Photo credit: Radar Agency
They were one of the last entrants to be announced for Eurovision 2024 and now Ladaniva are set to represent Armenia in Malmö! Read on to learn all about the duo, their career so far and their song ‘Jako’.
Who are Ladaniva?
Ladaniva are a French-Armenian musical duo consisting of singer Jaklin Baghdasaryan and multi-instrumentalist Louis Thomas. They started making music together in 2018, when they met by chance at a jam session in a music bar in Vieux-Lille, l’Intervalle.
The pair’s musical breakthrough came in 2020 when, while most of the world was under lockdown, they released the singles ‘Vay Aman’ and ‘Zepyuri Nman’. Thanks to the Armenian diaspora around the world, these songs enjoyed great success within Armenian communities which was only heightened with the release of ‘Kef Chilini’ which received 18 million views on YouTube within just a few months and has over 29 million views at the time of writing. You can watch ‘Kef Chilini’ below:
Ladiniva’s musical repertoire consists of music from around the world, particularly traditional Balkan music and elements of Armenian folklore but also music from Latin America, Africa and the genre Maloya which originated in Réunion. In 2022, the pair were awarded the Public Choice Prize at the Music Moves Europe awards, an accolade that has previously been won by Adele, Mumford & Sons and Dua Lipa.
‘Jako’ and the Journey to Eurovision
As is often the case for Armenia, their broadcaster AMPTV internally selected their entry, with the announcement of both song and artist occuring on 9th March. The Eurovision version of ‘Jako’ was released on 13th March but an earlier version of the song was originally released on 29th September 2023 as a track on the duo’s self-titled studio album.
The song’s title derives from singer Jaklin’s chidhood nickname ‘Jako’ and is centred around her wishes to live her own life as freely as she chooses. Despite the song’s sparse lyrics, this message is clearly articulated, with Jaklin singing “They tell me […] ‘Wear this, open that, hide this. Behave like a girl!’ But I’m a free girl. I will dance, and you will watch.” This message is also reinforced through the song’s music video, which includes a shot of Jaklin running away from pomegranates rolling down a hill. This fruit is commonly regarded as a fertility symbol, further implying that Jaklin is running away from the roles imposed on women in society to carve out her own path.
Armenia will perform in the first half of the second semi-final. Photographs of their first rehearsal reveal bright, colourful staging which you can see below:
We’ll certainly be wishing Ladaniva the best of luck in May!
You can follow Ladaniva on Instagram.
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