Hayk Borisi "Hayko" Hakobyan (; 25 August 1973 – 29 September 2021) was an Armenian singer and songwriter.

Biography

Hayko was born on 25 August 1973 in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

(then part of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

). He studied at Yerevan Secondary School No. 170, then in Secondary School No. 32 named after

Hovhannes Tumanyan Hovhannes Tumanyan (, classical spelling: Յովհաննէս Թումանեան, – March 23, 1923) was an Armenian poet, writer, translator, and literary and public activist. He is the national poet of Armenia. Tumanyan wrote poems, q ...

. In 1987, he graduated from the Yerkhani Chukhachyan Music School and was admitted to R. Melikyan Music College. He started his music career in 1996 with his first song ''Love'' (). He won Armenia's national selection for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2007 The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Helsinki, Finland, following the country's victory at the with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" by Lordi. Organised by the European Broadcasti ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. He represented Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest in the final with the song " Anytime You Need". The song placed eighth in the contest.

Musical career

* In 1996, Hayko participated in the "Moskva 96" ("Moscow 96") festival; awarded First Prize. * In 1997, he won the 1st prize at the " Big Apple" festival in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. * In 1998, he was acknowledged as "The Best Author – Performer" at the "Ayo" Author's Competition. * In 1999, he was nominated for "The Best Singer" award. * In 1999, he recorded his first CD called "Romance", which represented the well-known Armenian "city" songs with a new and fresh interpretation. * In 2002, he was nominated in different categories at the Armenian Music Awards (The Best Singer, The Best Project and The Best Album) and this year became exceptional in his career. He won in all three nominations. * In 2003, he got an Award at the "Armenian National Music Awards" for "The best DVD". * In 2003, he gave his first solo concert at the " Alex Theatre" in the United States. * On 27 May 2003, he gave a solo performance in Yerevan and recorded a DVD called "Live Concert" * In 2003, he recorded his first author's CD called "Norits" ("Again"). * He was recognized as the Best Singer 2003 and 2006 at the Armenian National Music Awards. * He entered the

2007 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Helsinki, Finland, following the country's victory at the with the song " Hard Rock Hallelujah" by Lordi. Organised by the European Broadcast ...

for Armenia with the song " Anytime You Need". * In 2007, he won in the Best Pop Contemporary Album and the Best Album Cover & Design categories at the Armenian Music Awards.

Death

Hayko, who had

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, died on 29 September 2021, in

after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during the COVID-19 pandemic in Armenia. He was 48.

Discography

*Romance (2000) *Norits (2004) *Live Concert (2004) *With One Word (2007) *Live Concert 2008 (2008) *Es Qez Siraharvel Em (2014) *Hayko Live Concert (2018) *Amena (2020)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayko 1973 births 2021 deaths Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Armenia 20th-century Armenian male singers Musicians from Yerevan Armenian pop singers 21st-century Armenian male singers English-language singers from Armenia Eurovision Song Contest entrants