The Azerbaijan Press Agency has reported official dissatisfaction with the Azeri result in Copenhagen. Narmina Mammadova, PR Manager for Azerbaijan’s National Selection Show Böyük Sehne, has publicly questioned Dilara Kazimova’s 22nd-place result: “Dilara’s song ‘Start A Fire’ was welcomed by journalists…then an unexpected thing happened, Dilara Kazimova ranked in 22nd place.”
Mammadova also drew attention to the controversial split results in the UK. As you’ll remember, the British jury ranked Poland’s entry ‘My Slowanie – We Are Slavic’ dead last, robbing them of the 12 points they were awarded by televoters. That meant they received no points at all from London. “It means that the audience’s decision was neglected.”
The Wiwi Jury loved Dilara’s song. But do you think that it translated well to the stage? Were you upset with the Azerbaijani placing? And what do you think of Mammadova’s reaction?
Angus Quinn contributed this report from the UK and is a Deputy Editor. You can follow him on Twitter @Angus_Quinn17 and then like our page on Facebook to keep up to date with all the Eurovision news through the off-season.
Featured image: Thomas Hanses (EBU)
Reading this I can only but say that these people simply don’t have any ethics whatsoever. Complaining about voting? how dare they.
It was a great song, my second favourite before the show, but the performance was dreadful. I was so disappointed. 22nd place was all it deserved.
Yea it was a great song, I say even the journalists loved it!! But its all that annoying Armenian lobby!! They did it again! They didn’t let the UK jury vote for beloved Dilara, Oh and that f***ing EBU with its new rules. I mean seriously what is wrong with Madam Narmina sending some khaviar and other “souvenirs” to friends in Malta, Belarus or even Russia!!!
Anyway, next year the great nation of Azerbaijan needs to buy a song in Hollywood, Swedish songs are just getting boring, they don’t work any more!!
They are dissatisfied????
This should not have passed in the finals at all. I assure you, if it has been done by a country like Latvia or Slovenia, this would be a last or second to last place in a semi-final. They should be SATISFIED that their reputation has brought them this far.
I love the song, the video, but the live performance by Dilara was very uninspired. Bad English, weak singing, stupig circusact on background. If she would have sung well, and on stage there would have been those instruments and music paper blowing in the wind like in the video. She would have ranked high. Now the performance ranked very well deserved low.
Perhaps naively, I think the ESC should (as far as possible) be about the SONG. I thought this was a beautiful and subtle number. But the acrobat had no relevance to, and distracted from, the lyrics. With a more intimate performance (perhaps à la Common Linnets) and some help with Dilara’s pronunciation, SAF may well have made it to the left-hand column, and, who knows, maybe top 10 (per the usual outcome for Azerbaijan) …
With all those top 10 finishes every single year since they entered the contest, and all that talk about Azerbaijan tricking, rigging, paying or cheating with juries or controlled televotes. All of a sudden after ESC decides that if any suspicion of cheating or manipulation of the votes can be detected a country would be banned for 3 years from the contest. And on that same year that that rule is applied, all of a sudden, by great great coincidence, Azerbaijan finishes 22nd?!? Say Whaaat?!?! Is it only me or is this not a confirmation that the Azeri votes have… Read more »
What a strange article! Azeri moan over 22nd place lol
Azeri is so “concerned” about UK-Poland attitudes lol
Azeri say that UK stole Polish votes lol Will one believe it?
Let’s laugh at those shallow people spreading this myth about Azerbaijan because they are just jealous and shallow. Surely, everyone knows who they are and which nations they belong to. In reality one can only see how Azeri are successful, stronger and competitive!
http://sundaytimesdaily.com.sundaytimesdaily.com/azerbaijan-announces-their-withdrawal-in-eurovision-2015/r/127071
We all can have different tastes in music, that’s a given. We cannot judge music by one set of universal, infallible criteria. What really upsets me here is to see so much overt cultural and racial chauvinism. Most of you dislike her because you dislike the country of which you know very little to nothing. Sad and shameful. Especially, for the continent priding itself in tolerance and cultural openness. I am Azerbaijani American , and I can write hurtful things about each and every country if I wanted to stoop to your level. But I am not going to. Peace.
Start a Fire is a good song but to get points you need to be in the voter’s top 10. There were many better songs this year so Start a Fire got pushed down in the ranking. It all makes sense.
Welcome to the real world Azerbaijan. The song was not great and her diction was very poor, it was a snooze fest song.
It’s about time Azerbaijan realised that not every song they send will each top 10.
Get over it and go again next year, but they will definitely blame the suspicious voting lol what a joke
it is music page, not politics we must speak only about song and her vocal and she sing normal but song is really good but it is ok 22 it is not big fail, good luck AZERBAIJAN AND DILARA every year AZERBAIJAN have best nice songs and vocals but this year not best but ok. there are so many jealous people calm down and don’t be stupid. next year AZERBAIJAN will bee perfect
I love the song and it is one of my favourites this year. However, her pronounciation was not very good and her voice did not sound on point either. It it also that kind of song that you don’t start loving immediately because it is so mellow.
I don’t know how “Start a Fire” even got through to the finals – it was the stand-out “take a toilet break” song from the entire broadcast!
Azerbaijan is suspicious about the UK’s jury? What about their jury with everyone seeing Armenia the weakest? Same as Armenian with Azerbaijan. I think that guys should be drastically fined for what they did.
It was the weakest Azerbaijan’s entry, the weakest result is normal. As the example with Poland in UK, you can’t expect votes from the jury with that live performance and with a strange song that of kind which didn’t impress juries last years. Remember Cezar last year? What about him?(7th for the public, 24th for the juries/1st for the public, 13th for the juries in SF)
Song was horrible no wonder she was 22nd.
In Eurovision one can never predict the outcome. For what it is worth; I think Dilara had the most beautiful voice of the contest!
This ballad didn’t fit in with the others, where they decided to make my country’s calm after the storm stand out by being subtle. They just did the wrong thing for Azerbijan. I already thought the song was one of those you forget while watching the other countries. The staging was bland. The dancer in the back didn’t fit in with the performance and drove the attention away from Dilara. The fact that this is a surprise to Azerbijan makes them seem kind of cocky. Here in the Netherlands we would have died for 22nd in the 8 years prior… Read more »
Don’t get me wrong. I LOVED Dilara in Bokyuk Sehne and she shined a lot singing fun & upbeat sings like Mercy and History Repeating but they ended up giving her a DULL and BORING song entry for Eurovision! The people to blame for this bad result are the ones who selected the song. Not Dilara and not the voting system at Eurovision.
Sorry for 22th….it is 22ND
Dilara looked like she had just crawled out bed. Put that on top of a very slow song and you got what you deserve – 22nd place…
The song is actually good, but not for ESC…
*Oops, Mammadova’s not a guy. My bad.
I couldn’t understand a thing Dilara was saying in the live performance. That, and they seemed to be doing all they could to distract you from the song with the trapeze artist. Finally, the song had great potential, especially in the lyrics, but the musicality was simply not there. You can’t just be loud and soft at random times and call that proper singing. They didn’t even deserve to be in the final. This was a far cry from Farid’s vocals last year, and from the excellent staging which conveyed the feeling really well and made a mediocre song into… Read more »
I thought the song was boring but rather liked the stage presentation and thought it deserved a place in the final. They shouldn’t have hoped to place high in the finals.
Azerbaijan deserved their placing. The staging was boring and Dilara’s live vocals did not meet expectations. Did not deserve top ten.
I find it funny how they are whining, yet Poland was robbed of points not once but TWICE because of this ranking system. But have they complained yet? No. Azerbaijani people have to understand they can’t win everything.
Something also needs to be done about the ranking process. Just because five people who make up the jury didn’t like the song, thousands of votes given to the Polish don’t even matter anymore? Come on.
Maybe they should also comment on the fact that they have over scored in the past 6 years or so. The song came across rather dull and boring when performed live especially given the fact that Dilara didn’t have much charisma either.
@Nikos
I think the 66/33 split would be a viable option.
In that scenario the 2nd in tele-vote will on average when ranked extremely low by juries make the top 10. (25+2×2)/3=9.67
I believe this would not dramatically alter the results and the tele-vote winners will have a better chance at receiving points.
I think the Azeri song worked better on a jazz club. Too much jazz . do not think it works in ESC. So 22th place I think was good
The song was too sleepy! All friends watching Eurovision say the same!
@Fatima: I thought the same thing as well; Dilara’s English was better in the video. I put her 16th on the night, well ahead of RUS, UKR and BLR, but obviously well behind those who finished in the top 10.
@Patrick: Interesting observation, regarding Malta.
Nevertheless, just because they finished in the top 10 every year they entered (until now) doesn’t mean they are ENTITLED to it. Next year (if they decide to enter), maybe they will work toward sending an entry that earns it on both sides (televotes and juries).
Dilara can NOT sing in english. her english sounds like ancient greek or something…
no wonder she ended 22nd
I think people forget that it was down to the juries that this garbage qualified in the first place. Hardly any televoter support.
I only have one thing to say as far as voting system goes: you are free to vote if you want but once you do it you’re on your own …. it’s your money and it is your choice to spend that money. No one is pulling a gun at your head as far as I know … so if you feel neglected because your favourite song was not considered, I’m sorry those are the rules. And rules are made to be followed not readapted to each and every little one of our wishes and desires. Again it’s your choice… Read more »
Hey Wiwibloggs pals, my comments are not being posted here. Help!
100% agree with Diane,
For UK televoters to pay and spend their time to call in for their favorite act, only for it to be worthless because 5 people didnt like it, is rather harsh. If the EBU is so insistent on split televote/jury result, at least weigh it differently like 66/33 rather than 50/50 etc.
Looks like they are simply neglected the ESC this year, only because they couldn’t act on every possible front.. Its not about money, you know, they have plenty of it. Its pretty clear – they’ve been using all the (human)resources they have to bribe politicians a.o. in the U.S. states.. against Armenia)) I hope you guys realize the scale of antiarmenian activity- its global, just like the everlasting hatred towards Armenians. I’m really sorry for them.
Ridiculous!!! All the eastern block don’t play fair. They should withdraw.
It’s time for Azerbaijan stop participating in eurovision. They should follow turkey and withdraw.
Typical thing about a lot of countries: “I didn’t do well, something is definitely wrong!” Pointing fingers, claiming voting discrepancies, saying everything is political, etc. Azerbaijan you big spoiled kid 😛
I did like Start a fire, but for me it got the place it deserved, it was nice, just nothing special and the staging wasn’t that memorable. Dilara looked beautiful on stage though.
I agree that current jury & public voting system that ranks all the songs in the final from 1 to 26 is somehow a bit dissapointing. Poland should’ve get some points from the UK, it’s a shame that people pay some pounds to call but didn’t translate into vote in the actual result.
Azeris should just move on with it and find areas of improvement about Dilara’s performance. That way, they will find another way to enhance the performances of their upcoming entrants.
I thought it was a dull song that even didn’t deserve to qualify for the final. Given the Azeris’ history of cheating ( remember the Olympic boxing medals row a year before the event? ) they have some nerve!
i agree. The voting calculating system is ridiculous
Wow, Azerbaijan, just wow. Well, if you’re going to be a sore loser like you’re neighbour Turkey then you can withdraw too – you won’t be missed. That said, and as I keep on saying, I think the ranking system is bizarre and doesn’t represent the public’s or the juries’ true feelings; rather a strange middle ground that probs up countries that people have mediocre feelings towards. Having personally looked at the released results in the semi-finals, Belarus and Switzerland are both nations that benefitted from the ranking system, whereas under the old system in which juries chose a top… Read more »
The staging was a huge letdown. I mean come on this is A-ZER-BAI-JAN we’re talking about. The country that gave us a devil pouring wine over a dancer, a man upside down I a glass box, and a woman with a big voice in a projection dress. Not to mention making a high-low dress with cut off gloves popular! All they could think of was a trapeze artist? It should’ve been a ribbon dancer instead of a lady struggling to climb up a giant swing. And how about fire? With a song title that has the word “fire” from the… Read more »
They bought the song, they bought the juries (8th). And yet finished 22nd overall. Strong reason to be dissatisfied.
Televoting cannot be bought. Manipulated to some point yes but bought no.
What seems unfair is that if a song ranks 9th in televoting and 22nd in jury’s vote, the overall is 22 and not somewhere in the middle. I give that to Azerbaijan. But again, rules are the same for every participant, and if this was the case of some other country they wouldn’t be complaining. Does the score system need to be readjusted? Probably. Did this put Azerbaijan in a disadvantage possition? No.
This song was rather dull, to be honest. I mean, c’mon – after the Azerbaijani songs of 2010 & 2012 that were having their ethno rhythm and were great, this one was probably restored from someone recycle bin of their computers.