Armenia’s entry song for Eurovision Song Contest 2019 premiered on March 10! “Walking out” was composed by two Armenian music artists “Lost Capital” and “tokionine”. The lyrics were written by Garik Papoyan, who has also written Aram MP3’s “Not Alone”. “When I first heard the melody, visions flashed before my eyes. Events that haven’t yet become memories... I realized that this fight and the collapse of the emotions inside me have to be reflected in my song. I want to tell myself and everybody else: “Don’t kill love, but don’t let it kill you” - said Srbuk. The song represents a conflict of emotions, a monologue that can quickly turn into a dialogue. Questions with no answers, a fight within yourself, a power and determination to move on.

French-Armenian singer and songwriter Charles Aznavour has died at 94 after a career lasting more than 80 years, a spokesman has confirmed. The star died at one of his homes in the south east of France. The performer, born to Armenian parents, sold more than 180 million records and featured in over 60 films. He was best known for his 1974 hit She and was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017. Aznavour married three times and had six children. He was named entertainer of the century by CNN in 1998. Thousands of fans from around the world have paid their respects on Twitter, including some celebrities.

Armenia was one of two featured countries at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival last week in Washington D.C., and members of Los Angeles's own strong Armenian community were among those celebrating their rich musical heritage. It was so, so humid at the festival Friday — though, at 90 degrees, a bit cooler than the heat wave we had out here. Singer Samvel Galstian and his group performed a set of Armenian folk songs in a jazz setting. Vardan Ovsepian — an Armenian-American pianist based in L.A. who played with the group — said it may be surprising, but Armenian and American music have a lot in common. Zulal, a female trio that sings Armenian folk a cappella, also performed at the festival.

Onnik Dinkjian, 88 years old, remains America’s most renowned Armenian folk and liturgical singer. He has preserved Armenian folk songs from the villages of Anatolia in Eastern Turkey, especially in the unique dialect from his ancestral city of Diyarbekir, known as Dikranagerd to Armenians. Dinkjian is among the last few hundred people who speak this endangered dialect. For this concert, Onnik and Ara are joined by an ensemble of outstanding instrumentalists: Tamer Pinarbasi (kanun), Ismail Lumanovski (clarinet), Pablo Vergara (keyboard), Panagiotis Andreou (bass), Engin Gunaydin (percussion).