Athena Manoukian Αθηνά ΜανουκιάνԱթենա Մանուկյան | |
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| Born | (1994-06-22)22 June 1994 (age 31) Athens, Greece |
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| Years active | 2007–present |
Athena Manoukian (Greek:Αθηνά Μανουκιάν[aθiˈnamanuˈcan];Armenian:Աթենա Մանուկյան[ɑtʰɛˈnɑmɑnuˈkjɑn]; born 22 June 1994) is a Greek singer and songwriter. She was set torepresent Armenia in theEurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Chains on You" prior to the contest's cancellation.
Manoukian was born on 22 June 1994 inAthens, Greece, toArmenian parents.[1] Her first experience in the music industry was in 2007, when she participated in and won first prize at a talent contest called "This Is What's Missing", a television program of the Greek channelAlpha TV.[2] A year later, in 2008, she participated in theGreek national selection for theJunior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the songTo Fili Tis Aphroditis.[2][3] In 2011, Manoukian released her first single namedParty Like A Freak. Following the success ofParty Like A Freak, which was nominated twice for winning an award at theMAD Video Music Awards, in 2012 she released a follow-up singleI Surrender. She added a new song to her music discography a few months later namedNa Les Pos M' agapas. Manoukian also received aGold Disc forParty Like A Freak,I Surrender andNa Les Pos M'agapas.
In 2014, Manoukian released the singleXO, published by Warner/Chappell and Max Music Scandinavia. The track was recorded in Sweden, Stockholm, and its music video was shot in Australia, Sydney.[2] She reached number 1 in charts and won theArmenian Pulse Awards competition forBest Song In English. In 2017, Manoukian wrote the music and lyrics forPalia Mou Agapi, performed byHelena Paparizou.
In 2018, Manoukian performed an audition on the UK version ofThe X Factor.[4]
She was also being discussed to represent Armenia in Eurovision Song Contest, particularly in 2015 and 2016. She expressed a desire to compete in Eurovision for either Armenia, Greece, or Cyprus.[5] She wonDepi Evratesil 2020, the third season of the Armenian national selection[6] and was supposed to representArmenia in theEurovision Song Contest 2020[7] inRotterdam, The Netherlands with theHip-Hop andR&B inspired song "Chains on You". However this event was cancelled due to the2019-20 coronavirus pandemic[8] and replaced withEurovision: Europe Shine a Light and Eurovision Song Celebration, which revealed she would have performed 14th in the second semi final.[9] She also appeared onBBC'sNewsbeat documentary sending a video message to fans.[10]
On the same weekend as Shine A Light, she released a newTropical house inspired songDolla, written by Athena herself and DJ Paco.[11] She was the creative, artistic and the main director of "Dolla"'s music video, which she released in July that year.[12] Before Depi Evratesil had taken place, and before the COVID-19 pandemic forced Eurovision to be cancelled, she had revealed she was working on a first full-length album in an interview withWiwibloggs chief editor William Lee Adams.[13] In early 2021, she released the balladYou Should Know which she wrote herself.[14]
However, in March of that year, it was confirmed that she would not be reselected to represent Armenia in theEurovision Song Contest 2021, since they withdrew after originally planning to participate, citing the after-effects of the2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War.[15] She appeared inWiwibloggs' Wiwijam at home events both times[16] performing her 3 most recent singles in the latter alongside DJ Paco, producer of all 3 songs, all of which were written by Manoukian herself.[17]
That autumn, she released her next song,OMG. She wrote the song along with the German singer/songwriterAnnemarie Eilfeld. Later in spring of 2022 she released her latest singleKiss Me In The Rain, which she also wrote herself along with DJ Paco. She then went intolatin music, withLoca, a Greek-Spanish song, andBom Bom an English-Spanish song written by Manoukian and producer Limitless. She followed this release with the singleGone, an English song written by Dimitri Stassos devoted to all the victims of theTempi train crash, the deadliest rail disaster in Greek history. In 2023, Manoukian released a Greek song namedTet A Tet, followed by her next Greek singleBelas. In 2024, Manoukian released a Greek singleEnstikto.
In a single month in early 2025, she releasedPsycho whilst supportingKonstantinos Argiros gigs in Cyprus, Albania, Bulgaria[18] & Romania[19] and also got her long-awaited return toDepi Evratesil - held for the first time since her 2020 win of it - with new songDaQueenNation, a song she wrote herself along with DJ Paco. She wrote the lyrics of the song and they wrote the music together.DaQueenation included references toChains On You and talked about her life and all the obstacles and risks she took to achieve her goals, but this time she placed 3rd behindParg - who therefore represented Armenia inBasel - and Simon (3rd with jury, 2nd with televotes).[20]
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "I Surrender"[21][22] | 2012 | Non-album singles |
| "Na Les Pos M'Agapas"[21][23] (featuring S i N) | ||
| "XO"[21][24] | 2014 | |
| "Chains on You" | 2020 | |
| "Dolla"[25] | ||
| "You Should Know"[14] | 2021 | |
| "OMG"[14] | ||
| "Kiss Me In The Rain"[26] | 2022 | |
| "Loca" (With Limitless)[27] | ||
| "Bom Bom"[28] | ||
| "Gone" | 2023 | |
| "Tet A Tet" | ||
| "Belas" | 2024 | |
| "Enstikto" | ||
| "Psycho" | 2025 | |
| "DaQueenNation" |
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Party Like a Freak"[21][29] (DJ Kas featuring Athena Manoukian) | 2011 | Non-album single |
| Year | Award | Category | City | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Armenian Pulse Music Awards | Best English Song (XO) | Yerevan, Armenia | Won |
| title=Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest | years=2020 |
