This time last year, I was writing about Armenia as the bookmaker’s favourite for victory in ESC 2014. What a difference a year makes: This year’s entry from the Caucasian nation would be flying completely under the radar if it wasn’t for the controversy surrounding it.

In a seemingly neverending series of choreographed announcements, it was revealed that Armenia will be represented in Vienna by the “supergroup” Genealogy, with a new member from a different country being presented on a more or less weekly basis. The concept is intended to unite members of the Armenian diaspora around the world and, indeed, to attract votes from viewers who belong to that community. To underline that intent, the song is a loosely disguised tribute to the victims of the Armenian genocide on the occasion of its centenary this year – an event that is subject to dispute in certain quarters, hence the song’s original title of Don’t Deny.

This was eventually deemed to be sailing too close to the wind in terms of the European Broadcasting Union’s rules preventing political statements in Eurovision lyrics, with a diplomatically worded announcement in March stating that, acting on advice, the song would henceforth be known as Face The Shadow in order to avoid accusations of inflammatory content (although the song itself hasn’t changed). Officially, of course, the song and its preview video have always been about the spirit of the family as it passes down through the generations and spreads around the world, and the repeated references to denial are merely incidental.

Whatever its title, Face The Shadow sounds exactly like you would expect six singers emoting on a (melo)dramatic theme to sound, the Genealogists clamouring for attention with their solo lines before a cacophonous final minute that threatens to explode out of your speakers. The confused structure and metre of the song make it a difficult listen and one that doesn’t leave a huge impression on the ears beyond the repeated cries of “don’t deny!”, and it’s hard to imagine the average non-diaspora televoter getting much out of it.

Reading between the lines, the powers-that-be don’t seem particularly enamoured with the Armenian concept either. The gradual revelation of the Genealogy members was tolerated in a series of press release-parroting articles on eurovision.tv, but since then the Armenians have not only been forced into the aforementioned title change, but have also been given the killer starting position of 2nd in their semi-final.

My verdict in terms of the song’s chances, therefore, is not a particularly positive one. This certainly isn’t a no-hoper as far as qualification is concerned: Armenia have a near-flawless record in that respect, and friendly televotes aside, there are some genuinely talented singers in the ranks of Genealogy who could impress a lot of jurors. Even if it does reach the grand final, though, Face The Shadow will almost certainly go down as little more than a footnote in Eurovision history – a whole lot of fuss about nothing much.

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