Ladaniva

Zhaklin Baghdasaryan was born in 1997 in Eghegnazor, Armenia. She grew up in Minsk, Belarus, before immigrating to France with her mother in 2014. Zhaklin has been singing since her early childhood and, after moving to Tourcoing, France, she enrolled at the Lille Conservatory.

Louis Thomas, born in 1987 in Lille, France, comes from a family of musicians and is an accomplished jazz musician. Like Zhaklin, he attended the Lille Conservatory. In 2018, Jaklin and Louis met by chance during a jam session at l’Intervalle, a music bar in Old Lille.

In 2019, they founded the world music band Ladaniva in Lille, France. The band draws its musical inspiration from around the world, particularly from the traditional music of the Balkans, Maloya, and Armenian folklore. The name “Ladaniva” is derived from a very rustic Russian 4×4, the Lada Niva.

During the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns in March and April 2020, Ladaniva released two videos, “Vay Aman” and “Zepyuri Nman,” which gained significant popularity, especially within the Armenian community. Following this success, their video clip “Kef Chilini” quickly amassed 18 million views.

In 2023, Ladaniva released their debut album, which is self-titled and was produced and distributed by [PIAS].

On March 9, 2024, it was announced that Ladaniva would represent Armenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. Their song was called “Jako”. Ladaniva reached the final with the song and did pretty well there, ending up in 8th place.