The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues to rank and review the 43 songs competing in Eurovision 2018. Next we head to Armenia to listen to Depi Evratesil winner Sevak Khanagyan and his song “Qami” (Wind). Were we blown away by his song? Read on to find out!
Sevak Khanagyan – “Qami”
“Qami” reviews
Jovana: I am pretty excited to hear Armenian on the Eurovision stage again, after almost ten years, I believe. Knowing how rich and old Armenian culture is kind of gives “Qami” a spiritual note it would not have had had it been translated into English. All that paired with Sevak’s powerful vocals makes a secure qualification for the final and a lot of points from the juries. With a good staging, it could easily appeal to the audience as well.
Score: 7/10
Luis: “Qami” is a power ballad which fits perfectly with Sevak’s voice. It’s perfectly fine in the studio version, but the live staging in Depi Evratesil let it down a lot. Maybe it was the exuberant masculinity of Sevak’s outfit, the fact that he was twice as big as his supposed love interest in the background or maybe it was that he was just there standing. Armenia’s entry ticks a lot of boxes to make it a qualifier, however, unless they give the performance the right edge, this could struggle either to make it to the final or to get a decent placing,
Score: 7/10
Antranig: It is so delightful to hear a song entirely in Armenian at Eurovision. I’ve been waiting for one and “Qami” is well worth the wait. It has to be noted that Sevak’s vocals are clearly the selling point of this song because on its own, “Qami” is just a run of the mill non-English Eurovision ballad. But since the juries were introduced, this might be Armenia’s first song that could appeal highly to both juries and televoters. However, he needs to ditch that ridiculous gladiatorial getup and fix the staging — “Qami” is beautiful on its own and doesn’t need the bells and whistles.
Score: 7/10
Bogdan: As power ballads go, “Qami” is alright, but it doesn’t have anything special to separate it from the typical made-for-Eurovision songs. It won’t stand the test of time like Aram MP3’s 2014 song, for instance. While I do appreciate the fact that it’s in Armenian, I simply can’t feel a connection with the singer in his live performance. Hopefully he will elevate “Qami” in Lisbon through staging because the national final show was underwhelming.
Score: 5/10
William: Sevak commands attention with his beard, his stature and most of all that voice. It carries mystery and soul, and pain and longing, helping elevate a pop ballad into something that feels more spiritual and meditative than easy and disposable. And while it plays to this year’s trend of being authentic, it doesn’t feel alien or alienating. Despite the obvious strength of his voice — and the body behind that breastplate — there is a gentleness within. With the right staging, this could tug on heartstrings and surprise.
Score: 7/10
Steinunn: I would also like to put emphasis on how happy I am to finally hear a whole song in Armenian. On top of the beauty (and mystery) of the Armenian language, we have Sevak‘s very good vocals and a fairly good power ballad. All together this makes a pretty good package that’s captivating and makes me want to listen to it over and over. There is an element of darkness and melancholia found in the song, but without making it depressing. I like that.
Score: 8.5/10
In the Wiwi Jury we have 20 jurors but only have room for six reviews. The remaining scores are below:
Angus: 2/10
Anthony: 6/10
Bernardo: 3.5/10
Chris: 6/10
Cinan: 6.5/10
Deban: 7/10
Jonathan: 7/10
Jordi: 8.5/10
Kristin: 8/10
Padraig: 5/10
Renske: 6.5/10
Robyn: 6/10
Ron: 6.5/10
Sebastian: 5.5/10
We have removed the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 2 and a high of 8.5.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 6.39/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
Perhaps it’s a little too agressive. And despite the build up I am nut finding any real chorus in this one. Besides him going “qami” repeatedly.
Good voice but… it feels like the song was made to showcase his vocals and then they forgot about melody and chorus.
Decent but not a favourite.
Ok, this is what I think…(sarcasm included) If there are enough heartbroken, sorrowful, depressed, in love, in pain, misunderstood, hurt, and hopeless people in Europe, then, this song will do really well. However it can be boring and annoying for people who are living their “happily ever afters… lol, for people who are high, or for those who are just chronically happy ? lol! So, let’s see where it lands.
I wanted Puerto Rico to win Depi so I’m pretty upset that this was chosen, though not because of the song itself. I quite like this. It starts off quietly and then gradually becomes louder and more powerful. I’m not usually one for power ballads, but I think the good live vocals and native language rescue this. I’m normally very good at predicting but to be honest I don’t have a clue how this will do in the semis.
Offtopic, but wiwibloggs got a shoutout on the main Armenian channel. 2:20 – 4:09
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSrC_Vso4Ys
WOW! Thanks for this! 🙂
William/Deban, have you seen this yet? Congratulations! 🙂
You’re welcome, Purple Mask and Robyn! 🙂
They better be nice! Lol!
Armenia has set the bar very high in the recent years and for me this is a bit of a disappointment, although I love that the song is in Armenian. Still, while it’s beautiful and powerful, it doesn’t really stir me. Armenia is one of my borderline qualifiers from Semi 1 (there are many). I think it will make it, but I wouldn’t bet money on it. 6.5/10.
Shortly: beautiful and heartfelt lyrics, wrapped in power-balladry.
With Sevak vocal efforts song keeps momentum for me and gains atmosphere, yet I think it’s arranged fairly well for its genre (nothing groundbreaking though). But at same time, the ordinary melody restrains song so it doesn’t emit more sparks to fully be drown and glide on ‘winds’, atmo.
6/10
Will likely come better live with fine number.
This could be a masterfully performed song but that chorus is EXTREMELY hollow sounding. I would have preferred a far richer and more guttural voice.
And the fact he is drowned out by the backing vocalists? Atrocious.
I’ve stopped evaluating Armenian entries based on the song itself. I always wait for the staging because Armenia gets their staging right everytime in recent years (2015-2017). From what I’ve heard so far, Sacha Jean Baptiste is going to do the camera work for Armenia while the main director who did the lighting for Eurovision 2007 and 2013 will do the light work – which gives me very high hopes for the staging.
As for the song, it’s emotional, it sounds beautiful, it has ethnic elements (not enough though), but it’s not going to impress anyone without a solid staging.
Best song for me from Armenia
1.2016
2.2009
3.2017
Worst
1.2013
2.2018
3.2015
Mine would be:
Best:
1. 2016
2. 2009
3. 2008
4. 2014
Mid:
5. 2010
6. 2018
7. 2017
8. 2006
Worst:
9. 2015
10. 2007
11.2011
12. 2013
“Qami” has many tough challenges to deal with. It succeeds two very good and modern armenian entries (I still think Artsvik deserved a way better position last year), it wasn’t the favorite during Deep Evratesil (though it was a deserved winner, since his competition failed to impress while Sevak did a great job) and it’s a power ballad, one of the most overplayed genres on Eurovision. So I can get why so many people think it’s bland. But I must disagree. I wouldn’t say this is a spetacular song, but it’s for sure a very tasteful one. It goes a… Read more »
I like many things in this song. It’s in Armenian, it’s emotional and powerful. The live performance is amazing and so is Sevak.
A solid 8 for me.
Not bad, not great. Mid-table entry for me. I like the intensity and his voice and the fact that it’s sung in Armenian, but I’m not sticking my neck out for it.
Of the songs reviewed so far:
1. Armenia: 7/10
2. Slovenia: 6.5/10
3. Denmark: 6.5/10
4. Belarus: 4/10
Oh, wait, there’s also Moldova.
1. Moldova: 7/10
2. Armenia: 7/10
3. Slovenia: 6.5/10
4. Denmark: 6.5/10
5. Belarus: 4/10
Allegedly, the running order has been appointed yesterday and Poland is said to perform 10th in the second semifinal 🙂 I’m not so sure about it though as it’s not confirmed.
real review:
It is a beautiful song in the Armenian language, but suffers a bit like Inje does: No staying power. It is more modern and has a more striking view, but I’m not sure how far can Sevak take this. Armenia has a great record (they only failed by bringing one of the worst ones they could), but this semifinal is packed with great songs… I just hope that ARMTV still favors Armenian regardless, since it is beautiful.
4.5/10
It seems wiwijury does not seem to agree with the odds.
Their top song Slovenia just hit rock bottom in the odds.
Belarus and Denmark on the contrary, are solid Top 20 in the odds.
My scores: Wiwijury Odds
Belarus 8.5 6.36 15/43
Moldova 6 6.08 28/43
Denmark 5 6.17 19/43
Slovenia 3 6.58 42/43
Armenia 1. 6.39 23/43
To me this song kind of sounds like Aram MP3’s entry, but not as experimental. That’s not to say is a bad thing though. Sevak has an incredible voice, and really caught my attention in the national final because of that. If it were just for that, he’s probably be in my top five for the year. Unfortunately there’s other parts that also matter in all of this. For starters I think the instrumentation is probably the weakest part of the song. I do like that it feels really authentic to Armenia, and not something that they’ve just purchased from… Read more »
Solid entry from Armenia, nothing standout but his voice is just…. wow. I think this will qualify and finish around 18th in the GF, and I love the Armenian language in this. His NF performance was good, but the gorilla vest was awfull.
7/10
Such hypocrisy? Why vest is bad but costume (Italy 2017) good
This is one of the worst for me. Completely forgettable, soulless, and trying too hard to be authentic. What even happened to Armenia? Ever since their ‘comeback’ in 2013 they’ve had more misses than hits.
Armemia: 4th in 2014; 7th in 2016.
Also, Armenia hasn’t failed to qualify for the final since 2011. So they have literally had no “misses” since their comeback in 2013, in terms of actual results.
Polegend: It’s not often that you’re flat wrong. But you are, this time. 😀
Finishing on the right side of the leaderboard and not being even close to being on the left side is a ‘miss’ for Armenia considering they had 5 top 10 finishes on the trot!!
Since there return good ‘hit’ results -2
Mediocre ‘miss’ results – 3
3>2
More misses than hits
*the
It suppose it can look very different depending on where you’re coming from. Ever since 2002, if the UK were to get into the Top 20 that would be considered a “hit”. 😀
Armenia have never been outside the top 20 in a Grand Final, so the way I see it, they have never had a “miss” (except in 2011).
You can’t apply UKs standard or Armenia
what it’s the country’s standard that dictates a miss!!
That way UK has never had a miss cause it’s always in the Grand final but Macedonia has had only one hit in the past 6 years!
If Sweden or Russia finish even outside the Top 5 it’d be a miss for them!
For Armenia based on their initial results not being in the Top 10 is a miss!
Exactly…. Sweden came 14th in 2013, which would be a great hit for many countries but for Sweden it was a Major miss… They just always have the Standard to come top 5.
Good points.
Hmmm. My name slipped a letter.
Nice to meet you, Purple Mark!
Personally, I only count it as a miss if a country fails to qualify, or if an automatic qualifiers ends-up in bottom 10 (17th or lower). Everything else is a bit of a hubris in a way.
Also I disagree even for UK’s standard
based on how Graham comments it’d seem a hit is being on the left side of the scoreboard!
Not happened since 2011 I suppose but Lucie came mighty close
They didn’t miss the top ten one single time in 2006-10, while now they went top ten twice in five years. Sounds like an underperformance indeed! And their upcoming non-qualification won’t help their record.
To be fair, the competition wasn’t exactly “high quality” during the awful “troll act” era of the late 2000s. Remember all these?: https://youtu.be/tp87lFJvrVI
Armenia’s recently more varied record is a direct consequence of the rise in quality elsewhere, in my opinion.
Pirates of the Sea, Congratulations and We Are the Winners are three of the best songs in the history of the contest. Y’all can keep stanning for A Monster Like Me, my bops stay unbothered.
^This. As I assure the young ‘uns, Eurovision used to be rather fun.
Well I started watching in 1990. 🙂
The late 2000s were fun, but IMO had a lower quality of music. Hence when Armenia joined, it showed the trolling acts what real music was. The contest has since started to become more serious again.
They all have their place… in the depths of history. 😀
I agree with you. Armenia was very good at bringing ethnic songs that were an infusion of eastern and western cultures. I don’t know why they decided to abandon that strategy. Literally, all of their well placed entries had ethnic elements in them while the ones that did not, placed poorly (2011, 2013 and I don’t even know what 2017 was)
Oh lord!! Do not even remind us of the 2017 entry!! Being an Armenian, I have complained to Armenian delegation maybe a good 27 times for that song!! But you know what…. I think they’re finally starting to listen to people’s and specifically the Armenian people’s opinions. Well, a little bit…actually…
Agreed. This song is the epitome and bland – I hope it doesn’t qualify over one of the more deserving songs in the semi of death
Epitome of bland*
Apart from being in Armenian, there’s nothing memorable about this song. Sevak’s vocal abilities are superb, I’ll give you that. But anyway, I just can’t connect to it. This is the screamy shouty ballad we always have in ESC. Decent song, nonetheless. But definitely one of my least favorite entries this year. He’ll probably qualify but if there was a time more than ever that Armenia could be NQ, this is it.
Denmark: 22/43
Slovenia: 30/43
Moldova: 35/43
Armenia 36/43
This song once was in my top 10, but not anymore… Which doesn’t mean that I don’t love it anymore! Sevak was like my 3rd or 4th in his national final, but his victory was well deserved. I get that you can get tired of Qami quite easily since there’s actually not much Happening. However, the song carries Passion, strength and beauty, supported through his Sevak’s stunning voice and the fact that the song is in Armenian. I doubt that it would work in English and I’m glad thar they kept it this way. Overall a very good entry…. But… Read more »
While his vocals are really good and the Armenian language is as great as English language songs , it’s a little bit of been there done that in the sense that it doesn’t bring anything new to the table in being a basic ballad.But his vocal abilities and Armenian diaspora will certainly push him towards qualification
A 7/10
Wiwi jury
1)Slovenia 6.58
2)Armenia 6.39
3)Belarus 6.36
4)Denmark 6.17
5)Moldova 6.08
Modified Score
1)Denmark 8.33
2)Slovenia 8.17
3)Moldova 8
4)Armenia 7.67
5)Belarus 7.67
Total:
1) Slovenia 14.75
2)Denmark 14.5
3)Moldova 14.08
4)Armenia 14.06
5)Belarus 14.03
What is your modified score based upon?
It is derived from the wiwi jurors scores taking into consideration that in the televote people can’t downvote a song they don’t like but can upvote a song they like!!
So how do you calculate the score?
use the highest third of the scores
Ah, okay, thanks for your explanation.
Like it is meant to mimic the televote more closely than the Wiwi jury score does
Descent OK song but it doesn’t have any wow highlight that will get you hooked.
6/10
As we know, Armenia is more about the performance than the song, so realistically we won’t see this “songs” potential until we see it on stage in Lisbon. I will say this though, I like it! Armenia have broken the trend of sending stunning women and have gone for a male vocalist…and woah! What a vocal! The guy is stunning, the song is powerful and what’s more, it’s ethnically Armenian and a representation of the participating nation, which is what ESC should be about. Well done to them. It’s in a tough semi though, but Armenia normally qualify without too… Read more »
The backing vocals towards the end of the song are giving it some oomph. However, they are also making it sound rather dated.
The first semi is packed. I think that beard is the only thing that can save him.
Lol 😀
ARMENIA – They had one of the strongest national finals this year, and even if it had songs I loved even more, they picked a really good one. It’s refreshing to hear a power ballad in Armenian. Sevak brings a lot of power himself, by stiring between dominant roughness and emotional fragility. The music is good throughout, but the last minute is just epic! The lyrics are great too. I guess it doesn’t captivate me to the core like few other ballads do, but I do like it a lot! 8/10 My ratings: 10 – DEN 8 – ARM 7.5… Read more »
Cool. I like listening to this one as well, mainly because of Sevak’s voice. 🙂
So far, this ranking is a MESS
This a song that I really want to love because it has got all the elements that I appreciate in a good song: It’s quite dark and moody, it is well composed (but not overly complex in a contrived kind of way), the lyrics are well written (as far as I can tell from the various translations hovering around on the internet) and so on. Still, it doesn’t grab me on an emotional level. I enjoy the song to some extent but I don’t really feel much. Sevak is an amazing singer from a technical point of view, but to… Read more »
Great vocal, Armenian language is beautiful but song is lacking the climax… not bad entry but it will struggle to qualifie i think.
Why only 20 jurors?Last year we had 37!
It’s a song dedicated to Kamil, the most beautiful being ever. Obvious masterpiece
25/10
Baby llevame contigo
Lol! No! Its “kami,” which means wind in Arm. NOT “Kamil!”
3/10 I usually like ballads, however all I remember of this is Qami… Even the tune escapes me. Staging wise it needs a real uplift; but I expect this will qualify as Armenia usually do.
off Topic = WOW !!!
3. Votes from INFE Romania
1 point goes to Denmark
2 points go to Sweden
3 points go to Greece
4 points go to Estonia
5 points go to Ukraine
6 points go to France
7 points go to Austria
8 points go to… Belgium
10 points go to… Bulgaria
And 12 points go to… Israel!
Current top 5 of the INFE Poll 2018
1. France: 30 points
2. Israel: 27 points
3. Bulgaria: 17 points
4. Ukraine: 15 points
5. Belgium: 14 points
There is no INFE Romania to speak of, really nothing! There’s a FB page with the last post on 18Th of February and some primitive blog that doesn’t function. There is no ESC Romanian forum, INFE, Ogae, you name it, I’ve searched thoroughly.
This song starts very beautifully and magically but it doesn’t get the climax that would do it justice simply because it gets too repetitive. Still a solid effort.
7/10
off topic = WOW !!! Here are the first 2 x results of INFE * *(International Network of Fan Clubs of Eurovision) 1. Votes from INFE Belarus 1 point goes to Denmark 2 points go to the Czech Republic 3 points go to Estonia 4 points go to Austria 5 points go to Israel 6 points go to Belgium 7 points go to Bulgaria 8 points go to… Germany 10 points go to… Ukraine And 12 points go to… France! 2. Votes from INFE Ukraine 1 point goes to Lithuania 2 points go to Ireland 3 points go to Switzerland… Read more »
INFE *
*(International Network of Fan Clubs of Eurovision)
In total, members from all 24 clubs will be casting their votes and deciding their favourite entries in the second annual INFE Poll, with the final outcome of the results set to be unveiled on the 22 April.
Great song. One of the few songs to come out well in Armenia’s national final of amazing studio versions, dreadful live performances. Love that it is entirely in Armenia, love how it builds and appreciate the sheer power of the final minute. His voice is fantastic and he brings intensity. Armenia needs to bring their usual level of staging to really elevate this but obviously, if everything goes right, this is a top ten contender.
Seems like everyone’s getting basically the same score, so far.
Armenia always deliver. A really nice song and he delivers it really well live too. Any other year I would say this is a safe bet for the final but I would not guarantee it a spot in the final this year. I really like it though and hope it goes through 7/10
Armenia is always underrated in Eurovision, except Eurovision 2014. But you know, Armenia always memorable in Eurovision for many years and Sevak is not an exemption. The great thing that Armenians do, they don’t buy Swedish/British songs, don’t sing cheap songs , (I don’t speak about Emmy’s *Boom boom disaster , which Armenian Delegation falsified the song for Emmy(They probably have known that Azerbaijan would have won the contest). So my point is : Well Done Armenia! As for Sevak, he is GREAT SINGER. I know him since 2017 as a winner of X Factor Ukraine. When I listened his… Read more »
It’s a powerful ballad, I give you that. Sevak’s voice is enchanting, powerful yet also gentle and emotional at the same time. The song itself is quite good, and I really can appreciate that Armenia gone native this year for a change. But, that being said, I just can’t seem to connect with him during the national Final, maybe because it’s the gorilla shirt or somehig else that I can’t describe. He’s in SF1, which worries me that this might not qualify, because as I like his song, I liked 10 other songs better than his. SCORE : 7 /… Read more »
Nostalgic, a little mysterious. His voice gives power to the song. Plus, it is in Armenian. But I don’t return to it. Maybe it just lacks something “wow”.
6/10
I can’t remember another year or edition with so big difference in quality between Semi-1 and Semi-2. From the first semifinal I would let in 16 entries and from the second just 4. It’s a rough game and sadly, Armenia may be one of those good NQ’s.
Terrible. My last place in the contest. I predict it will be the second non qualification for Armenia.
1/10.
I agree with Bogdan, I just can’t connect to it and I’m not a fan of his live vocals
Qami is not that impressive or different
Better songs and singers failed to qualify and it is competing in semi final 1 together with Azerbaijan (which surely won’t give them Jury votes)
Armenia – Sevak Khanagyan: “Qami” Keys: D minor Time Sigs: 4/4 Song structure: Refrain Set 1 – Refrain Set 2 – Refrain Set 3 – Chorus 1 – Leading Notes – Refrain Set 4 – Refrain Set 5 – Chorus 2 – Instrumental – Reprise x2 Harmony: Mostly four chords Influences: Pop, Orchestral Rock Music comments: Sevak has one of the best natural voices in the contest, and this song perfectly shows off the beauty and the power of his voice. Using simple refrains instead of fully developed verses gives the song a more spiritual feel, and everything about the… Read more »
I can’t agree with you more! Perfect review! We have very similar way of thinking!
Armenia never fails to deliver their traditional sound (well sometimes they do, but not this year). “Qami” is the whole package: strong vocals, high quality song and the staging will probably be amazing. Semifinal 1 is very strong, but it will shameful if Sevak doesn’t make the final cut. 8.0/10
Prediction: Qualifier, 11th at worst. In the final, anywhere between 5-20.
Previous scores: 5.0 (2017), 7.5 (2016)
Overall, it’s my #3 and my 2nd favourite Armenian entry, after Jan Jan (2009).
It’s interesting how people are shouting NQ to all the non-English songs in the first semifinal, and firmly believe that all those pop bops are going to qualify. Again, they never learn.
Greece and Estonia are going to qualify. This is not about non-English songs. It’s that Armenia’s song is one of the bottom in this semi.
Every year, there’s a song that stirs me to the point of tears, and this year, Armenia was the one that tugged, no, pulled my heartstrings really hard. The lyrics blew me away, the growth in the instrumental arrangement was just right, and Sevak’s powerful, emotional rendition made me fall in love with this song. I sadly believe that people won’t vote for it because they prefer electronica or something with more “fun” in it, but I’m sincerely wishing it makes it to the final. I think it deserves it. It’s like Molitva in 2007; the emotional ballad standing out… Read more »
The thing is that most of Semi 1 songs are not electronica or chickensanity. That why it’s a difficult semi. Also Armenia’s song became pretty digitalized too after the revamp (the end of the song especially).
I think you liked the portmanteau I made up (high five for using chickensanity). I’ve heard all the versions that came out, and there are more instruments in it, but what stood the most for me was the electric guitar in it (and the electronic drumkit)
Yes, thumbs up for the chickensanity 😀
Does Angus like any song? 😛
Probably Israel’s Chickensanity
What’s that suppose to mean?
Israel has the best song.
‘I don’t care about your “modern time preachers”
Welcome boys, too much noise, I will teach ya’
Speak as much as you want, Israel will win.