“After Aznavour, I’m the one who sings his songs the best”

Hayk Petrosyan, 30, is a small local star in Armenia. This singer-comedian attracts the crowds by taking the songs of Charles Aznavour. Like many Armenians, he idolizes the 93-year-old singer who has done so much for the country.

” After Charles Aznavour, it’s me who sings his songs the best”. Coffee Malocco, in the center of Yerevan, Hayk Petrosyan, sprawled on his couch, does not miss … false modesty. The place is not chosen by chance since the café is a few meters from the Charles Aznavour foundation, still under construction, a gift from the city to the world famous artist.

Singer and comedian, Hayk Petrosyan is a small local star. With his deep voice and fast flow, he recounts how he made a name for himself in 2009 during his participation in “Superstar”, the “New Star” Armenian. He was born and raised here, before going to France at the age of 18 to continue his studies and join his father, Vardan Petrosyan, considered as the “Armenian Coluche”.

” When I was little, I hated Aznavour, remembers the thirties. When my mother did the housework, she put on her records and cried. I thought, ‘Who is this guy who makes my mother cry? At 23, the comedian returned to the country for his military service and became interested in the lyrics of his songs, which he quoted at every turn. Is not he too young to love Aznavour? ” No ,” replied the big fellow, chaining the fags. In his song “The Old-Fashioned Pleasures,” Aznavour says that fashions change but love remains .

Armenians love Aznavour songs but do not understand them

If Hayk understands the lyrics of the songs, it is far from the case of his audience. ” There are more people who understand nothing than people who understand something,” he laughs. Is it paradoxical in a country where Aznavour is adulated? No, thinks the actor. ” Aznavour is considered a hero for the Armenians. It is a model of success. When I tell them about his life during the concerts, the audience is reboosted, “ says the young man quoting excerpts from the autobiography of the singer. ” He said ‘God did not give me anything, I had no size, I had no voice, I was not very handsome, but I had something, it was my obstinacy’. Armenians respect him a lot for that “.

It is especially for the help he brought to the country in the late 80s that Armenians appreciate the 93-year-old singer. After the murderous earthquake of 1988, he created “Aznavour for Armenia”, an association that has helped provide electricity to more than one million people. Last year, when the idea of ​​changing the official anthem was submitted, some Armenians campaigned on social networks for the song of Aznavour in honor of the earthquake to be chosen. An aborted project.

“Aznavour was there and told me it was great”

Grateful, the capital has built a house in his honor above the main monument of the city, which should soon become a museum. On May 22, the Minister of Culture even organized a concert to celebrate the singer’s birthday. And it’s Hayk who was chosen to sing. ” Aznavour was there and told me it was great, ” says the 30-year-old proudly.

The two men had only crossed twice in Paris. Does singing from Aznavour in Armenia yield money? ” No, I win more with my own songs. Last year, I did only two rehearsals, “ sweeps away the thirty-something. Charles Aznavour has only to behave well. ” There are even songs that I sing better than him! Finally I laugh, “says Hayk. Not sure he’s really laughing.

http://papiers-armenie.fr/2018/02/13/hayk-petrosyan-apres-aznavour-cest-moi-chante-mieux-chansons/