Arpine Martoyan (; born 10 January 2007), known professionally as Maléna (), 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 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The contest was held on 19 December 2021 at La Seine Musicale in Paris, France, followi ...

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 known simply as Junior Eurovision, is an international children's Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 2003. Each part ...

Early life and education

Born in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

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 violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

Career

2018–2022: 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 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 Warsaw ...

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 occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involvi ...

. 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, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 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 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV). The contest took place on ...

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

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

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, 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 Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

, in

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Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. 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.

2022–present

On 23 October 2022, Maléna released a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of c ...

of the song " Cheri Cheri Lady" by German band

Modern Talking Modern Talking was a German pop duo consisting of arranger, songwriter and producer Dieter Bohlen and singer Thomas Anders. They have been referred to as Germany's most successful pop duo, and have had a number of hit singles, reaching the to ...

. In February 2023, the song went viral on

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Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, reaching the top of the

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and Top 50 Viral on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

in Vietnam. On 26 February, the song reached the general Top 50 songs in Vietnam on Spotify. The song debuted at number 72 on the ''Billboard'' Vietnam Hot 100 list published on 2 March 2023. In 2022, she was appointed the

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

Armenia Goodwill Ambassador. During the

, held on 11 December 2022, she premiered her new single "Can't Feel Anything". In May 2023, she was selected as Armenia's spokesperson to announce Armenian jury results in the grand final of

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, as , the winner of the with the song "Stefania (song), Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, was unable to host the eve ...

. In October 2023, she was revealed as one of the co-writers for the Armenia's

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 21st edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster France Télévisions. The contest took place on 26 November 2023 at the P ...

entry, "Do It My Way" by Yan Girls. At the contest, held in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the song reached 3rd place. In October 2024, it was revealed that she also co-wrote Armenian

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024 was the 22nd edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster RTVE, Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE). The contest took place on 16 No ...

entry, "Cosmic Friend" by Leo.Armenia 2024: Leo releases 'Cosmic Friend'
/ref> On the 8th of December Malena performed a cover of Ervum etn by Komitas and won an award at the Armenian Music Videos Awards 2024. On the 16th of February Malena performed her song Flashing Lights at the Armenian Selection for Eurovision 2025.

Artistry

Influences

Maléna is inspired by

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and R&B music. She pointed out

Jaden Smith Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born July 8, 1998) is an American rapper and actor. The son of Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith, he has received various accolades, including a Teen Choice Award, an MTV Movie Award, a BET Award and a Young A ...

and

Rosalía Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish Pop music, pop and flamenco singer. She has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. After being enthral ...

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 Armenian pop singers Armenian women pop singers Women guitarists Cellists Living people 21st-century Armenian women singers 2007 births Junior Eurovision Song Contest winners UNICEF goodwill ambassadors