"It's a shame that they are trying to link me with certain famous people. They are spreading information that has no basis in reality," said well-known singer Lilou, in an attempt to refute allegations regarding the financing of her participation in various competitions. "I participated in the Slavyanski Bazar competition with the financial assistance of my mother and the singer Sergey Grigoryan took care on the production work. The entire cost was around $3,000-$4,000. My mother works in the U.S. and sent me the money. I had no sponsor," said the singer who visited the "Hetq" offices today. When asked if show business personalities shouldn't expect to be the focus of such unflattering rumor and conjecture, the singer replied, "If a reporter writes that I am a terrible singer I can deal with that. It's a subjective opinion. I will continue to perform for my fans. I would advise people to stop spreading lies against me. Even the most peaceful of individuals can turn into a roaring animal if subjected to such negative publicity." Commenting on her last place showing in the Slavyanski competition, the singer argued that, "No matter who represented Armenia this year, they would have come in last. It was all politics." "I found it very insulting that many of the participants had no idea that Armenia even existed. We have entered the Council of Europe and the citizens of those countries have no concept of Armenia," she said.