Anahit Adamyan and Mary Vardanyan Armenia Junior Eurovision 2016

Today the Wiwi Jury – our in-house panel of music unprofessionals, travelled to Yerevan and sampled some delicious Lavash bread with Labneh whilst Iveta Mukuchyan took us on a tour around the city. When the LoveWave finally took her over, we decided to leave her be to review Armenia’s entry for Junior Eurovision 2016. Were Anahit and Mary twice as nice with “Tarber”? Read on to find out…

Armenia’s Junior Eurovision 2016 song

“Tarber” reviews – Anahit and Mary

Antranig: Nobody puts the junior in Junior Eurovision better than Armenia — and they have done consistently well in the process. Anahit and Mary are reminiscent of Betty, except it’s double the trouble this time! They slay the big notes and they will undoubtedly get the crowd on its feet. Armenia are once again the dark horse of the competition, but I’m not sure how the voting changes will affect this.

Score: 9/10

Jason: Everything about this is perfection. The track is uber-polished and undeniably catchy. The vocals are insane. The choreography is fun and cheeky. These girls divas are totally fierce and have killer personal style. “Tarber” as a whole screams professionalism and effort. Usually I prefer big ballads with drama and emotion, but Anahit and Mary have made me see the light!

Score: 10/10

Robyn: My girls, here we go! “Tarber” opens with a somewhat alarming vocal showdown, but soon enough the song kicks in and Anahit and Mary deliver an uplifting disco groove. The girls’ style — like a junior Armenian Posh Spice and Sporty Spice — works with the theme of the song and ought to come across well on stage. “Tarber” is super catchy (especially the chorus!) and it’s one that I’ll happily listen to again.

Score: 10/10

William: The upbeat track opens with the girls going nuclear: That extended note literally rocks my world! But don’t get it twisted: This is not another power ballad. Instead these phenoms launch into a spirited track that combines elements of soul, funk, lounge, and R&B. The overall effect is on-trend and has a very subtle but palpable ethnic quality that comes through in the tap, tap, tap of the electronic drum. These girls get it. Armenia has done very well with upbeat numbers — including its winning 2010 song “Mama” and last year’s runner-up “Love” — so look for this to challenge.

Score: 8.5/10

Bernardo: The first 15 seconds of this song are fierce! The excitement builds and then the catchy chorus arrives with a BANG. Anahit and Mary are vocally perfect and harmonious. But after 1:30 the song gets a tiny bit repetitive. The thing I’m most excited about is the staging. With such a cool video and Armenia’s fabulous history with staging, I predict this song will be among my favourites when they take the stage in Malta.

Score: 7/10

Chris: Funk and killer vocals: what more could you really want? Anahit and Mary are styled brilliantly here and know exactly how to work a camera. I expect them to be great on stage in Valletta too. The song’s odd, though, and it does get a tad repetitive. The chorus is arguably the weakest part of the song, not allowing the girls a chance to really show off their vocals. But boy do they nail that opening!

Score: 7.5/10

Anahit and Mary Armenia Junior Eurovision 2016 JESC

Deban: The first few bars of “Tarber” showcase a fierce vocal showdown. Juries will respect this. However, beyond the vocal flourishes, much of this isn’t engaging.  I love the cutesy sass that pours out of Anahit and Mary. They hold their own and remain confident throughout. Unfortunately, they flush us with more of the same making the overall package very good, but not great.

Score: 4/10

Matt: These two girls are unleashing their inner divas. Their song translates to “different” in English and it is far and away the most polished song in the contest. I think it’ll go down very well with the juries. This song is catchy and danceable. The girls will slay and get another great placing for Armenia.

Score: 8/10

Rezo: Armenia has been moving forward within Junior Eurovision in recent years and this year is no exception. I really like “Tarber”. It’s loaded with powerful vocals, dance, joy and most importantly, the essence of being a child. I think Armenia has a very good chance of winning this year.

Score: 8/10

Josh: One of my favourite countries in JESC is Armenia, and “Tarber” solidifies that. Anahit and Mary absolutely slay my inner child with their energy, danceability and OMG! voices. Starting off with that amazing vocal run showdown and continuing with the great message portrayed in their English chorus, everything about this screams winner.

Score: 10/10

Our jury for 2016 consists of 21 jurors, but we only have room for ten reviews. The remaining 11 scores are listed below.

Andy: 6.5/10

Antony: 6/10

Dayana: 6/10

Edd: 7/10

Jordi: 9/10

Luis: 5.5/10

Marek: 4/10

Mario: 7.5/10

Renske: 8/10

Stanislav: 9/10

Zakaria: 9/10

The highest and lowest scores are removed prior to calculating the average score. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 4 and a high of 10.

Wiwi Jury Score: 7.66/10

READ ALL OF OUR JESC 2016 RANKINGS AND REVIEWS

FOLLOW OUR JUNIOR EUROVISION COVERAGE

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EUROFAN MEXICO
EUROFAN MEXICO
7 years ago

A MI LA CANCION ME ENCANTA Y SU CONCEPTO TAMBIEN CREO QUE LUIS LAS PERJUDICO ADREDE 5.5 POR DIOS

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
7 years ago

I think this is the worst song of the year (Serbia, on the other hand, has grown a bit on me). It’s completely forgettable… and too much auto-tune! A mess.

Mark Beckenbreuer
Mark Beckenbreuer
7 years ago

There is nothing repetitive in this nicely produced song. They are simply one of the best this year.., along with Russia.

10/10
Rank – Yerevan 2017 😉

R+
R+
7 years ago

I’m sorry, but this song ain’t special for me. It doesn’t attract me at all

5/10 – 10th

Roelof Meesters
Roelof Meesters
7 years ago

Lat year Armenia was very overrated in my eyes, but BOY are they good this year. Anahit and Mary really slay at the beginning, and i hope they can pull it of live. The bridge is amazing and it has a very fluent switch to English. It gets a tad repetetive tho, but that can’t spoil the fun

9/10
Rank: 3/17

beccaboo1212
7 years ago

Anahit and Mary sure know how to storm Europe. Amazing vocals, unbelievable range, etc. Spani p’at’yet’y! That’s Armenian for “Slays the pack!”

Score: 8.5/10
Rank: Runner-up

(J)ESC Fanatic
(J)ESC Fanatic
7 years ago

SLAYS THE PACK! I literally couldn’t agree more with Jason. This is super catchy, energetic and fun. It’s an addiction. When it plays I can’t stop dancing along. I want it to play over and over again. I just can’t get enough of it! The girls are amazing too. I love their voices, the choreography in the music video and their diva-ish attitude!

I don’t know how this will sound like live because it’s a demanding song but I really hope the girls can handle it. If they can Armenia has to win this.

Score: 9.5/10
Rank: 1st/17

#Yerevan2017