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Biography
Inga & Anush: Biography
Inga and Anush Ashoti Arshakyan, known as the Arshakyan Sisters, are a famous Armenian folk singing duo. They represented Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and finished in 10th place in the final.
Early Life
Anush Arshakyan was born on December 24, 1980, in Yerevan. She graduated from S. Aslamazyan music school, specializing in piano. In 1994, she won first place and the audience prize in the “Sonorous Voices” competition in Omsk. Anush started promoting herself as a writer and composer. After finishing her studies in 2001, she graduated from A. Babajanyan music college, also in piano. She debuted as a soloist with the Armenia State Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus in 1999. From 2001 to 2005, she studied jazz vocals at Yerevan State Conservatory.
Her sister, Inga Arshakyan, was born on March 18, 1982, in Yerevan. She graduated from S. Aslamazyan music school and A. Babajanyan music college as a violinist in 1997. While studying, Inga worked in the G. Achemyan violin ensemble and toured Armenian provinces. In 1998, Inga joined Anush, and together they started performing duets and arias, where the violin played a significant role. Inga graduated in strings in 2002 and followed her sister into the Yerevan State Conservatory, where she studied jazz vocals, graduating in 2005.
Career
In 2000, Inga and Anush joined the State Song Theater of Armenia. They performed national, ethnic songs and songs written by A. Grigoryan and Anush. They sang as soloists in many cities across Armenia.
In September 2002, they went to the United States for a concert tour with song theater soloists. After performing at the “Alex” Theatre in Los Angeles, they received an offer to return for solo concerts. They also performed in Tehran with the same program.
In 2002, the Armenian variety song festival Golden Lyre awarded Anush and Inga the “Sympathy of Audience” nomination. In February 2003, they prepared the concert program “Seasons of Life,” which included ethnic, national, and modern songs, along with songs accompanied by violin, guitar, and piano.
In March 2003, Inga and Anush had solo concerts at the “Alex” Theater, and their first album, “We and Our Mountains,” was released. This led to invitations to perform in New York City, Toronto, Argentina, and Paris. In November, they left the theater staff to work independently.
In 2004, their rendition of the folk song “Tamzara” won the Golden Lyre 2004 festival and the Tigran Naghdalyan award at the National Music Awards in December 2005. The song’s video was released the same year and included on their second album, “Tamzara,” in 2006.
Following the release of “Tamzara,” they toured the USA, Tehran, London, Paris, Russia, and Germany. From 2008, Inga and Anush started working with SHARM Holding LLC.
Their third studio album, “Heartbeat of My Land,” was released in November 2009. The single “Menq Enq Mer Sarerệ” was chosen as the 2009 song for the annual Armenian Telethon, under the name “Our Shushi.” They performed at the televised show on November 26, 2009. On May 21, Inga and Anush began a tour to promote “Heartbeat of My Land,” with shows in Yerevan, Syria, Beirut, and Russia.
Eurovision Song Contest 2009
The Arshakyan Sisters were chosen by the Armenian public on February 14, 2009, to represent Armenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow with the song “Jan Jan.” The song was composed by Mane Akopyan, with lyrics by Avet Barseghyan and Vardan Zadoyan, and arranged by Ara (Murzo) Torosyan. They aimed to present Armenian folk music in a new way.
“Jan Jan” advanced from the first semi-final on May 12 and finished in 10th place with 92 points in the final on May 16. Despite being Armenia’s less successful performance at Eurovision up to that point, it marked the country’s fourth consecutive top-ten finish. “Jan Jan” also entered the Pmachinery Top 30 chart, peaking at number 3 on August 1, 2009, and remained on the chart for 16 weeks.
Eurovision Song Contest 2015
Inga represented Armenia again in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 as a member of the group Genealogy.
Discography and Videography
Inga and Anush’s discography includes their first album, “We and Our Mountains,” released in 2003, followed by “Tamzara” in 2006. In 2009, they released “Heartbeat of My Land,” and in 2014, they came out with “Sketches.” Their singles include popular tracks like “Tamzara,” “Khlpane,” “Marry Song,” “Jan Jan,” “Gutan,” “The Road,” “You Will Not Be Alone,” “Don Hay,” “We Are Our Mountains,” “Love Yerevan,” “My Name is Armenia,” “Hay Hay [Hye hye],” and “Aysor Ton E”. They released a new single in 2019, “Dzyan heqiat”, from their 2018 album “Tsari”. In 2019 they also performed in Boston, United States.
In 2019 the sisters started as vocal coaches. In 2021 they came up with a new children’s project, Hay Notes.
They also produced a live concert video in 2006, titled “Inga & Anush.Live concert,” and in 2011, they released a video for “The Road.” Both sisters played a role in the movie 3 weeks in Yerevan, released in 2016.
Awards
In 2015, Inga and Anush won the “Best Video” category at the Armenian Pulse Music Awards in Yerevan. They won the Special Van Music Award in 2016 for the song “Aprelu April”. They were judges themselfs in Depi Evratesil 2017, the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest.
