As the clock ticked down on the final minutes of 2013 (or, in some time zones, the first moments of 2014), many eyes in the Eurovision fan sphere were fixed on Yerevan, as AMPTV’s New Year’s Gala would be where Armenia’s newest ESC representative would be crowned.  Rumors had been swirling about the return of fan-favorite Sirusho after it was announced that she’d be performing on the program, but it turns out that 2014 will be featuring a fresh face.

Aram Sargsyan, better known as Aram MP3, will hoist the Armenian tricolor in Copenhagen.  The 29-year-old Yerevan native is best known as a comedian and television host, but don’t let that give you premonitions of another Stefan Raab or Verka Serduchka.  In between his gigs hosting “The X Factor” and appearing on the popular weekly show “Vitamin Club”, Aram has honed his skills as a talented singer and songwriter.  (His stage name comes from his flair for covers, such as this version of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” or this smooth jazz rendition of “Gangnam Style“.)

Recently, Aram’s been dabbling in more original work.  Here’s “If I Tried”, released this past July:

Aram’s entry will be released some time in February, but until then, I’ll probably have “If I Tried” on a loop…