Siranush Hrachyayi Harutyunyan (Armenian:Սիրանուշ Հրաչյայի Հարությունյան; born 7 January 1987), known professionally asSirusho (Armenian:Սիրուշո), is anArmenian singer and songwriter. She received her first award when she was nine years old for her song "Lusabats". Sirusho's first studio album,Sirusho, was released in 2000 followed by the second albumSheram in 2005. In the same year, she was awarded the Future of Armenian Music, Best Album and Best Female Performer awards in the first Armenian National Music Awards.^[1]

Sirusho
Սիրուշո
Sirusho in the music video for "PreGomesh" in 2012
Born	Siranush Harutyunyan (1987-01-07)7 January 1987 (age 38) Yerevan,Armenian SSR,Soviet Union
Occupations	Singer songwriter jewelry designer
Years active	1995–present
Spouse	Levon Kocharyan ​ (m. 2009)​
Children	3
Parents	Hrachya Harutyunyan (father) Syuzan Margaryan (mother)
Website	sirusho.com

Sirusho reached international recognition after representing Armenia in theEurovision Song Contest 2008 with her co-written song "Qélé, Qélé" inBelgrade, Serbia.^[2] The song finished fourth in the final and became a hit in Europe. TheBBC described her as "national treasure" ofArmenia during the contest.^[3]

In 2012, Sirusho released the single "PreGomesh", which inspired her to launch a range of handcrafted silver jewelry of the same name, representingArmenian culture and craftsmanship mixed with modern fashion trends.^[4] Sirusho is the first Armenian artist to be twice-nominated atWorld Music Awards with "PreGomesh".^[5]

In 2013,W magazine featured Sirusho in their list of "6 un-American idols", with the author saying "the door is still open for Sirusho to introduce the world to a sound and language largely unknown in the West".^[6][7] In 2017, Sirusho was awarded with the title ofHonored Artist of Armenia upon the decree of PresidentSerzh Sargsyan.^[8] Sirusho's musical style reflects the Armenian traditional sounds mixed with modern music.

Sirusho was born inYerevan,Soviet Armenia, on January 7, 1987,^[9] to actor and directorHrachya Harutyunyan, andSyuzan Margaryan, one of the most popular singers in Armenia in the 1980s-1990s.^[10] Sirusho won her first award as a child at the Armenian National Music Awards for her performance of "Lusabats", an Armenian folk song written in the early 20th century byKomitas. At the age of seven, Sirusho began to write her own music and lyrics inArmenian and English.^[10][11] At the age of nine she won another award at the Young Talents Contest for one of her own compositions. She released her first studio albumSirusho at the age of 13.^[10] Sirusho graduated from Yerevan's Khachik Dashtents School #114 in 2004. She subsequently studied piano at the Sayat-Nova Music School^[10] and graduatedYerevan State University with excellence in international relations.^[1]

Although Sirusho mainly performed soul and pop for most of her career, she decided to work on an album of Armenian folk songs bygusan titledSheram, which was released in 2005.^[10] The album also included the single "Shorora", which was very well received. In 2005,Sheram was awarded the Best Album of the Year award at the Armenian National Music Awards. Sirusho also won the "Best Female Artist of the Year" award.

In 2006,Varduhi Vardanyan, a renowned Armenian singer, died. Varduhi has been a close friend of Sirusho's since her childhood. After her death, Sirusho dedicated a song titled "Mez Vochinch Chi Bazhani" ("Nothing Will separate Us"), which is included in Sirusho's album "Hima" ("Now"), to Varduhi.

Also in 2006, Sirusho received the award for Best Female Artist of the Year at the Annual Armenian-Russian Diaspora Music Awards held inMoscow, Russia. A few days later, she released her single "Heranum em" (Armenian:Հեռանում եմ) (I am leaving), which soon became a hit. The single was included in Sirusho's album "Hima", which also includes "Arjani E", a track with singerSofi Mkheyan.^[13] The album proved to be a breakthrough in Armenian music, unleashing a fresh wave of mixingsoul music andR&B with traditional instruments such asduduk,dhol, andzurna. Sirusho won the "Best Female Artist of the Year" award at theArmenian Music Awardscommunity at theKodak Theatre inHollywood. Sirusho received her fourth Best Female Artist award at the 2008 Armenian national Music Awards.^[14]

Sirusho was chosen to represent Armenia in theEurovision Song Contest 2008. She performed "Qele Qele", which was co-produced by the Canadian Armenian composer DerHova. The song entered the first semi-final on May 20 and advanced to the final which took place on May 24, 2008 inBelgrade. Sirusho took the 4th place with 199 points, and still remains the only Armenian participant who has received the most number of 12 points. During the official after-party following the final, the four winners of the Marcel Bezençon Award 2008 were announced and prizes were given out. They presented a new Fan Award by Swedish website Gylleneskor.se.^[15] Readers of the site had the opportunity to vote online for their favorite 2008 artist. "Qélé, Qélé" became a hit for Eurovision Song Contest-following fans around the world, especially inGreek-speaking areas. The 'Yerevan Remix' version of the song was regularly played in Greek clubs, onLondon Greek Radio in the United Kingdom, and in an episode of the Greek and CyprusX Factor television series.^[16]

On April 1, 2009, Sirusho released the song "Erotas"—also known as "Erotas Ksafnikos" (Sudden Love)—an up-tempo dance song with heavy traditional Greeklaiko influence sung entirely inGreek. It was composed by singerHayko and written byNatalia Germanou.^[17] Sirusho performed the song live at the Tashir Armenian Awards ceremony in April 2009.^[18]Erotas went on to become a number-one hit on the Armenian Singles Chart.^[19]

In 2009 Sirusho recorded a song dedicated to peace along with the participants of Eurovision 2008;Boaz Mauda andJelena Tomasevic, representing Israel and Serbia, respectively. "Time To Pray" was released in May; its lyrics were written by the President of Israel,Shimon Peres.^[20]

In February 2010, Sirusho performed her new songHavatum em (I Believe) at the Armenian national selection forEurovision Song Contest 2010. The lyrics and the music are written by Sirusho. At the end of February she was invited to Malta as a special guest to perform at the Maltese Eurovision selection. During the visit she appeared on local television shows and took part in the Maltese annual charity, performingHavatum em.^[21]

Sirusho's fourth official studio album,Havatum em, was released in mid-2010 along with new singles. The album includes previously released songsErotas, the title track,Time to Pray, new songs, and songs she had written for the Armenian national final for Eurovision 2008. During an interview in Malta with esctoday.com, Sirusho was asked whether she would return to the Eurovision Song Contest; she said if people and her fanbase want her to, she will return to represent Armenia again.^[22]

In September 2011, the first single from Sirusho's upcoming studio album, "I Like It", was released on iTunes. The video was released on 11 November that year.^[23] On December 3, Sirusho was special guest inJunior Eurovision Song Contest 2011 held inYerevan. She performedDerHova's Yerevan Remix ofQélé, Qélé.^[24]

On December 10, 2012, Sirusho unveiled the new single "PreGomesh", a dance track co-written by her andAvet Barseghyan. The song was inspired by an Armenian folk song "Lorva Gutanerg", which was preserved byKomitas. The video is reviving Armenian traditions and presenting them in a modern way.^[25] In the same month, Russian singerGrigory Leps released his new album featuring the song “Судьба Зима” written by Sirusho.^[26]

Sirusho andSakis Rouvas announced they were to record and release a duet song "See" in October 2013.^[27] In 2014, she was nominated for The Best Armenian Singer, The Best Armenian Song and The Best Armenian Music Video atWorld Music Awards. Mixing traditions of different generations, Sirusho released the remake of "Tariner" (Armenian:Տարիներ) ("Years") with her compatriotHarout Pamboukjian. On November 9 Sirusho's first solo concert took place atNokia Theater,Los Angeles, U.S.

In 2015 Sirusho released new song "Kga Mi Or"^[28] ("Where Were You"^[29]) dedicated to the100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The song was released in Armenian and English, and both versions were available oniTunes. She also released a video^[30] for the song.

In January 2016, Sirusho released a new single "Mi Togh Indz Menak" (Do released Leave Me Alone) along with its music video.^[31] In August 2016 she performed live atBarclaycard Arena inHamburg, Germany, and was announced as the Best Armenian Female Act at Daf BAMA Music Awards and performedQele Qele (Remix version).^[32][33] In the same month Sirusho announced the upcoming release of her new album calledArmat (Root) that would represent the Armenian culture.^[34] In 2017 Sirusho released a new summer hit song "Vuy Aman" together with Armenian-American singer, songwriter,Sebu Simonian of theCapital Cities band.^[35] She performed at the opening ceremony of the2019 CONIFA European Football Cup in thede factoRepublic of Artsakh.^[36] In 2021, Sirusho released a collaboration single titled "Stay" featuring Norwegian singerAlexander Rybak, who won the2009 Eurovision Song Contest.^[37]

In 2022, Sirusho has participation in the creation of foundation named after Armenian eminent and beloved artistHayko. The purpose of Hayko Hakobyan foundation is to save and publish Hayko’s musical heritage. In August 2022, Sirusho has participated and sang during the concert dedicated to the celebration of Hayko's 49th birthday.

On June 6, 2009, Sirusho marriedLevon Kocharyan, the son of Armenia's second presidentRobert Kocharyan.^[38] Their first son, Robert, was born in 2014. They welcomed their second son, Michael, in May 2016.^[39][40] Their third child and first daughter, Zabelle, was born in June 2022.

Sirusho endorsedRobert Kocharyan and theArmenia Alliance party in the2021 Armenian parliamentary election, and performed on Kocharyan's behalf during his campaign.^[41][42]

She is a supporter ofThe Republic of Artsakh's independence. During the 2009Eurovision Song Contest, after the removal of an image of theWe Are Our Mountains statue located in the capital city ofStepanakert from Armenia's introductory postcard, she taped a photo of the statue to her clipboard and stood in front of the statue's image while presenting Armenia’s votes.^[43] Following the display, The National Security Committee ofAzerbaijan seized tele-voting records and interrogated forty-threeAzerbaijani citizens that voted for Armenia that year.^[44] During the2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, she stated on social media that her husband was "in Artsakh" and she would be engaging in volunteer efforts at the border.

She supports global recognition of theArmenian Genocide, a common theme in her work.^[45] During a documentary series filmed in 2017, she detailed how she and her crew were forced to leave their recording equipment at the Armenian border and denied permits to film a music video for "Der Zor", a song about the Genocide, inAni. The music video, as well as documentary footage covering its recording, was done on iPhones, sparking controversy in Turkey.^[46]

• Sirusho (2000)
• Sheram (2005)
• Hima (2007)
• Havatum Em (2010)
• Armat (2016)

• Official website