Armenia’s absence in 2021 was one of those awkward moments where politics and Eurovision collided in a less subtle way than usual. After ending up on the losing side of a brief war with Azerbaijan in late 2020 over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia was thrown into political turmoil. One of the consequences of this was the withdrawal from the contest. Given the current situation with Russia and Ukraine, I wonder what would have happened had the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan still been going in the run-up to Eurovision 2021.

In any case, Armenia has returned with the internal selection of an upbeat song about the end of a relationship. “Snap” by Rosa Lynn slots comfortably into the indie folk genre, with instrumentation and backing vocals reminiscent of bands like The Lumineers. Lynn gets the opportunity to show her vocal skills in the chorus with its 10-note elongation of the word ‘heart’; generally speaking her vocals are the highlight of the track as they provide most of its variety.

The first semi final has several songs that could either crash and burn, or somehow beat the odds and qualify. This one is probably a more reliable mid-ground: it’s a pleasant listen which isn’t challenging but equally isn’t too basic or simple. I’m not sure this is necessarily the best place to be in though, as it could end up being a little beige for the televote, and not enough of a vocal performance for the juries. For some reason, I’d like to see the house from the video on stage, if possible. That would at least be a striking visual.