televote.

Originally, the choice of representative was going to be decided by an internal selection. One of the rumored artists to be in the running was Armenian-American rock band “System of a Down.” Unfortunately, Turkish Parliament member Akif Ekici made a strong argument against the group’s participation in the 2009 Eurovision contest. System of a Down wanted to perform a song about the so-called “Armenian genocide,” which is a very controversial topic between Armenia and the Republic of Turkey. Eventually, Armenia decided to revert back to the national contest in order to decide on a representative.

//__Country's Eurovision History:__//
Armenia began participating in the Eurovision song contest in 2006. It was originally represented by an artist named Andre who performed a song called "Without Your Love." Because Armenia had never entered the competition before, it had to start in the semi-final round and make its way to the finals in order to compete for the title. Andre was able to reach the finals, but came up short of winning the contest, finishing in eighth place. It was a successful debut for the nation, however, as finishing in the top ten in their introductory year was something seldom seen in the past.

The following year in 2007, Armenia was allowed to skip the semi-final round due to its top ten achievment the previous year. This year they were represented by an artist named Hayko, who performed the song "Anytime You Need." Hayko came into the final round ranked 23rd out of the 24 competitors, but still managed to finish in eighth place, just as in 2006. With two straight top ten finishes in its first two years of competing, Armenia began to establish itself as a legitimate force to be reckoned with on the European musical scene. Once again in 2008, Armenia was able to bypass the semi-final round because of its success the previous year, but this time it would do even better in the finals. Represented by a female artist named Sirusho performing the song "Qele, Qele" Armenia was able to finish in fourth place overall, it's best showing to date.

This year Armenia will be represented by Inga and Anush Arshakyans and hope to finally bring home the title. With the ongoing success of the last three years since entering the competition, the expectations are certainly high. The sisters are bringing with them a unique sound that has not yet been employed by any previous Armenian representatives, a tactic that they believe will help them reach the top of the Eurovision Song Contest.