Sirusho made it to the Eurovision 2008 Final

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3qQcpcMYes”]
The good news is we made it to the final, and Sirusho will be singing 5th. The bad news is – our girl was definitely in a bad shape during the first semi-final. We all know Sirusho is beautiful – so can someone please explain who on earth decided to do THAT to her hair?
Coming to the dance – she started up with two guys holding her feet, so Sirusho would lean forward – that apparently requires a lot of phisical effort – which could easily take the breath out of anyone, let alone a tender girl like her. No wonder the vocals of the song that followed afterwards were so disappointing. Moreover, with rather demanding vocals in a song, one should be careful not to move so much, so as not to run out of breath. After all the kicking-jumping that Sirusho did on the stage (which was kinda hot – I admit), it is no surprise she had difficulty catching the high notes, and was shouting all the way through the song. And I’m not alone in being disappointed with her vocals.
Anyways – there’s still time to correct the mistakes – I’m sure that changes to the dance, so that Sirusho moves less and sings more, will do the trick. And please, please – someone, FIRE the darn hairdresser!
On another note – I really like Israel, Moldova and Norway songs.

Artur Papyan

Journalist, blogger, digital security and media consultant

33 Comments

  1. I don’t think her position for the final is a good one with so many acts that will perform. Oh well. Let’s hope she can work on her vocals even if that means slowing down the show. Then again, Eurovision is hardly a high musical event and so I think image and performance matters as much — if not more — as singing. The tune is considered very catchy which will also help and as some pundits have remarked, it will take a lot worse for her not to come in the top ten.

  2. Hmmm, I just noticed. Her voice isn’t good even before she starts dancing and I see no sign of her expending much energy before the vocals go really noticeably wrong so I think we’re trying to make excuses. Instead, I just think she’s not used to singing live — a problem affecting most Armenian pop stars who tend to always lip-synch instead.
    Still, the song is a favorite, people like her, she looks good, and Eurovision isn’t exactly the pinnacle of popular music. Besides, I think people have already decided they like the entry and it’s just a matter of voting on the day. BBC poll says she’ll come in 7th on the night. Well, if she could work on the vocals, she might get higher, I suppose.

  3. Ditord, I don’t think she did something new… She always cryes while singing alive. If you watched the “Two Stars” then you should notice that. And what she did on Eurovision is not surprise for me, because everybody who works on Public Television knows that nobody has been punished and will not be punished for falls on Eurovision and while making other programms. That is why Sirusho sings as she likes (terrible), Keshishyan organizes the promo-tours as he would like, they buy clothes wherever they want and don’t ask the real masters about their oppinion. The performance was also terrible.
    Why Sirusho sang so bad, because she knew one year ago that she would represent Armenia on that song contest and nobody else. She didn’t win her place to represent our country on Eurovision, that is why she sang bad. And that is one of the reasons why we ask to boycott her and Public Television in order not to have such problems in the near future.

  4. Well, Ara, that is one explanation. But the facts remain that – whether you happen to like them or not – Andre, Hayko, and now Sirusho have been successful at Eurovision. Of course, the degree of Sirusho’s success remains to be seen. That she cries or is terrible, or any other arbitrary and subjective opinions of you or the “real master” (God only knows who they are, and what they have accomplished in any global environment) is really irrelevant. Your second paragraph is one logical non-sequitor after another. You don’t like her? Fine. But the call for a boycott was among the most ridiculous calls I came across recently. I find it insulting as an Armenian. And for what it is worth, I don’t like pop music, and don’t care one way or another about Sirusho but I am hopeful that whoever represents Armenia succeeds.

  5. I have to agree with Ara that there are huge problems with the pop music industry in Armenia and they are more political ones than anything else. Who gets to the top is based on connections, nepotism and political allegiances rather than anything else.
    Keshinian, for example, has long been accused of enforcing a monopoly. It’s Armenia after all…
    I also think there needs to be RADICAL reform of the Eurovision Song Contest national competition here. It should be open to anyone and not only to whoever gets voted top star in the Armenian music awards. They should also be FORCED to sing live and NOT lip-sync.
    Then perhaps we’ll have a better pop music scene, see more stars emerge who aren’t in some way connected to the system, and actually get a good performance at Eurovision. Still, I’m privately hoping that it’s just nerves and Sirusho surprises us on Saturday.
    If so, I’ll be glad to be wrong on all the points expressed above. I really hoped for better and especially as I thought it couldn’t be worse than sending Hayko to represent Armenia. Well, I suppose Sirushi looks good and smiles well.

  6. Well, Ara, that is one explanation. But the facts remain that – whether you happen to like them or not – Andre, Hayko, and now Sirusho have been successful at Eurovision. Of course, the degree of Sirusho’s success remains to be seen.

    Well, that’s a good point. Even if people out there are saying she sung badly, they still like her and the song and she got through to the final and will likely end up in the Top Ten (BBC says 7th). Then again, that’s Eurovision or you.
    It’s hardly a serious musical competition and this is the first year EVER that I’ve actually been interested in it. It’s largely considered a joke and an embarrassment in the UK. Actually, that’s why many people watch it. It’s because it’s usually funny. 🙂

  7. Yeah, all I could hear at lunch today were people talking about how Sirusho sucked.
    Hope things go better this weekend.

  8. Artur jan,what’s a story with Mika Danielyan,Sakunc,Urikhanyan and US embassy representatives?

  9. Hate crime in Yerevan: Armenia’s prominent human rights activist Mikael Danielyan was shot at and physically and verbally assaulted
    http://gayarmenia.blogspot.com/2008/05/hate-crime-in-yerevan-armenias.html

  10. i’ll post about it soon

  11. she looked wonderful and sung also great,you’re complainig too much
    greetings from bosnia

  12. I JUST dont understand the postcard ( Introduction) to the country …its was a CLOWN ? What the Fxxxxxxxxxxxck was that ………… if Armenian wins ? we should have kosovo in the eurovision song contest ?

  13. What Sirusho did on Eurovision song contest was more than terrible!!! Her vocal, her dress and her hair were all something indescribable and all the worse that could possibly be….For Armenia the contest looked more like EURO TESILK than Euro tesil…..
    My opinion is that if she has stille a little bit of shame and sense left in her she shoud simply refuse performing on the final by bringing some excuses… Can’t she really see that she can’t sing at all. All she can do on the stage is just yell and howl… And her dancing was more hysterical movements than actual dancing! Ayayayayay!!!!
    It is people like her and the whole Armenian Television that make the Armenian people feel shameful of what they have….It is the real MAFIA!!!!
    AXCHIK JAN XNDRUM EM ERGI BUYTS GONE DZER XOHANOTSUM….

  14. Anna – I am glad your opinion was not shared by the jury who placed her in the final. Best of luck to Sirusho on Saturday as Armenia continues to have success for the 3rd year running.

  15. the onley hope is that they will anallyse what was going wrong to make the finale more better.
    Or ales she always has the eight place.

  16. Well, it’s not so bad. Firstly, she could actually sing better and surprise us all. I’m hoping it’s nerves or not being used to singing live. If it’s the same, general consensus is that people love her enough and how she comes across as well as the actual recorded version of the song to give her high marks. There’s also the Diaspora contingent in some countries that will help. A BBC poll reckons 5th place in the finals and I have to admit that she’s so lovely she deserves it (and anyway, Eurovision is never really about actual music 😉 ).
    However, if she were to put in a solid performance then I think we could count on a lot better. Although pop music is not my thing, and even though I never supported sickening Hayko, I’d be very happy with a win for Armenia. It’s not a bad song, she’s a great ambassador for Armenia, and if she can actually do a near perfect performance we can be proud. If she can’t, well, yes, it does highlight the need for radical changes in the way the Eurovision national contest is organized and decided here.
    Actually, I think it should be anyway. Basically, multiple artists with different songs and singing live. Just choosing whoever gets chosen in the annual local music awards (which is controversial anyway) is not the right approach, in my opinion. Still, although I am really disappointed in her live performance, if she does have talent enough to win then I’m still saying Go! Sirusho!
    But I really hope she can sort out those vocals, not that this appears to play too much on the actual voting. Was playing with an online Eurovision voting simulator today. Basically it works on the basis of which countries have closer links with the other and at the same time, takes into consideration the influence of Diasporas.
    Which is why Armenia gave 12 points to Russia last year and I suppose will do the same this year too. The one weird anomaly is why Georgia and Turkey awarded Hayko 12 points last year of course. Well, perhaps not. Neighboring countries usually vote for each other — the exception, of course, being Armenia. 😉
    Basically, Eurovision is as much about existing international relations between countries as much as it is about the music although some exceptions happen from time to time if an act really sets itself apart from the pack (usually through some kind of novelty as was the case with Finland).

  17. WHAT ABOUT THE CLOWN PEOPLE :::??? WHAT WAS THE MEANING OF THAT?

  18. That was Eurovision, I think, no? They dressed up people in the colors of the flags of the various acts and superimposed text in the national alphabet or something. I think it was Serbia’s doing and they must have thought it cool although to be honest, I haven’t looked at enough acts to know if this is the case or not. Uzogh should be able to clarify, I think.

  19. Yeah – i though it was serbia doing those ‘posters’ or ‘country introductions’, and I thought that the ‘Armenian’ clown was rather stupid and pointless.

  20. I think Sirusho’s appearance on Eurovision is another sign of what level of cultural degradation our society has fallen onto.
    First, the “melody” and “accompaniment”. Had I not known she was an Armenian, I’d presume that it was a Turkish performer singing excruciatingly some reckless modern version of a traditional song.
    Second, the “lyrics”. How many more centuries do we need to understand that a song, or attitude, or behavior, or taste, or manners, for that matter, shouldn’t be necessarily translated into a foreign language or made “foreign-like” in order to sound or look beautiful. For me, German language is a crudely-sounding language, but I happened to listed Goethe’s poetry in original language, and it all of a sudden, sounded like music to my ears. The same goes to rubaiyats of Omar Khayam when read out in Persian, etc. Anyway, a big xenophilia complex of a small nation. . .
    And finally, the “looks”. Who told her that bizarre, fanciful looks are better perceived than natural. As the world degrades so does a single nation. . .

  21. I don’t want to make big fuzz about the so called postcard for Armenia for the Eurovision but I get scared thinking about what they wear thinking when they decided that Armenian is best represented by a CLOWN ? …………. A group of people are sitting and thinking …hey I know let’s have a clown for Armenia ? And the funny thing is that they ho represent Armenia don’t even complain ? Imagine Israel or France being depicted as Clowns ? But this is what more and more I expect from leaders of all spheres in Armenia. We don’t have sophisticated leadership , no shroud people in Government destined to have a independent and strong country . Armenian is like a hungry dog ..it eats what the fxxx you give it ? Why can’t we have a country where a new pipeline goes from Armenia to Georgia and then to supply gas to Europe ? Why can’t we have a military possessing nuclear vepon ambition? So it can defend its people against a new Genocide in the near future. Why do we have leadership that is cruel and brutal against its citizens’ instead of educating them for the future and sealing everything it has to Russia? Russia which is a bully a wife beater a cruel and mean country which will one day like many times before abandon Armenia when it has had its fun ? Wear is the It sector in Armenia wear is the high tech companies that don’t need to rely on material needs but just brain and intelligence. Why doesn’t Armenian recognize Kosovo ? It should because Karabag need it? Why doesn’t Armenia create better relationship whit Georgia ? So they have the incentive to destroy Armenian heritage and instead respect them ? Why Why WHY ?

  22. Yes, the hair and make-up were awful, but she still rocked the stage, made the world spin and took everyone captive with her charm, beauty and performance. At only 21, she has the grace of Audrey Hepburn, the charm of Anna Pavlova and the voice that commands respect wherever she is and the stage of Eurovision 2008 is definitely no exception. She also wrote her own song.
    As for the other contestants, some of them definitely seemed like they were stuck in a time warp with their appearance and performance. In fact I had to look at the screen twice to confirm that it was Eurovision 2008 and not 1988.
    Sirusho could very well finish at #1.

  23. I wonder who that “everyone” who was taken captive with her charm is. Perhaps for some parts of Los Angeles where, as known, many Yerrord Mas-level commoners have emigrated, Sirush looked and sounded captive, but this particular segment of Armenians by no means represents “everyone” in this nation. This nation is also known by intelligent, erudite people with broad vision and exquisite tastes, manners, and attitudes. This nation has known legendary singers like Ophelia Hambartsumian, Raisa Mkrtchian, Rima Saribekian, and many others, who used to sing Armenian traditional songs or excellent pop songs like angels, distinctive by their Armenian-sounding music, and not by degenerated, tasteless, Turkish-sounding music and meaningless lyrics. What primordial taste should a person have to compare a newly popped-up Sirush with legendary and inimitable Audrey Hapburn and Anna Pavlova?! Contemporary world is dominated by and serves the tastes of unsophisticated, small-minded, conformist majority. But this will end one day. There’s no other choice but change. . .

  24. I think this was yet another example of our lack of professionalism in yet another field. Why is she singing a relatively demanding song AND jumping up and down all over the stage at the same time? It’s either one or the other; the poor thing was practically shrieking at the semifinals. The sad part is, she’s a talented girl, and they could’ve done so much more with her, but the staging sucked, the song sucked, the choreography sucked, the hair sucked, the makeup sucked, the dress was OK (the only part the Armenian side wasn’t responsible for), etc… She no doubt made the best of the situation and I hope there are some lessons to be learnt. But yeah, she’s no Pavlova, and definitely no Hepburn. Really, there’s no comparison. And she wrote only the lyrics of the song, and let’s face it, they were as primitive as you can get from a 21 year old who is fluent in English.

  25. plus points
    she is very beautifull and sexy
    she got talents of good singing and dancing
    choreography was good
    dress was good
    hair make up trendy (its a trend of today, even if not best taste) for stage.
    the beginning of the song was excellent
    the song was honest(we should be doing love, not fight)
    min points
    she is a YOUNG singer, was nervous, the pressure was high.
    the song showed the influences from east west(the reality)
    the dancers should be dressed better(the choreography was good, it got compliments)
    too much qele qele. qele qele is a dialect , it should be ari ari for sounding fine
    the tempo was too high(maybe this is a plus point).
    in one word if you can do all this, than you can win worldvision song festival.
    i loved her daring, energetic performance and the background vocals in the middle.
    armenian soul moments were great.i wish it was through all the song.
    anyway, i wish her getting finer , and get rid of influences and good luck.
    much love

  26. SHE DID IT VERY GOOD AND NOBODY IS PERFECT….

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  28. Nobody is perfect, indeed. For some tasteless, unrefined, and essentially parochial commentators in this blog: please make every effort to understand that a singer representing the country in the international arena does not, by definition, fall under the category just “nobody”. For these bloggers, anyone, whether singer or a politician, always “does very good” in performing their tasks, because these bloggers show the traits of conformists who tend to accept any low-quality, appalling, un-Armenian-sounding song or anti-popular rule as unavoidable. They can never reach the level of elitist, concerned segment of the Armenian citizenry because of their restricted mentality and unsophisticated tastes and attitudes. . .

  29. armeniaaaaaa(L)(K)

  30. ARMENIA 4 LIVE!!! 😉
    WELOVEARMENIIAAAAAAAA 🙂

  31. YOU ARE WONDERFULL!……………

  32. She’s perfect and nobody can argue that. She’s cool and endlessly beautiful.

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