Having qualified automatically for the finals, this year Armenia will be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest by Hayko with his romantic ballad Anytime you need.
Hayko was chosen at the Armenian national final by a professional jury. The competition was open to songwriters from all over Europe. At the same time Haykowas also selected as the favoriteby the Armenian televoters, something that did not have any direct influence on the selection of the entry by the jury, though.
Hayko is one of Armenia’s biggest music stars. First he was trained at the music school by T. Chukhadjyan. Before attending the Yerevan state Conservatory, he was educated in the music college under the guidance of Romanos Melikyan. Having been awarded the first place at the Moskva 96 (Moscow 1996) Music Festival, Hayko achieved more victories in the following years. In 1997 he won the 1st prize at the Big Apple Festival in New York. In 1998 he was acknowledged as the best singer-songwriter at the "Ayo" competition. In 1999 Hayko released his first album, called Romances in which Armenian urban songs were included. In the same year he was nominated for the best singer award in Armenia, followed by 2002 nominations at the National Music Show, in the categories the Best Singer, the Best Musical Project and the Best Album. A year later, in 2003 he released his ‘ best of’ album on DVD, and gave his first solo concert at the ‘Alex Theatre’ in Glendale, California USA.
Returning home with the energy he received from his American fans, Hayko gave a solo performance in Yerevan in May 2003 and recorded his ‘ Live Concert’ DVD. In the same year he released his first album written by himself, Norits (Again), and received the best singer award at the Armenian National Music Awards. A year later, in 2004 Hayko released his fourth album In One Word, followed by his 2006 Best singer Award at the Armenian National Music Awards.
Hayko’s big efforts and decisive steps in his career established him as one of Armenia’s biggest singers and songwriters. The Music of Anytime you need is composed by Hayko, himself. The lyrics of the song are written by Karen Kavaleryan who is a well-known songwriter for the Eurovision Song Contest. Kavaleryan was the author of the lyrics of Russia’s 2006 and 2002 Eurovision entries Never let you go and Northern Girl. This year he has achieved a remarkable double as along with the Armenian entry he has written the lyrics of Belarus’ Eurovision song Work Your Magic.
Anytime you need is predominantly in English.The chorus in the Armenian language, which will be heard at the contest for the first time. Along with two other automatic finalists Armenia has chosen it’s position in the running order: Hayko will perform second last at the final.
Hayko's revamped official site can be found here. In his site we are informed that he is planning ''crazy tours all over the world", so stay tuned!
