Edition 4

Pure Bliss

## Vote

### Voting system

Each country awarded one set in the semi-finals, or two sets in the final of 12, 10, 8–1 points to ten songs.

## Topsical Song Contest

The fourth **Topsical Song Contest** took place in Yerevan, Armenia following the country's victory in the third edition with the song "Mi Ari" by Lucy. Organised by TopsRadio and the host broadcaster, ARMTV, the contest was held at the Karen Demirchyan Complex, and consisted of two semi-finals on 24 October 2023 and 31 October 2023, and the final on 10 November 2023. The shows were presented by Iveta Mukuchyan and Lilit Hovhannisyan.

49 countries participated in the contest, with   Algeria and   Israel withdrawing,   Greece,   Italy,   Jordan,   Luxembourg,   Slovenia, and   Sweden returning, and   North Macedonia debuting.

The winner of the fourth edition was   Russia with the song "Za Kray", performed by Tri Dnya Dozhdya.   United Kingdom,   Czechia,   Greece,   Georgia, and   Ireland rounded out the top six.

## Overview

*To learn more about the host country, visit Armenia.*

### About Yerevan

Yerevan, also spelled Erevan, Erivan, or Jerevan, is the capital of Armenia. It is situated on the Hrazdan River, 14 miles (23 km) from the Turkish frontier. Though first historically recorded in 607 CE, Yerevan dates by archaeological evidence to a settlement on the site in the 6th–3rd millennia BCE and subsequently to the fortress of Yerbuni in 783 BCE. From the 6th century BCE it formed part of the Armenian kingdom.

The city developed as an important focus of trade and has had a long history of siege and storm. At different times it came under the Romans (a ruined fortress remains), Parthians, Arabs, Mongols, Turks, Persians, Georgians, and Russians. In 1582 it fell to the Turks, in 1604 to the Persians, and finally in 1827 to the Russians. In 1920 Yerevan became the capital of the independent Armenian republic. It remained the capital during the periods of Soviet rule and of renewed independence.

Modern Yerevan, which climbs the hillsides from the deep trench of the Hrazdan, is an attractive city in a fine natural setting framed by the extinct volcanic peaks of Mount Aragats and Mount Azhdaak to the north and Mount Ararat across the Turkish frontier to the south. Many modern buildings along its tree-lined streets have been constructed in traditional Armenian styles and of variously coloured local stone. Yerevan is a major cultural centre, with a university founded in 1919 and many other institutions of higher education. The Armenian Academy of Sciences (established 1943) is the most prominent of the many research institutions in the city. The Matenadaran archives (founded 1920) hold a rich collection of ancient Armenian manuscripts, such as the Lazarus Gospel of 887. Yerevan also has many theatres and museums.

The rapid growth of the city, from a population of about 30,000 in 1914, is due to industrial development and to the hydroelectric plants on the Hrazdan. The city’s chemical industries produce acetylene, plastics, synthetic rubber, and tires. Aluminum is smelted, and other industries make cars, turbines, electrical machinery, compressors, cables, and machine tools.

### About Karen Demirchyan Complex

Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex (Armenian: Կարեն Դեմիրճյանի անվան մարզահամերգային համալիր), also known as Demirchyan Arena, Sports & Music Complex, or simply Hamalir (for complex in Armenian), is a large multi-purpose sports and concert complex with 184 stairs leading up Tsitsernakaberd hill which dominates over the western parts of Yerevan, near the Hrazdan River gorge.

The complex consists of two main halls; the Concerts hall and the Sports hall, in addition to the large foyer, *Hayastan* conference hall and *Argishti* hall designated for diplomatic meetings, exhibitions and other events. In August 2015, the government of Armenia decided to sell the complex to a private firm with plans to renovate the complex and turn it into a "family-oriented center".

The complex was opened in 1983 but forced to close within a year and a half after a fire in 1985. A renovation process took place until the end of 1987 when it was ready again to host concerts and sport events. The complex was designed by a group of Armenian architects: A. Tarkhanian, S. Khachikyan, G. Pogosyan and G. Mushegyan. The construction process was supervised by engineers: Hamlet Badalyan (chief engineer) and I. Tsaturian, A. Azizian and M. Aharonian. In 1990, Ian Gillan's band has played concerts there. The 32nd Chess Olympiad in 1996 and the 2001 World Wushu Championships also took place at the venue.

The complex has a unique design, an outside view of the whole construction reminds the shape a big bird opening its wings. Its architectural concepts include a turning tribune of 1,008 seats, that can rapidly connect the two big halls to reveal additional seating, a concept for which the architects were awarded the USSR State Prize, the highest of its kind, in 1987.

### About the hosts

Iveta Mukuchyan and Lilit Hovhannisyan are the presenters of the fourth edition of Topsical Song Contest.

**Iveta Mukuchyan** is an Armenian singer. Born in Yerevan, she moved to Hamburg, Germany, in 1992. Mukuchyan returned to Armenia in 2009 and placed fifth in the fourth season of the talent competition Hay Superstar. During this time, she received vocal training at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory. Mukuchyan also participated for season two of The Voice of Germany in 2012. She represented Armenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "LoveWave", finishing seventh in the final. Mukuchyan made her acting debut in the comedy movie Run Away Or Get Married that year, and released her debut extended play, IvaVerse. In autumn 2016, Mukuchyan was a jury member on the first season of Depi Evratesil, a television series selecting the Armenian entrant for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest.

**Lilit Hovhannisyan** is an Armenian pop singer. Lilit was a finalist of the first season of *Hay Superstar*, the Armenian version of Pop Idol. She was eliminated on 3 July 2006, placing fourth out of the ten participants. Lilit has had several successful singles since 2011. As of September 2021, her music video for Im tiknikn es has over 117 million views, making it the 2nd most viewed song on YouTube by an Armenian artist (not including songs by American band System of a Down) after Super Sako's Mi Gna, and her music videos for Gnchu and Es Em Horinel and De El Mi have achieved over 5 million views on YouTube, and the videos for Im Srtin Asa, Te Axchiq Lineir, Eli Lilit and Armenian Girl have achieved over 3 million views. On 29 September 2013, Lilit performed a solo concert entitled 'Top Stars of Armenia' alongside Mihran Tsarukyan in Los Angeles, California at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

### About the visual design: **Pure Bliss**

On 25 September 2023, TopsRadio unveiled the logo, branding, and slogan of the fourth edition. The slogan is confirmed to be **Pure Bliss**, as the music contest experience is a *pure bliss*, meaning that the experience transported them to a state of complete and utter joy. In some uses, the term has spiritual associations, denoting the joy of heaven or heaven itself: the road to eternal bliss.

The theme art will be used during the edition.

## National Selections and Format

### National Selections

For more information, see Edition 4/National Selections.

### Allocation Draw

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 9 October 2023. The first part of the draw determined in which semifinal the automatic qualifiers would have to vote. The second part of the draw determined in which half of the respective semi-finals each country would perform, with the exact running order determined by the producers of the show at a later date. 22 countries participated in semi-final 1, while 21 countries participated in semi-final 2. In each semi-final, ten countries joined the automatic qualifiers in the final, where a total of 26 countries participated.

The 43 semi-finalists were allocated into six pots based on their geographical location and cultural similarities. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final and half of the semi-final were determined.

The six pots were the following:

* Belgium
* France
* Luxembourg
* Monaco
* Netherlands
* Portugal
* Spain
* Kazakhstan
* Lithuania
* Moldova
* Poland
* Russia
* Ukraine
* Faroe Islands
* Finland
* Iceland
* Latvia
* Sweden
 Pot 4
 * Azerbaijan
* Egypt
* Georgia
* Iran
* Jordan
* Lebanon
* Türkiye
* Croatia
* Czechia
* Hungary
* Italy
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Cyprus
* Greece
* Kosovo
* North Macedonia
* Romania
* Serbia

## Participating countries

### Semifinal 1

  Armenia,   Norway and   San Marino also voted in this semi final.

### Semifinal 2

  Germany,   Ireland and   Switzerland also voted in this semi final.