Arpine Martoyan ( hy, Արփինե Մարտոյան; born 10 January 2007), known professionally as Maléna ( hy, Մալենա), is an Armenian singer and songwriter. She represented Armenia in the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 19th edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by France Télévisions and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The contest was held on 19 December 2021 at La Seine Musical ...

with the song "", and went on to win the competition, becoming the second Armenian entrant to win the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (often shortened to JESC, Junior Eurovision or Junior EuroSong) is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003. It is held in a diff ...

Early life

Born in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

on 10 January 2007, Maléna was raised by her mother Anna Manucharyan, an actress. Together with her mother, she has appeared in several episodes of television comedy series '' Stone Cage''. Maléna studies at the Sayat-Nova music school, where she learned to play the

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

Career

Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Maléna first attempted to represent Armenia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018, taking part in the national selection ''Depi Mankakan Evratesil'' with the song "Par" under the name Arpi, placing 8th in the semi-final. Since 2020, Maléna has been collaborating with TKN Entertainment, a Yerevan-based record label owned by Tokionine. She was set to represent Armenia in the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was the 18th edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by Telewizja Polska (TVP) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The contest took place on 29 November 2020, and was held in ...

with the song "Why", but the country withdrew from the contest due to the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involving Azerbai ...

. She was again selected the following year to represent Armenia in the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, France with the song "Qami Qami" ("Wind, Wind" in Armenian). The song, described as " space-pop", was composed by Tokionine and was written by Vahram Petrosyan, Tokionine, David Tserunyan and Maléna herself. While talking about co-writing the song and the message of it, Maléna said: "I’d never think that I’d be writing lyrics that one day would be shared with such a big audience. It’s such a huge honor. The song is about finding yourself and finding a way to keep going. Don’t you ever think of falling down again…always be true to who you are". Maléna won the contest with 224 points, becoming the second Armenian entrant to win the competition, first being in . As a result of her win, Armenia earned the right to host the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 20th edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest. The contest took place in Yerevan, Armenia on 11 December 2022, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Maléna. Or ...

. In May 2022, Maléna made an appearance during the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

, Italy, announcing

as the host city for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022. Following her win, she received the Armenian Scholarship for a summer program at the Berklee College of Music, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. In addition, she performed her winning song at the

Armenian Heritage Park Armenian Heritage Park is a memorial park dedicated to the victims of the Armenian genocide located on Parcel 13 on the Rose Kennedy Greenway between Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Christopher Columbus Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The Park inclu ...

in Boston, on 31 July 2022.

Artistry

Influences

Maléna is inspired by pop and R&B music. She pointed out

Jaden Smith Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born July 8, 1998), also known mononymously as Jaden, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He has received various accolades, including a Teen Choice Award, an MTV Movie Award, a BET Award and a Young Artis ...

and

Rosalía Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish singer. Born and raised in the outskirts of Barcelona, she has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. ...

as her favourites, for their musical creations and visual style.

Discography

Singles

References

External links

Maléna
on ''Junioreurovision.tv'' {{Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 Armenian child singers Junior Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Armenia Living people 21st-century Armenian women singers 2007 births Junior Eurovision Song Contest winners