Who will represent Azerbaijan at Eurovision 2019?
By Laman Ismayilova
Music fans around the world can't wait to come to Israel as the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Tel Aviv.
The head of the Azerbaijani delegation on Eurovision Song Contest Husniya Maharramova sheds the light on the Azerbaijan's participation in Eurovision Song Contest 2019, esctoday.com reported.
"Ictimai TV held a closed performers’ casting with over invited 40 artists and selected 4 finalists . Honestly, those four were determined almost immediately. So, our country’s representative will be one of the following artists: Tofiq Haciyev, Chingiz Mustafayev, Leman Dadasheva and Samira Efendi," said Maharramova.
In her last interview Husniye went on to comment about the song selection.
"On January 24th, we opened a casting for composers, both Azerbaijani and international authors were invited to take part. This year we got great feedback and a large number of applications were submitted. We received over 350 songs. Most notably, we received songs from Azerbaijani and European composers, and some from America, Brazil and Australia. Songwriters can still submit their song today, on February 7th, till the end of the day in Baku via the following email address: [email protected]," she said.
Maharramova revealed further details on the way the singer and song will be chosen. She stressed that Ictimai TV Channel and the national jury continues to work on the 2019 Azerbaijani Eurovision artist and song selection.
"We are waiting for the composers’ competition to conclude and are planning to record the best demos with the finalists. The best performer and the best song will then be chosen to represent our country at Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv," she added.
The head of the Azerbaijani delegation on Eurovision Song Contest said that the name of Azerbaijan’s representative will be announced not earlier than March after the national jury’s decision.
Azerbaijan intends to bring an innovative entry to Tel Aviv.
"It is still very early to talk about it because the main parts are still missing: the artist and the entry. But we intend to show on the Eurovision 2019’s stage something new, trending, so to speak. Our main goal is for the audience to remember it, fall in love and give their votes to Azerbaijan," said Maharramova.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 will be the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Israel received the right to hold a contest after the singer Netta Barzilai’s victory at the Eurovision 2018.
The contest will be held at Expo Tel Aviv, the city's convention centre.
The show will consist of two semi-finals on May 14 and 16, and the final on May 18 2019.The motto of the competition - Dare to Dream.
Israel won Eurovision for the fourth time. The country has won victories in 1978, 1979 and 1998.
Azerbaijan debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008 after the Azerbaijani television channel ITV joined the European Broadcasting Union (EMU) and received the official right to broadcast the competition.
Azerbaijan marked its debut in 2008 with the duo of Elnur and Samir, who managed to become eighth in the final with their song ‘Day after day’.
The brilliant duet of Aysel and Arash, which represented Azerbaijan next year, took the third place at the song contest, while Safura Alizada, who represented Azerbaijan at Eurovision 2010 in Oslo, took the fifth place.
On its fourth attempt with Ell and Nikki's Running Scared song, the Land of Fire won the event, bringing the contest to Baku’s Crystal Hall in 2012. Ell and Nikki were the first mixed-gender duo to win the contest since 1963 and the first winners from Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan reached the Top 5 in five consecutive contests and achieved the Top 5 place finishes each once - 3rd in 2009, 5th in 2010, 1st in 2011, 4th in 2012, and runner-up in 2013.
The country managed another two consecutive Top 5 results with Sabina Babayeva finishing fourth with 150 points in 2012 and Farid Mammadov second with 234 in 2013.
In 2017, Diana represented the country with the song "Skeletons" finishing in 14th place.
In 2018, Aysel Mammadova brilliantly performed at Eurovision 2018 Semi-Final 1, however, she couldn't make it to the final. She represented Azerbaijan with the song X My Heart.
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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova
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