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Armenia ARMENIA 2020 - Athena Manoukian - Chains on You

How do you rate this entry?

  • 12

    20 13.4%
  • 10

    8 5.4%
  • 8

    16 10.7%
  • 7

    10 6.7%
  • 6

    15 10.1%
  • 5

    9 6.0%
  • 4

    21 14.1%
  • 3

    8 5.4%
  • 2

    11 7.4%
  • 1

    10 6.7%
  • 0

    21 14.1%

  • Total voters
    149

escYOUnited

Administrator
Joined
September 28, 2009
Posts
1,355
Armenia-scaled.jpg


 

Stargazer

Mod of All Things
Staff member
Joined
January 13, 2010
Posts
20,580
Location
Trollheimr / Westrobothnia
Sorry Armenia, I really can't stand this song. I usually don't give 0 points very often, but here we are. The monotonous "chains on you, chains on you" part of the song is especially ear-grating.
 

tuorem

Well-known member
Joined
January 17, 2012
Posts
9,592
Location
GN-z11
My review:

ARMENIA 2020 - Athena Manoukian - Chains on You = "Diversity honey!"

Kudos to Armenians for bringing a music style that's been prevalent for years and years out of the ESC bubble and - to my knowledge - rarely made its way to the contest, like many other genres. I won't risk describing the influences at work here, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear this mixture of layers that was enhanced by the revamp (Albania, take note!).

Armenia love their fierce female soloist and Athena is no exception. The verses are my highlights, I love the super crisp instrumentation and the fact it changes throughout the song. If I had to be picky, I'd say the pre-choruses are the weaker links of the chain (pun intended), but nothing significant enough for it to be a flaw for me.

Also, I like that it goes off the beaten path a little compared to what they've sent previously: yet it remains dark and it's got attitude.

Prediction-wise, I'm not sure what to think. I remember the MV was great, so I hope some good staging was planned (unlike in 2019...). I have no idea about how competent Athena is live, and it's key in this instance because it's a tricky song to pull off imo. It probably would have been among the borderline qualifiers with a 40/60 chance of failing to qualify, which would have been a shame because it's among the most qualitative entries of semi 2 imho. It's always an uphill struggle when one goes out of the purely pop territory.

In any case, the song is dope af, I awarded it 12 points in the poll months ago, so it'll be in my top 10 for sure. Hopefully Armenia will keep experimenting next year and not fall into the trap of going the safe route like way too many countries do.
 
Last edited:

Iker

Veteran
Joined
March 13, 2018
Posts
3,415
I've always thought that this song reminded me some other song but I cannot pinpoint which one. But today I was in a mood for Fergie and I gotta say that Chains On You are pretty similar to London Bridge (Oh Snap). That instrumental and the chorus are probably inspired by that.

I still have a soft spot for Athena's entry maybe because I like this ~2007 style in pop music.
 

Iker

Veteran
Joined
March 13, 2018
Posts
3,415
My review:

ARMENIA 2020 - Athena Manoukian - Chains on You = "Diversity honey!"

Kudos to Armenians for bringing a music style that's been prevalent for years and years out of the ESC bubble and - to my knowledge - rarely made its way to the contest, like many other genres. I won't risk describing the influences at work here, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear this mixture of layers that was enhanced by the revamp (Albania, take note!).

Armenia love their fierce female soloist and Athena is no exception. The verses are my highlights, I love the super crisp instrumentation and the fact it changes throughout the song. If I had to be picky, I'd say the pre-choruses are the weaker links of the chain (pun intended), but nothing significant enough for it to be a flaw for me.

Also, I like that it goes off the beaten path a little compared to what they've sent previously: yet it remains dark and it's got attitude.

Prediction-wise, I'm not sure what to think. I remember the MV was great, so I hope some good staging was planned (unlike in 2019...). I have no idea about how competent Athena is live, and it's key in this instance because it's a tricky song to pull off imo. It probably would have been among the borderline qualifiers with a 40/60 chance of failing to qualify, which would have been a shame because it's among the most qualitative entries of semi 2 imho. It's always an uphill struggle when one goes out of the purely pop territory.

In any case, the song is dope af, I awarded it 12 points in the poll months ago, so it'll be in my top 10 for sure. Hopefully Armenia will keep experimenting next year and not fall into the trap of going the safe route like way too many countries do.
Unfortunately they have withdrawn very late! Hopefully thet will come back next year
 

Milos-BC

Well-known member
Joined
September 28, 2009
Posts
12,447
Location
Serbia
I have mixed feelings about this song. I dislike it, in general, but there are some sections that I actually like. Perhaps it had a chance of qualifying, but in the final, it wouldn't have ended higher than 20th place.

3 points.
 
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