Autographed photo of musician Serge Tankian, System of a Down

Serj Tankian is an American musician of Armenian descent, songwriter, vocalist, keyboardist, sometimes rhythm guitarist of the band System of a Down, founder of the solo project Serj Tankian. The future vocalist grew up listening to music of different directions and genres: rock, punk, hip-hop, extreme death metal. The tastes were influenced by the national music of Armenia, Greece, France, England, and Arabic motifs.

In the early 1990s, Serge Tankian joined the Armenian community in Los Angeles and met guitarist and vocalist Daron Malakian. In 1994, the young people organized the first musical group, calling it Soil. After several line-up changes, Tankian, Malakian and his compatriots who joined the band remained in it: bassist Shavo Odajian and drummer John Dolmayan. In 1995, the band was renamed System of a Down (SOAD). Tankian presented his first solo project— the debut album Elect The Dead, in October 2007.

In August 2011, Tankian was awarded the Medal of the Prime Minister of Armenia for the contribution of the multi-instrumentalist composer to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and for the promotion of Armenian music.