Ladaniva

Ladaniva (Լադանիվա; stylized in all caps, named in reference to the off-road SUV Lada Niva) is a French-Armenian world music group originally from Lille. The duo, founded in 2019, consists of Armenian singer Jaklin Baghdasaryan and French multi-instrumentalist Louis Thomas. Their musical style is inspired by music from around the world, particularly traditional Balkan music, maloya and Armenian folklore. They represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "Jako".

History
Ladaniva was formed in 2019 in Lille as a result of the collaboration between singer Jaklin Baghdasaryan and multi-instrumentalist Louis Thomas. Baghdasaryan, born in 1997 in Yeghegnadzor, Armenia, grew up in Minsk, Belarus, before emigrating to France with her mother in 2014. She has been singing since her early childhood and, based in Tourcoing, enrolled at the Conservatoire de Lille. Thomas, born in 1987 in Lille and an accomplished jazz musician from a family of musicians, also attended the conservatory. One evening in 2018, they met by chance during a jam session in a music bar in Vieux-Lille, l'Intervalle.

In March and April 2020, while many countries hit by the COVID-19 pandemic were in lockdown, Ladaniva published two videos, "Vay Aman" and "Zepyuri Nman", which met with great success, particularly with the Armenian community. Then comes their video "Kef Chilini", which reached 18 million views in a few months. In 2023, Ladaniva released their first album, which is self-titled, produced and distributed by PIAS. On 9 March 2024, Ladaniva were officially announced as the for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. On 13 March, "Jako" was revealed as their entry for the contest. They placed third out of 16 in the second semi-final on 9 May 2024 with 137 points and eight out of 25 in the Grand Final on 11 May 2024 with 183 points, Armenia's best result since.

Musical style
Ladaniva's repertoire is inspired on one hand by traditional songs from Armenia, Russia, Romania and the Balkans, and on the other hand by music from Latin America, Africa and Reunion Island.

Accolades
Ladaniva was awarded a Music Moves Europe Award via the Public Choice Award in 2022.