Tonight, Armenia will find their act for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. In the grand final of Depi Evratesil, ten artists will fight for the golden ticket to Lisbon.
Tonight, the Armenian broadcaster (AMPTV) and the Armenian public will select their entry for Lisbon, follow this live blog with our Armenian correspondent Ani Shahoyan.
Most recent comments will appear at the top. Times will be in CET
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20:58 CET – End of the liveblog
Sevak will be the first Armenian representative to perform on Eurovision stage completely in Armenian. He performs his winning song once again and despite his excitement he demonstrates perfect vocals.
20:47 CET – SMS voting
1 point to Lusine Mardanyan
2 points to Robert Koloyan
3 points to Hasmik Shiroyan
5 points to Gevorg Harutyunyan
6 points to Mger Armenia
7 points to Amaliya Margaryan
8 points to Nemra
10 points to Kamil Show
12 points to Sevak
The winner is… Sevak Khanagyan with a perfect score of 24 points winning both with international jurors and with SMS voting! Sevak is happy and will be heading to Lisbon.
20:46 CET – International jury
Seems like the winner will be among Hasmik, Nemra, Kamil and Sevak.
Another recap of all the finalists is on the screen. This seems to be the last recap after which the winner will be announced shortly.
20:37 CET – AmpTV to launch Junior Depi Evratesil
Gohar Gasparyan has just announced that Armenia is launching Depi Mankakan Evratesil (To Junior Eurovision) to select their Junior entrant for 2018. The host encourages all the talented children to follow the call opening and submit their applications since March 15. Later on, Gohar elaborates in JESC history of Armenia recalling all the participants. Armenia joined in the contest since 2007 and since then reached successful positions: Armenia won in 2010, was runners-up at four contests in 2007, 2009, 2015, and 2016, was in third place in 2012, and 2014, whereas the worst place was only the eight place achieved in 2008.
20:30 CET – Arus Tigranyan
Arus is an Armenian journalist who interviews people asking funny questions and tonight it is time for her to interview the participants of Depi Evratesil.
20:27 CET – Green Room
Gohar talks to Nemra and asks about the huge fan club that they have acquired on social media. It is said that band fans already have their name called Nemratsi. Kamil tries to be in the center of attention all the time- this time Kamil comes to appear on screen playing guitar.
20:20 CET – Artsvik performs her Eurovision entry
Artsvik represented Armenia last year in Kiev and tonight in the interval act performs her Eurovision song ” Fly with me” in a long white dress.
20:19 CET – William Lee Adams
Our colleague from wiwibloggs is in Yerevan and Gohar speaks to him asking about his experience in Yerevan. To the question who is his favorite, William supports everyone.
20:15 CET – Footage of Depi Evratesil experience
We see a short footage with all the Depi Evratesil fun experience that the participants had during all this time rehearsing, singing, screaming and having a lot of fun.
20:14 CET – End of the voting
The voting is now over. The host announces that the lines are now closed and reminds once again that at all the money of SMS voting will go to charity.
20:10 CET – Another recap
20:05 CET – Interval act
A folk musicians with Armenian folk instruments are on Depi Evratesil stage performing some of Eurovision hits of all times.
20:00 CET – Green Room
Gohar talks to the artists and asks them what’s their favorite songs of Eurovision. Amalya tells and sings Conchita’s entry, whereas Gevorg Harutyunyan sings Loreen’s euphoria. Gevorg also confesses that he is a huge fan of Eurovision and was in Oslo and Moscow for Eurovison. KAMIL is in her role – she catches attention as she is packing a suitcase for Lisbon.
19:55 CET – Voting starts
Hasmik closes the show and right after her song the host announces the start of SMS voting and it is followed by the first recap of all the finalists.
19:50 CET – Hasmik Shiroyan – You and I
Here comes one of the favorite artists and contenders in this competition. Hasmik was supported to sing on Eurovision stage since her first appearance on Depi Evratesil stage last year. She made her fans happy by returning to the competition this year. Her fans support her everywhere and probably they will also vote for her tonight. Hasmik demonstrates better vocals than she did in the semifinal, however, her vocals are not still flawless either. Unlike her performance in the semifinal, tonight her dancer in silver mask removes the mask in the middle of performance.
19: 44 CET – Robert Koloyan – Get away with us
Robert Koloyan sings from early childhood and nowadays he finds singing and photography as two important parts of his life. On Depi Evratesil stage he sings about time and brings a nice black&white staging for his song. He stands on a chess board and on his backdrop a few chess figures are displayed. Tonight his vocals are a bit struggling.
19:40 CET – Mger Armenia – Forever
Mger is one of the famous artists for Armenian audience and is an honored singer of Armenia. He brings one of the strongest vocals in this competition. Mger was a runner up in the 2009 Armenian national selection and being back in 9 years he tries to reach his destination. However, he doesn’t have too many supporters but tonight’s voting still can change everything.
19:35 CET – Mariam – Fade
Mariam has nice and strong vocals. She says that first of all she enjoys songwriting, however committing to take part in Depi Evratesil she performs her own song and wants to acquire more audience from who she will get motivation to compose songs. Her staging remains the same – on the stage she is standing alone. Her song is good for her vocals but it doesn’t seem she is a serious contender for winning tonight.
19:30 CET – Nemra – I am a liar
Time to enjoy the music without any show as Nemra is on the stage. They come with the same message on their backdrops – NO SHOW ENJOY THE MUSIC! Nemra perform their own song which brings a cheerful mood to their audience. This is a nice choice for many fans and this act has a good chance to win tonight especially when there is a huge band of fans supporting them on every step. The band is confident on the stage performing with good vocals.
19:25 CET – Amaliya Margaryan – Waiting for the sun
Amaliya tried to reach Eurovision last year taking part in the first edition of Depi Evratesil. As a result, she reached Kiev, however, not as the Armenian representative but as a backing vocalist for Artsvik. This year she has more experience and tries to reach for the victory in this competition. Amaliya has co-written her own song for Depi Evratesil, which is about hope and light. Her performance doesn’t differ from that of the first seminal- she sings with tied eyes and unties them only in the middle of the song as if she hopes and reaches the light she has been longing for.
19:20 CET – Kamil Show – Puerto Rico
Kamil is a humorous character created by Arsen Grigoryan. He is very serious and talented artist in his real life but tonight he is completely into his humours character trying to do everything to reach Portugal. People’s taste is way too different regarding this act, as many people dislike and many others like KAMIL Show. Thus, it is very difficult to judge what place Kamil will achieve tonight but one thing is sure this is one of the most discussed acts. His show is the same but in the semifinal the vocals of the backing vocalists were much more flawless.
19:14 CET – Lusine Mardanyan – If you don’t walk me home
Here comes the pride of Tamar Kaprelian as Lusine is her student at NVAK foundation. Although Tamar didn’t qualify for tonight’s final, she was still happy seeing her student in the Armenian final and showed her support towards Lusine. Last time in the semifinal, the cameraman accidentally appeared on the screen while Lusine was performing on the stage, and tonight as well the mistake is repeated again. Lusine is struggling with her vocals and it doesn’t seem she will win tonight.
19:10 CET – Gevorg Harutyunyan – Stand up
Fans remember Gevorg Harutyunyan due to his participation in the last year’s edition of Depi Evratesil. Singing on Eurovision stage is a big dream for Gevorg and this year he tries to reach there with his song “Stand up”. The song is composed by Gevorg himself and he performs it barefoot with good vocals. Gevorg puts a lot of emotions in his performance making it more artistic with his dance. Tonight, he keeps the same staging as he did in the semifinal.
19:05 CET – Sevak Khanagyan – Qarmi
Sevak is opening tonight’s competition. He comes with same staging- alone on the stage in ancient Greek armor. He is the only participant to sing in Armenian. He demonstrates good vocals and with his vocals Sevak has already won Ukrainian X-Factor and has serious intentions and chances to win tonight too.
19:03 CET-Gohar Gasparyan
Gohar Gasparyan, the host of Depi Evratesil, introduces the voting rules and tells that all the money from SMS voting will go to charity of helping children. Gohar Gasparyan is a famous Armenian host who also hosted Junior Eurovision 2011 in Yerevan.
18:58 CET – Show kicks off
Armenia starts the final with a short footage about Salvador Sobral’s victorious trip in Kiev. The footage is followed by a live performance of junior choir singing Salvador’s winning song on Depi Evratesil stage.
18:55 CET – Start of the liveblog
In a few minutes the final of Armenian national selection with the second edition of Depi evratesil will kick off in Armenia. The running order of participants is as follows:
- Gevorg Harutyunyan – Stand Up
- Lusine Mardanyan – If You Don’t Walk Me Home
- Mger Armenia – Forever
- Nemra – I’m A Liar
- Robert Koloyan – Get Away With Us
- Kamil Show – Puerto Rico
- Amaliya Margaryan – Waiting For The Sun
- Sevak Khanagyan – Qami
- Mariam – Fade
- Asmik Shiroyan – You & I
I’m so happy that Armenia’s participating at Junior Eurovision this November. It’d be cool if they won like in 2010. 😀