Musician and singer Suren Arustamyan, who represents Armenia at the “New Wave 2012” Song Contest final being held in Jūrmala, Latvia, from Tuesday of Sunday, is in eighth place as a result of the first-day competition on Wednesday.

To note, 16 performers from 14 countries are competing at the event. And international hits were performed on Thursday, during which Arustamyan sang Eric Clapton’s “Change The World.” 

Ukrainian Armenian Andranik Aleksanyan, who is the winner of the “Junior New Wave 2011” Song Contest, likewise performed at the event.  

The contestants are competing in three categories: National Hit, International Hit, and Original Song. 

This year’s prize money is 100,000 euros. The winner will receive 50,000 euros while the second- and third-place contestants will take home 30,000 and 20,000 euros respectively.