Armenia have had a relatively short history at Eurovision, but they are a nation we have become accustomed to seeing in the final. Out of 12 appearances, only twice have they missed out on the final, and one of those times was last year. In the hopes of bouncing back, Armenia internally selected Srbuk with the song Walking Out. Will it bring Armenia back to the final?
Song + Vocals
Srbuk was the first artist to be announced for Eurovision 2019, yet her song Walking Out was one of the last to be released. With the lengthy wait we had to hear this song, it would be assumed that the song would be an absolute masterpiece. Maybe that was the wrong assumption to have, as I don’t know that Walking Out has reached the bar I had set in my own mind.
Upon first listen, I thought the song was powerful and was overall impressed with what Armenia had to offer but as time went on, I found myself struggling to even remember the melody of the song. I don’t think this is the most memorable song of the semi-final, and perhaps being first in the running order will highlight that.
There are certain elements of this song that I do really enjoy, however, and one of them is the tinkle of the piano at the start of the song, and the contrast to the punchy first line. The beat is powerful, although at times feels like an uncomfortable tempo. I think this song has a good contrast with the instrumentals, especially in the pre-chorus and the bridge compared to the powerful beat in the verses and choruses.
What I don’t enjoy as much in this song is the melody. I find the melody in the verses to be jolty, and beyond that, I find it difficult to actually understand the lyrics even though it seems that the lyrics are enunciated. The chorus is slightly catchier, and a few times I have had the chorus stuck in my head, however it hasn’t been enough for me to gravitate towards this song. I also like the concept of the toned back bridge leading into the powerful chorus with a key change, but again the bridge feels mismatched to the song.
Srbuk has performed this song live, and there aren’t too many vocal issues here until the key change moment. She seems to be vocally good until there’s that opportunity to add extra notes, and at that point you would want some big belters to create that ‘wow’ moment but I don’t know that we will get those moments. Time will tell.
Act + Performance
Armenia have had success with strong female vocalists, so it’s unsurprising that they have decided to choose a strong female act. Armenia are also quite good at incorporating their traditional sounds into the songs, however this year doesn’t feature as much of that. Saying that, I do think that some of the cultural elements will come through with the staging, perhaps reminiscent of Artsvik with her song Fly With Me.
Being first in the running order, I would hope that Armenia have something big planned for their stage performance. It will ensure that Armenia are remembered from the start of the show until voting begins. I suspect we will see fashion forward costumes, and possibly a dark staging to mirror the music video.
Conclusions
I could have the unpopular opinion, but this song isn’t quite reaching the level I would have hoped. Saying that, I do think Armenia have a good path to the final, especially seeing as there are few stand out songs specifically in the first half of the running order. At this stage I do see Armenia in the final, but as for reaching the Top 10 if they make the final, I don’t feel too confident. This could change with staging, so we’ll have to wait and see what they pull out of the bag.
Rating
6/10
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