Eurovision 2024 Armenia entry: Jako lyrics in English, who are LADANIVA and odds to win

Having made it through the second Eurovision Song Contest semi-final on Thursday night, Armenia will be represented by LADANIVA during Saturday’s Grand Final.

Originally hailing from the French city of Lille near to the country’s border with Belgium, the world music duo is composed of French and Armenian musicians who take their inspiration from traditional Balkan music and their local folklore.

Armenian singer Jaklin Baghdasaryan and French multi-instrumentalist Louis Thomas first met at a jam session at a jazz bar in the French city in 2018 and began working together. They released their debut album last year.

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Speaking to FOX 11 last year about the duo’s origins, Jaklin said: “Louie was playing trumpet, and I was singing. And after we started to do the jazz together, and also we did our study in our conservatory together. And after one day, Louis heard that I am singing in Armenia. And he said, ‘let's do something with this,’ because he loved Armenian language and music.”

Their song Jako gets its title from a nickname Jaklin has had since she was a child. The duo said the song, which is sung entirely in Armenian, is about her "right to think freely and to be whoever she wants to be”.

Jaklin said the song is also about the limitations and social norms that are put on young girls in order to conform. She said the track is dedicated to "all the little Jakos in the world".

The Eurovision performance of the song sees the duo joined by a band as they wear traditional Armenian outfits, with a recurring theme of chickens appearing throughout the background graphics.

Armenia's odds of winning the contest were