THIS YEAR'S ENTRY

 SELECTION
Armenian broadcaster AMPTV was known to be disappointed with the lack of sanction taken against Azerbaijan, following voting irregularities in that country during the 2009 contest and there were doubts on Armenia having an entry in Oslo. However in late 2009, participation was confirmed and an open selection was announced.

The Armenian Final was held on February 14th at the Opera Theatre in Yerevan, hosted by Gohar Gasparyan & Khoren Levonyan. The winner was chosen by text voting and a jury. Having finished 1st in the public vote and second with the jury, Eva Rivas and "Apricot Stone" won the Armenia ticket to Oslo.

 BIOGRAPHY
Eva Rivas was born on July 13, 1987 in Rostov-na-Donu and will represent Armenia in this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

In 1996-2004 she used to be a soloist of one of the most famous ensembles in Rostov called Arevik. As a member of the aforementioned choir she sang both classical and variety songs, as well as Russian and foreign compositions. As a solo singer, Eva was repeatedly a laureate in different contests and compositions. In 2000 the ensemble Arevik was awarded the title Ensemble of the Year.

The year 2005 marked a year of new achievements in the life of Eva. She was awarded the titles of Golden Voice of Rostov and Miss Pearl of Don. Likewise, she gained the title of Vice-Miss of the Caucasus in Yerevan. The same year, during the annual ceremony Armenian Song of the Year , she won the first prize. In 2008, Eva started a cooperation with the Armenian Production producing centre and is currently busy recording a full CD. Last year, Eva shot a video clip of the song Tamam Ashkharh made by Bookhadir Yuldeshev, a director of a great number of foreign video-clips and a series of films. The process of shooting took place in Armenia, Afghanistan, Algeria and Uzbekistan for 17 days. The clip gained wide acclaim both within Armenia as well as abroad.

The composers of Eva's song in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest Apricot Stone are Armen Martirosyan and Karen Kavaleryan, famous for their work both in Armenia and abroad with Karen having already participated six times as a lyricist in the Eurovision Song Contest.

 REACTION
While "Apricot Stone" was one of the two favourites to win the Armenian selection, the live performance was a little underwhelming. Eva has concentrated her promotional activities in Eastern and Southern Europe and is doing very well in some internet polls, but less well in others. Bookmakers have Armenia among the favourites to qualify from the second semi-final, and in the Top 5 countries to win the contest in Oslo, although in a very open market, you can still get 16/1 on an American victory.

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