Armenia: Ladaniva releases "Jako" for Eurovision 2024
The duo, Ladaniva, was internally selected to wave the flag for Armenia at Eurovision 2024 in Malmö. We now know they'll take the stage with the song "Jako'
Just a few days ago, Armenian broadcaster AMPTV announced that Ladaniva will be representing the country at Eurovision 2024 this May.
Now we know that Ladaniva will bring "Jako" to the Eurovision stage. "Jako" is out now, together with the release of the music video.
"Jako" was written by Ladaniva themselves along with Audrey Leclercq.
Ladaniva will join the other 15 acts performing in Semi-final 2 on 9 May and hopes to keep the qualification streak alive for Armenia following Rosa Linn and Brunette.
Ladaniva
Ladaniva, a world music duo active since 2019, consists of Armenian vocalist Jaklin Baghdasaryan and French multi-instrumentalist Louis Thomas. Their name is indeed a reference of the off-road SUV Lada Niva.
Jaklin Baghdasaryan, born in 1997, is from Yeghegnadzor, Armenia. She grew up in Minsk, Belarus, before moving to France with her mother in 2014. Louis Thomas, born in 1987, was born and raised in Lille, France. Both were surrounded by heavy musical influences growing up before attending Conservatoire de Lille in France, where they met in 2018.
In 2020 they released their first two videos, "Vay Aman" and "Zepyuri Nman," which brought them a lot of success at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The video for their song "Kef Chilini" accumulated over 18 million views within the first few months of the release. Last year, they released their debut self-titled album, produced and distributed by PIAS.
Alongside their singles and album, Ladaniva also received a Music Moves Europe Award from the Public Choice Award in 2022.
Louis Thomas from Ladaniva shares what inspires their music:
– We have been very much inspired by the local music of the French Island Reunion. It’s one of our favorite destinations and we were surprised to have found out that their rhythms are very similar to the rhythms found in Armenian songs.
– When we play songs with these grooves, everyone dances... in Armenia and all over the world
Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest
Armenia has been in Eurovision since 2006, participating 15 times (all the years except 2012 and 2021), with very good results: 7 out of the 15 times Armenia finished in top-10!
Their best results are two 4th place positions (2008 and 2014), and they have qualified for the Grand Final 12 out of 15 times.
