The Cyprus act for Kyiv isn’t due to be revealed until Friday, but local media have jumped the gun. Hovig, who was a finalist in Cyrpus’ national final in 2015, is being reported as Cyprus’ man for Ukraine.
Hovig Demirjian — a 27-year-old Cypriot of Armenian heritage — was a contestant on The X Factor Greece in 2009, the same year as Ivi Adamou. Over the series, he demonstrated himself as a versatile performer with strong rock vocals, able to deliver upbeat songs as well as emotional ballads, in both English and in Greek. He eventually placed seventh on the show.
He’s since been busy with his music career, and fans recently spotted an Instagram post from Hovig mentioning he’d been at a photo shoot, perhaps preparing for the big announcement.
Hovig has made two previous attempts at representing his country at Eurovision. In 2010, he made it to the national final with his upbeat dance number “Goodbye”, which placed third-equal.
In 2015, Hovig competed in the Cyprus national final The Eurovision Song Project, with his song “Stone in a River”. He eventually placed fourth, but given that runners-up Minus One had their chance at Eurovision the year after, perhaps it’s no surprise that CyBC are drawing on the talent pool of the 2015 national final.
The Wiwi Jury were impressed by “Stone in a River” and ranked it top of the six Eurovision Song Project finalists, with an average score of 8.5. Some jury comments included:
William: “I’d like to write Hovig’s mom a letter and thank her for giving birth to the one man who is making the Cypriot final a bit more bearable. The song is modern and he knows how to sing it. A serious contender for the title of Eurovision’s Next Top Male Model, Hovig has a stone in a river and a major shot to win in Cyprus! Score: 7/10”
Patrick: “Hovig is amazing! His live version is even better than the studio version! “Stone in the river” is a touching song, filled with pure emotions and pain. The lyrics are beautiful and he is loved, really loved by the jury! If he wins, I’ll be really happy, like amazingly happy! GO HOVIG! Score: 10/10”
Rumours have been circulating over who Cyprus would select for Kyiv, with the frontrunners reported to have been Loukas Giorkas (Greece’s Eurovision 2011 act), Charis Savva (who competed at JESC 2008 and Cyprus’ 2015 national final) and Andreas Leontas (Greek X Factor 2016 winner).
However, Cyprus media are reporting that the broadcaster will confirm Hovig on Friday via a press release.
What do you think? Is Hovig a good choice for Cyprus? Share your thoughts below!
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* even if he was passable
I like his song of Cyprus NF 2015
Good choise
Ok, evening if he was passable (he is not – he is mediocre), this second comparison to Mans and of his hapless trajectory so far to Melodifestivalen certainly does him no favours. If you really think he is another Mans, then Cyprus should be getting ready to host next year. I’d suggest Limassol as the host city 😛
He isnt like Mans.Mans is unique and much more handsome and hot than Hovig.
I think he would be a good choice.
I understand the disappointment of those who wanted to see a comeback by Loukas, but Hovig isn’t a bad choice, either. And his Armenian background can be a huge advantage. Yes, CybC could have chosen someone more popular, but that wouldn’t necessarily bring a good result. Ivi Adamou, Evridiki, Despina Olympiou, Minus One, were all internally selected and we all know how they did in the end…
All he needs is a good song. He’s talented and good looking and given his Armenian background and obvious Armenian name, he will definitely score some points from the Armenian diaspora and possibly get the douze points from Armenia.
@ khm
We are talking about someone who has been trying to crack various local talent shows over the years and always ended up as an also-ran. There must have been a reason for that. I would have understood internal selection for someone who has proven themselves in the ESC context before (like Loukas – regardless of how his career shaped up afterwards, since there could be many factors at play there we may not know about). As far as I am concerned, this is a mediocre, underwhelming and in the end, quite unjustifiable choice for internal selection.
@ct_greece A little letdown?! C’mon, Loukas had his chance back in 2011. His problem is that he didn’t manage to use that Eurovision credit and become a restaurant singer. It’s time for people who weren’t on ESC before and with a right song, Hovig is a nice choice.
Seems a nice choice! Well done, Cyprus!
I’m still unashamedly listening to “Stone in a River”. With the right song, he would be a great choice.
He has a good voice, nice looks, the armenian diaspora will certainly support him. With the right song he could easily be in the final
That’s not fair! I wanted Cyprus to select a FEMALE artist, such as Charis Saava or Sophia Patsalides! 🙁
Eurovision top male model and the cypriot Mans? I think some people are getting a little carried away. A very boring choice if true, in line with Cyprus’ limited ambitions of squeaking into the final and nothing more (and even that may be a little too ambitious for Hovig). I wonder how many years’ worth of contestants will Cyprus try to squeeze from a single year’s national final…
After all the talk of Loukas’ return, what a letdown…
okay I appreciated ‘Stone in a River,’ but not thaaaaat much
i feel cyprus is going to regret this
I mean, he’s talented and likeable, so why not? Give him the right song, and Cyprus won’t struggle to make it to the final.
if this news is true will be good choice for Cyprus , this singer is not bad , so Cyprus can make ESC Final again 🙂
He was my favourite on 2015. How only fourth? Would be great choice.