TV: "Hamazgayin Astgh"

by Shahane Martirosyan

Once upon a time, Tata Simonyan visited America and witnessed the American Idol and he thought to himself, “Es Amerikaciner inchov en mer Hayeric lav?”

He decided to come up with a similar television program for Armenians. He, however, decided to make it grander by making it internationally Armenian, hence producing a show called the Hamazgayin Astgh (National Star).

There is a good chance this is not how Simonyan decided to come up with the program, but one can assume so.

Either way, the Hamazgayin Astgh became the most watched Armenian produced show around the world. The program, similar to the Idol, had numerous Armenians auditioning all over the world to compete in hopes of becoming the first Hamazgayin Astgh.

From the pool of 700 aspiring national stars, the producers, with great assistance from the viewers, narrowed the list down to 15 incredibly talented performers from all over the world. The audience at home played an integral role in choosing the Hamazgayin Astgh by texting in their choices.

The show was produced by Grigor Nazaryan with assistance from music editor Armen Toroyan and music producer Ara Torosyan. Lilit Margaryan was the personal stylist for the finalists.

The 15 finalists were: Nick Egibyan from Yerevan, Ruzanna Andriasyan from Hrazdan, Arbi Gharibian from Tehran, Lilit Safarian from Yerevan, Gregory Yesayan from Barnaul, Johnny Karapetyan from Aparan, Ognessa Sarkissova from Tbilisi, Armen Sargsyan from Abovyan, Ishkhan Khachatryan from Echmiadzin, Emma Aznavouryan from Yerevan, Apeh Jan from Los Angeles, Vardan Badalyan from Martakert, Lilit Hakobyan from Kajaran, Arthur Best from Moscow and Anna Azatyan from Gyumri.

The contestants were not only diverse regionally, but they were varied in their musical background and musical styles, ranging from Rabiz, to ballads, to hip-hop.

For the show, all of the contestants lived in a house together and their lives were documented for four months as they worked to produce and perform songs in front of live audiences.

In one episode, they were assigned to perform a Tata Simonyan song. Considering the fact that some of the performers had already performed a few of Simonyan’s songs, the task did not seem to be too out of the ordinary.

However, there were a couple of contestants whose musical styles clashed with Tata’s style. These contestants were Apeh Jan and Arthur Best.

Surprisingly, the rendition of Tata’s songs by these two artists turned out to be highlights of the show. In addition, both of the artists went on to take the top spots.

As they worked and lived together, the contestants became close friends all at the same time. Apeh Jan, who represented Los Angeles in the program, was one of the performers who did not live at home with everyone else, however, he confirms that he made many good friends during the whole process.

“Once you talk to them, they’re all Armenian,” Apeh Jan said of the welcoming attitude of the contestants. Hamazgayin Astgh was a success on many levels. Aside from the fact that the show had the most talented Armenians from around the globe participating in it, it brought Armenians together. First, the contestants gathered in Armenia, the homeland. Second, every other Armenian anywhere in the world was able to watch them shine.

Apeh Jan said that although it was different for him to live in Armenia for four months, he found it easy to adapt: “You feel like you’re at home, but you’re not home.” The show began in August and ended in November. In four months, the producers of the show were able to find the national star they were looking for.

Arthur Best from Moscow received the Grand Prize as he became the first Hamazgayin Astgh. Three of the contestants - Johnny Karapetyan from Abovyan, Anna Baztyan from Gyumry, and Apeh Jan from Los Angeles - were given gold medals.