Eva Rivas — Biography

Eva Rivas, whose birth name is Valerya Reshetnikova-Tsaturyan, is a performer and model with roots in Russia and Armenia, and her grandmother carried Greek ancestry. Her journey to international recognition began on February 14, 2010, when she emerged victorious in Armenia's national selection process. This win secured her the opportunity to represent Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest held that year. Her entry was a song titled "Apricot Stone." There were whispers that composer Yakup Mutlu perceived a political subtext within the lyrics, relating to the Armenian Genocide. However, this interpretation was countered by Rivas' PR manager, Hayk Markosyan, who conveyed that composer Karen Kavaleryan had no such intentions. Kavaleryan himself clarified that the song was unrelated to the genocide. To boost her song's profile in the lead-up to the contest, Rivas undertook promotional visits to several European nations. Later, she harbored aspirations of participating in the Eurovision Song Contest once more in 2012, but Armenia's absence from the competition that year prevented this.