ESCBubble had a nice chat with talented Inna Mkrtchyan, who wrote the lyrics of the song “Face the Shadow”, which will represent Armenia in Eurovision 2015!

Inna is a lyricist with a passion for life. Inna was raised in an atmosphere of art and creativeness as she grew up to be a multilingual lyricist, freelance event manager, and interpreter, who believes in the power and passion of music.

One of her first published song lyrics was written for the project “Revive Japan.” Armenian pop stars came together to sing her words to help raise awareness of the victims of the 2011 tsunami that devastated parts of Japan. All the proceeds from the project went to Japanese charity organizations.

Her most recent –and important- inspiration is her son, Alexander, born in 2013. He inspires her every day and keeps her motivated as she writes new lyrics and new poems. Alongside with her versatile present activities, Inna is planning to publish a book of her poetry in the near future.

In February of 2015 Inna wrote the lyrics for a song “Face the Shadow” for the Armenian super group Genealogy!

• Dear Inna, first of all we would like to congratulate you for the premiere of the song “Face the Shadow” which is written by you, and which will represent Armenia in Eurovision Song Contest 2015! Tell us what do you feel after the song release?

Thank you!I am so thrilled to be a part of such an awesome project. The brilliant idea of uniting our Armenian roots from all over the world inspired me from the very first moment I got involved in the making process. The fusion of beautiful music, along with the lyrics performed by 6 amazing singers turned out to be so natural that every time I hear it I can’t help showing my excitement. Six lives – one blood, one love, one Genealogy!

• How do you handle the responsibility that the song written by you will represent a whole nation in this big European event?

The thought that I have created lyrics for a song to represent my motherland makes me feel honored and privileged. This is a great responsibility indeed. But when it comes to Eurovision and contests in general, it is often so unpredictable. You just do what you need to do and put the maximum effort and heart into it. The good performance and fortune will do the rest. Given that the song was born from a genuine inspiration, I believe that the powerful message put in it was meant to reach the hearts of many people. I am very excited for Genealogy’s success!

• Please tell us your own vision of the song “Face the Shadow”. What is the main concept of the song?

The song reveals a personal relationship story with a wake-up call for every single wounded soul to be healed, for every hidden sorrow to be acknowledged and conquered, for every dark corner inside to be illuminated by courage and spirit of recognition. By playing games with our own hearts and avoiding seeing the shadows that gnaw the consciousness, we just deny a chance of growing spiritually and following our dreams with a purified mind. However, our hearts are much wiser than we think they are… Denial of fears that come between brothers and sisters, friends and lovers, parents and children, eventually leads them to the rejection of LOVE. Only those who face their secret fears and faults, only those who see where they have been and where they really are, only those who do not deny their falls will get the chance to rise and find themselves in a breathtaking freedom of happiness. Just like every meaningful story, this one too intends to show that at the end of the day it’s all about love. So stay faithful to yourself, don’t let anyone steal your hopes, cherish everyone you love in this transient life and, please, don’t deny them!

• We know that you wrote lyrics for the project “Revive Japan”, can you please tell us more about that project and also we would like to know which famous artists have you collaborated with?

One of my first published song lyrics was written for the project “Revive Japan.” Together with the music composer Shushan Sargsyan we inspired Armenian pop stars to come together and sing the song to help raise awareness of the victims of the 2011 tsunami that devastated parts of Japan. All the proceeds from the project went to Japanese charity organizations. As a nation who has suffered from a dreadful earthquake in 1988 we were able to feel the pain of Japanese people and we just could not remain silent. In fact, there is an interesting twist of fate connected with “Revive Japan”. Back in 2011 we heard there was a Japanese singer with Armenian roots, so we had a thought to contact Stephanie Topalian to have her sing this song in her homeland. Can you imagine how amazing it was to meet her after all?

• Have you been following Eurovision Song Contest for a long time? Do you have any favorite Eurovision songs?

How would I miss the chance to cheer for my country – I have been following ESC since the year Armenia debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest. My favorite Eurovision song Armenia presented is last year’s “Not alone” performed by Aram MP3. As for other countries, there are several and one of them is “Molitva” presented by Serbia in 2007.

• What about this year? As a lyricist, do you have any favorite song this year?

Yes of course. The name of the song is “Face the Shadow” 🙂 Apart from Genealogy, I like the songs presented by Malta, Sweden and Italy.

Give a listen to songs written by talented Inna Mkrtchyan below!