Siranush Harutyunyan (; born 7 January 1987), known professionally as Sirusho (), is an Armenian 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 album Sheram 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.
Sirusho reached international recognition after representing Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with her co-written song "Qélé, Qélé" in Belgrade, Serbia. The song finished fourth in the final and became a hit in Europe. The BBC described her as "national treasure" of Armenia during the contest.
In 2012, Sirusho released the single "PreGomesh", which inspired her to launch a range of handcrafted silver jewelry of the same name, representing Armenian culture and craftsmanship mixed with modern fashion trends. Sirusho is the first Armenian artist to be twice-nominated at World Music Awards with "PreGomesh".
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". In 2017, Sirusho was awarded with the title of Honored Artist of Armenia upon the decree of President Serzh Sargsyan. Sirusho's musical style reflects the Armenian traditional sounds mixed with modern music.
Life and career
1987–2004: Early life and career beginnings
Sirusho was born in Yerevan, Soviet Armenia, on January 7, 1987, to actor and director Hrachya Harutyunyan, and Syuzan Margaryan, one of the most popular singers in Armenia in the 1980s-1990s. 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 by Komitas. At the age of seven, Sirusho began to write her own music and lyrics in Armenian and English. 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 album Sirusho at the age of 13. Sirusho graduated from Yerevan's Khachik Dashtents School #114 in 2004. She subsequently studied piano at the Sayat-Nova Music School and graduated Yerevan State University with excellence in international relations.
2005–2009: Sheram and Hima
Although Sirusho mainly performed soul and pop for most of her career, she decided to work on an album of Armenian folk songs by gusan titled Sheram, which was released in 2005. 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 in Moscow, Russia. A few days later, she released her single "Heranum em" () (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 singer Sofi Mkheyan. The album proved to be a breakthrough in Armenian music, unleashing a fresh wave of mixing soul music and R&B with traditional instruments such as duduk, dhol, and zurna. Sirusho won the "Best Female Artist of the Year" award at the Armenian Music Awards community at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Sirusho received her fourth Best Female Artist award at the 2008 Armenian national Music Awards.