For the first time since 2020, Armenia chose its winner through its national competition, Depi Evratesil. With lots of glitz, flashing lights, and flag waving, the televised event got underway with 12 competitors for the evening’s performance.
Each number was preceded by a personalized video from the entrant with some bio background, filmed at a museum in Yerevan. Almost all the numbers were sung in a mix of English and Armenian.
PARG – “Survivor”
This was a post-apolcalyptic rock number with the singer wearing a human/android mixed outfit. His strong vocals and performance got the show off to a strong start.
SEVAGIR – “Falling”
This foursome band performed a winsome rock number with 3 guitars and 1 drummer. Unfortunately the vocals were very weak.
ANAHIT ADAMYAN – “Tiny Little Boo”
This female soloist did a cute and fun pop number in English, but she was way off key and had trouble hitting the notes.
MELS – “Losing”
This rap number in Armenian was well choreographed, with the singer in baggy white pants and an impressive number.
SIMON – “Ay Paparey Bye”
This was the oddest number of the evening. Kind of rap, kind of dance, kind of pop, it was all over the place.
FLORA BICHAKHCYAN – “Prayer”
This soloist had a powerful voice with a song that transitioned from more traditional Armenian music to a dance number about halfway through the song.
GEVORG HARUTYUNYAN – “Hey Man”
This was the first and only ballad of the evening. Simple choreography with no backup singers or dancers (unlike every other performance).
ALTSIGHT – “Dare to Dream”
This band of 3 did a rock number that had a good beat and high energy, but the vocals were pretty poorly executed.
ANAHIT HAKOBYAN & GASOLIA – “Wild”
This male/female duo performed a pop number with a rap vibe. He was giving his best rap, she was channeling Beyonce in a glittery miniskirt.
ARSEN GRIGORYAN FEAT. KAMIL – “Will You Marry Me?”
Providing the best costumes of the evening with backup dancers dressed as white roses, this pop number had a good dance beat, but once again the vocals were very off.
MILENA MIRIJANYAN– “Romantic Net”
This female soloist performed a soul number, but again, the vocals were not great.
ATHENA MANOUKIAN– “DaQueenation”
This female soloist was a fan favorite from the start. She did a riveting pop number in a revealing red and black leather outfit. With her 5 backup dancers, this was very well choreographed.
The total performance was only about an hour long, and then the public lines for voting opened.
Over the course of the next hour, there were several side shows. First there was a Eurovision retrospective. Then Aram MP3 sang a number on stage, his song “Not Alone” from 2014, a beautiful ballad.
Then Brunette did her number “Future Lover” from 2023 with 8 backup dancers, then a second number, “No Energy”, then “Superstar Illness”.
Finally the votes were in. Depi Evratesil has a strange voting system with not two, but THREE sets of votes – the Armenian jury, an international jury, and then finally the public vote.
While Simon was ahead after the first two rounds of jury votes, once the public vote came in, Parg took the lead, and so “Survivor” is headed to Eurovision to compete for Armenia!