Silva Wins The Next Big Thing
After a somewhat dubious way of attracting online votes, Silva has won the BBC World Service’s The Next Big Thing. Of course, the BBC and the BBC World Service are not exactly the same as many Armenians here think, but anyway. Silva will now at least be better known among countries of the former Soviet Union, South America, Asia and the Middle East.
Armenian singer Silva has won the BBC World Service’s Next Big Thing competition with her song I Like.
The 17-year-old was chosen ahead of six other acts from around the world at the final, held in the BBC’s Maida Vale studios in London.
The judges praised I Like, which was composed by the singer’s sister Mane, as “fresh and new” and described her performance as “second to none.”
Even so, congratulations to Silva although like Simon at Blogian, I personally hated the song and didn’t think she sounded particularly good. Reminded me of poor quality Turkish or Middle Eastern pop music sung in broken English, but anyway.
I watched one of her music clips at Yerevannights.com afterwards and actually turned it off. It was horribleeeeeeee and she was very unattractive. And the clip seemed to be shot in America, although she lives in Armenia. So perhaps they had found an “American looking” place in Armenia to shot the clip at. That part was disgusting actually, because why the hell somebody would find a typical American neighborhood interesting and attractive.
Still, smart girl. Looks like she’s already got her sights set on geting the hell out of Hayastan, and who can blame her? Certainly, in terms of music, there is no genuine, sustainable or even significant market in place. There wouldn’t be in a poverty-stricken country of only 2-3 million, would there now?
“Everything has been great, from coming to London - which I love completely. I’d love to spend some more years here - and I can’t find the words to express how beautiful and wonderful it has been to be part of this.”
Well, congratulations, Silva, on winning the competition and good luck on your travels — wherever you end up. Hopefully, Armenians will not have so much of an inferiority complex next time by co-ercing each other to vote for any competitor with a “yan” at the end of their surname.
Just let competitions take their own course, guys. I’m sure any self-respecting artist worth their salt wouldn’t want it any other way. If someone deserves to win, they’re gonna do so anyway, right? Certainly, that’s how it should be.
Time to eat some crow Onnnik. Whether or not you like her music she won fair and square.
Comment by Liborale — December 10, 2006 @ 6:23 pm
Then great, which is what I wanted in the first place when others in Armenia and the Diaspora just wanted Armenians to vote en masse to win because of her ethnicity. So why the orchestrated campaign? Moreover, the song still stinks and winning in a competition that wasn’t very interesting anyway doesn’t really mean much to me at all.
As long as the decision was fair and square, as you say.
Now, I wonder, why on earth does the Diaspora get so overly involved in such matters but overlook real pressing concerns in Armenia today such as the general support for culture here, a lack of democracy, regression in the area of human rights, depopulation of Armenia and now, apparently, the Kashatagh region and so on?
It’s a joke. Really it is. In fact, the same people who have made it their personal business to push and support Silva are the same apologists and propagandists for an increasingly authoritarian state which most of the population want to leave. Like I said, if Silva won this competition, it was pretty crap to begin with.
And listening to the entries, I’d say that was pretty much the case.
Comment by Onnik — December 10, 2006 @ 6:34 pm
What a jumble of ideas and issues!
Look, culture embraces high and low, bad and good. It is a matter of taste. Armenia is just as entitled to bad pop culture as any country.
Likewise Armenians are just as entitled to back their own as any other people. In the first century Rabbi Hillel said: ‘If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when ?’ Blind nationalism and ethnocentrism are not good but there is nothing wrong with supporting someone from Armenia or with a ian/yan name. Talk of an orchestrated campaign is ludcirous. If you are from Manchester nobody would object if you support Manchester United; Jews in the diaspora support Israel, Isareali artists, pop stars, etc. those of Irish descent march on St. Patrick’s Day. and on and on.
Finally you keep referring to the Diaspora as some monolothic entity. Most in the Diaspora are unaware of this competition, dont know who Silva is and have very diverse views about the situation in Armenia.
Comment by Liborale — December 10, 2006 @ 7:15 pm
Well, I agree with most of what you say apart from the fact I always find it ironic when on the one hand Armenians criticize the Jews for all that you mention, and at another time, use them as a role model for the Diaspora.
Personally, I don’t like blind nationalism and see a difference between that and patriotism. I also see no problem in supporting someone Armenian if they have talent. Of course, that’s subjective which is why I’d be more of the mind to have simply said, “Hey, Silva is in the competition. If you like her song and think she deserves to win, why not vote for her?”
Instead, the logic was as follows. Good or bad, she’s Armenian and therefore it’s our duty to vote for her. Quite simply, no it isn’t. Anyway.
Comment by Onnik — December 10, 2006 @ 8:21 pm
Lets watch Armenians humiliate themselves, singing sexual melodies. As in, “I want to fuck you, but I don’t really know why,” the television made it sound like it was the right thing to do.
Colonialism has so many delectable seductions.
Comment by Armen — December 12, 2006 @ 9:11 am