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Armenia is the first out of 42 participating countries to announce their pick for Eurovision 2019. On Friday, during late-night talk show Lav Yereko aired by the Public TV Company of Armenia, young singer Srbuk (Srbuhi Sargsyan) was announced as the country's representative for next year's competition in Tel Aviv, Israel, Eurovision.am reports.

Srbuk is being described as one of the rising stars of Armenia. She has participated in numerous competitions, both local and international, having reached the final stage of The Voice Ukraine. Her hit single Yete karogh es (If you can) topped the Armenian charts for weeks in 2016, and last week she dropped a new single titled Half a Goddess.

"I am starting a new journey now, which, I am sure, will be full of new and pleasant emotions, challenges and amazing experiences. I am grateful to all my friends and fans, who are always with me and have always wanted to see me on the Eurovision stage. I am grateful to the Public Television for their trust. It’s an honor to represent my country in front of the whole world. We have an amazing journey ahead of us, and I hope we’ll succeed together," the singer said.

The semifinals of Eurovision 2019 will be held on May 14 and 16, with the grand final set for May 18, at the Expo Tel Aviv International Convention Center.

The 42 countries competing in the contest are: Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Denmark, Israel, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania , Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Finland, France, Croatia, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden and Estonia.