Hold on to your glittery hats, folks! Eurovision fever is heating up, and Azerbaijan is sending its musical warriors into the battle with sick beats and shiny sequins. The chosen ones who survived the dance-off apocalypse and are now one step closer to donning the Azerbaijani superhero cape in Malmö at Eurovision 2024. As we previously reported, they are:
- Emy Lia
- Mila Miles, İlkin Dövlətov, Etibar Əsədli
- Aisel (making a Eurovision comeback like a pop diva in a phoenix costume)
- Sabina Quluzadə
- Fahree
- Qorqud
But there’s enough intrigue to fill a diva’s dressing room! Aisel is back for round two. The Beyoncé of Azerbaijan, she’s not just competing — she’s ready to slay dragons, conquer high notes, and maybe, just maybe, bring home that elusive Eurovision trophy.
For those with a memory lapse, back at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, Portugal, Aisel graced the stage as Azerbaijan’s representative. Her vocal prowess resonated with the song “X My Heart.”
However, despite having a Greek team by her side, the blessings of the Greek gods eluded her — she landed in the 11th spot during her semi-final, marking a historic moment as the first Azerbaijani contestant to miss the ticket to the Grand Final. But she still turned up to the Wiwi Jam at the Hard Rock Cafe — just one night later — to bid farewell to her fans. She’s a true champion.
Azerbaijan: Final six artists tease songs
The elite squad of six Azerbaijani artists has dropped fresh clues about the tunes they’re unleashing for Eurovision 2024.
Azerbaijani web site 12xal treated us to a tweet extravaganza, showcasing interviews with the six artists. In this video, they faced the ultimate question: “If your song played in a movie, what genre would that movie be?” Brace yourselves for their cinematic imagination!
- Aisel, the maestro of mystery, claimed her song could haunt a horror flick or grace the reels of a historical epic.
- Fahree, ready for a musical showdown, envisioned her anthem rocking a fight film.
- Emy Lia, the melodramatic virtuoso, saw her tune weaving through the heartstrings of a tear-jerking love story. Prepare your tissues guys!
- Qorqud, the undercover agent of beats, envisioned a spy thriller accompanying his notes.
- Səbinə Quluzadə, hinted at a fantastical journey sparked by her melody.
- İlkin Dövlətov & Mila Miles & Etibar Əsədli, the trio with drama in their veins, unanimously declared their song would be in a drama.
They were also asked about their preferred lyrics from their own Eurovision songs, with two artists responding in the Azerbaijani language:
- Fahree: “I’m going back to diyar.”
- Emy Lia: “I left my pride in the fire.”
- Qorqud: “Now forget your fears, All you need is love.”
- Səbinə Quluzadə: “I’ll be searching for my own light, Tame my inner demons.”
- İlkin Dövlətov & Mila Miles & Etibar Əsədli:“Eşqi dərk edib bilərsən ki, qadirdir nəyə?” (“Once you really get what love is, You will realize its full power.”)
- Aisel: “Bəsdir yatdın, oyan dünya.” (“That’s enough, world, wake up already.”)
Let the sequin-studded battle for Azerbaijani glory commence! May the best act win, and may the wind machines be ever in their favor.
If Aisel this time has a song in national language and sounds like her usual music style (and so far away from this Kontopoulos crap) I´ll be very happy.
I am looking forward for a peace song.
They could even had tried to hire Polina Gargarina. They could at least have started a rumour that they might do it.
Qorqud’s song sounds promising.
Sorry, I don´t like Ariana Grande….
I love Aisel but for me it’s also very important to discover new artists & new faces !
To sum up: a lot of mumbojumbo to ultimately say nothing at all
Sanction Azerbaijan. They must stay out until they are democratic. A regime which beheads Armenians and hounors killers as heroes has nothing to do with this contest. Why is Russia out, but Azerbaijan is still in?
Banning Russia was the right call (and even then, it took a lot of time and effort from Ukraine itself, the Netherlands, the UK, the Nordics and Eastern Europe for that to ultimately happen), but I agree that it’s pretty fishy that Azerbaijan’s still in when they should’ve been banned since (at least) 2020
Azerbaijan is participating for one simple reason - Azerbaijan has returned its rightful lands, which Europe itself has always recognized! Azerbaijan has restored its territorial integrity. For 30 years, more than 1,000,000 Azerbaijani refugees were forced to live in wagons and shacks. They were expelled from their native lands in Armenia and Karabakh. Ukraine is in the same situation as Azerbaijan, but for some reason its war is considered sacred, and Azerbaijan in the same situation is accused of all grave sins. What kind of double standards? Russia and Armenia are both occupiers. Why was Europe silent for 30 years?… Read more »
If Azerbaijan’s 2013 entry finished 4th-5th in a random national selection these days, nobody would bat an eyelid, it is that weak/unremarkable an entry. Wonder how it managed to finish as high as 2nd back then still…
I like so far only three entries from Azerbaijan: 2009, 2019 und 2023
A song in Azerbaijani please!!!
Yep! That’s what they’ve never done yet. A full song in national language.
I absolutely agree
Does this indicate that two out of six songs will be in Azeri or just that the singers translated it simultaneously themselves for the sake of the interview?
2 of them are in Azerbaijani, the other one also had one Azerbaijani word “diyar” along with English lyrics presumably that song will contain a few lines in Azerbaijani as opposed to the 2 other songs by Aisel and Ilkin&Etibar&Mila.
Can’t trust anything that comes from Azerbaijan, TuralTuranX said in interview that you can only win Eurovision with a LGBT+ song.
Fans defended them, when they were getting hate from Azeris about their looks in Liverpool, but now they decide to throw hate on the fans themselves.
Source: Eurovision Turkey on X (Link)
Idiots, if true.
Great breaking news for TuralTuranX, any song can win as long as there’s a cook. It can be a LOVE song between a man or a woman OR a woman and a man.
Azerbaijan’s only actual “winner” is literally the only heteronormative love duet between a man and a woman to win. They still say this. Idiots. With all due respect.
Originally I liked them, but this statement is absolutely rubbish.
They should have entered in 2011.
LOL! I can’t!
There Is A Truth To That Though
Tattoo is a pretty gender-neutral song, though. You can insert that she is talking about a man or about a woman or about a non-binary person. Since Loreen is bi (I think), it can literally be anything (which is cool). That said, plenty of songs have won ESC by being about hetero love or not about love at all. I wonder whether this quote was taken out of context, as quotes sometimes tend to be (just to stir the pot). So, take everything with a grain of salt. But if they *really mean it*, they are just silly.
I took it as needing a song that appealed to the LGBT community, or implying that gay people don’t like the style of music that TuranTuran do. Which is not true.
TuralTuranX, I almost got them mixed up with DuranDuran there
I quite dislike the idea there is “a gay music taste” as a queer person. Not only people always mean dance pop by it – for some reason, but a). queer people are different people with different preferences b). if we actually measured genres by the percentage of queer artists in the scene, electronic music would win anyways.
This is kind of true, though… Isn’t Loreen LGBTQ+?
LGBTQ+ meaning as the song is about same-sex love and so on, it’s awful that they are now throwing sexual minorities under a bus, to defend their own song not qualifying.
I can remember that I read something about Loreen´s bisexuality.
I’m really really sorry to say so but the way this article is written is so cringe.
I disagree. Volunteer yourself then if you can do better.
It’s just my opinion, period. You also don’t have to comment in every single d*mn comment made in every single article written in this website, yet there you go. Which is fine, you want the attention and you got it so kudos to you.
My opinion is that you should show more respect. Give constructive criticism, if you really care.
Well, I started by saying that I was really sorry to say something negative and then I gave my opinion. If you still think I should show “more respect”, ok great – your opinion. However, you saying that “people should give constructive criticism” after reading the myriad of comments you leave in every single article, makes me think of our darling Brooke: “that’s rich, when it’s coming from you”.
What exactly about this article makes you cringe? Personally, I think Georgia did a fine job writing it. Fits the remit of this site perfectly. “Eurovision news with attitude”
New wiwibloggs writer! Welcome!!
Exactly. This is only Georgia’s second article and this is the welcome she/they/he gets? Sad.
Exactly my thoughts, cringe taken to the maximum.
Elaborate.
It could do with a bit of toning down.
AzerBUYjan used to keep mum and now they say a lot without saying much at all unless they want people to read into things for some entertainment.
Som till exempel: is “That’s enough, world, wake up already” a subtle call to unconfirmed countries? Is it a clue that the Azeri entry will have at least a line in their own language? Is it a feeler to take the temperature of the fandom?
In any case, it’s *much* better than nothing at all and much nicer than Romania’s home-made vids for “auditions” for 2023. Yum!!
It might be about climate change.
#GlobalBoiling
#LandOfFire
#LaundromatOfFire
#LaundromatOnFire
Very trendy. The only one missing would be GT with an on-brand appearance. So many things have happened since the last event won by Sweden and “SWEurovision 2024”!! Script writers will have a blast. Kind of jealous. Maybe they’ll peak at this blog as well and get inspired. All speculation in good form, of course.
Lol, the organized comment spam group is back again. If anything, them being so annoying makes me sympathize for Azerbaijan more.
its your opinion in the end. there are also people loving Putin, why not another Aladeen from Wadiya like dictator making ethnic cleansing. says more about you.
yeah, indeed, that’s enough, world, wake up – this terroristic dictatorship should have been banned million times already!
What about *relevant* stuff such as song release, dates, and or such!
“That’s enough, world, wake up already”
Aisel is sending a plea for help to be saved from the Aliyevs.
Will the Azeri delegation buy SIM cards for Malmö, like in 2013?
Ummm so boring …
Azerbaijani laundromat. They literally had over a billion dollars slush fund for things like this.
Azerbaijan solely uses their public money for their citizens’ wellbeing. The government invests in hospitals, roads, bridges, schools and social housing to make sure no one is left behind. Stop spreading lies about Azerbaijan’s finances, please.
Azerbaijani Laundromat. Google it, people. Wiki.
Azeri delegation played dirty in 2011 and 2013. Should have been sanctioned back then. But it has passed 10 years since then. Did it happen meanwhile again? If not, maybe we should let it go by now. Not in a way that we stop addressing past events. We should continue pointing out their fradulent win. But in a way that it doesn’t affect our view of the current delegation or candidates, who had nothing to do with it.
Fair, and I see your point… except that not much has changed. Same broadcaster, same dictator. The only thing that changes is the front face of the performer. Backstage is a different story. Only in Torino two years ago did the Azerbaijan jury give some very suspect votes, not to mention the continued ignoring of the Armenian song. Even last year at the junior contest the Azeri commentator spoke right through the Armenian child’s performance. If I thought that things had genuinely changed, I would probably shut up. As it is, my lingering resentment only grows stronger because these people… Read more »
Thanks for sharing. Now, that is just *low* when the kids are involved! What about Armenia? Do they ever interrupt Azeri songs in their transmissions? If not, then it’s clear who needs to be appremended.
That actually happened two years ago, sorry, not last year. The year Armenia won. Azerbaijan did not even participate last year because of where the contest was held. I have not heard of Armenia doing the same, but I don’t know. Armenia skipped Baku 2021. “United By Music” indeed.
Baku 2012, I mean
This 2011 thing is really sickening. The song was one of bookies’ favorite back then, the songs were generally very weak, Italy won jury vote but came very low in the televote while Sweden was very well with televote but very low with jury vote, Running sacred did well with both thus came out as winner. It is doing well among 2011 songs. If Eurovision victory can be bought, then it means there is a problem on EBU’s part, you can’t buy what’s not sold.
Odds can be manipulated by broadcasters with access to billion dollar slush funds. Odds are also determined by earlier results, such as Azerbaijan’s results in 2009 and 2010. Also paid for.
Also, yes, I agree entirely that there was a HUGE problem with the EBU in 2011. They were not equipped to deal with such large-scale cheating. It was totally unprecedented.
Must be a problem on jury and televote as well because they all decided they liked Running scared unexpectedly, right?
Wrong. They did not ALL decide to give Running Scared points. Harder-to-manipulate broadcasters like BBC gave it zero. Not everybody has integrity, but those who did stayed well away.
Well, in this case, almost all broadcasters voted for Azerbaijan, I guess no one in whole Europe has integrity.
Running Scared got only THREE 12s. From who, you’re wondering? Russia. Turkey. Malta.
Not suspicious at all, of course not!
Countries that gave Running Scared a big fat ZERO include Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland, Israel.
Spain also gave it zero. Those big populations can be trouble for countries trying to manipulate the televote.
Countries like Albania (8), Austria (8), Belarus (6), Belgium (3), Bosnia&Herzogovina (8), Croatia (10), Cyprus (8), Estonia (8), Finland (5), France (6), Georgia (8), Greece (5), Hungary (7), Iceland (8), Israel (4), Latvia (2), Lithuania (8), Moldova (10), The Netherlands (6), Poland (8), Portugal (8), Romania (10), San marino (10), Slovakia (7), Sweden (3), Switzerland (1), Ukraine (10) must all be [31 countries out of 43 voted for Azerbaijan] bought and corrupt, right? both jury and televote-wise, especially when jury is anonymous.
The reason juries are no longer anonymous is because of Azeri cheating in 2013. The new rules came in in 2014. Coincidence?
Also all it takes is just ONE of those points to be corrupt for Running Scared to be disqualified. Alas, nobody cared.
How can anonymous juries be contacted? God. If anonymous juries can be contacted, it means it is a problem on the juries and their channel side. As for your 2013 claims, I clearly remember EBU said that they could find no evidence of such a claim. Additionally, EBU stated that “based on criteria established by the EBU and Digame and overseen by a PwC observer, votes garnered through any instances of power-voting are disregarded”. So even if someone attempted to cheat, those votes were disregarded, which nullifies your claims that 2011 victory was ‘bought’ or ‘manipulated’. LINK: Eurovision organisers respond… Read more »
Anonymous juries can be contacted quite easily. Through the HoD. It is the HoD that organizes the jurors and selects them. All it take is a quick drink in the bar at the EBU meeting in Geneva. The Azeri HoD whispers to the Maltese HoD, and big fat brown envelopes are exchanged under the table. Malta gave Azerbaijan the full 12 points in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Four years in a row. Then, magically, in 2014, when jurors did no longer have the protection of anonymity… suddenly Azerbaijan only get zero points. Not one measly point. How sad.
Anonymity is not for EBU, it was for others lol. EBU always knew everything, as EBU stated in their 2013 statement, the juries sign a document and hand it over to EBU. EBU made a press release saying they found no evidence, their system disregarded power-voting or any irregularities and the results were verified and nothing was manipulated. The rest sounds like a you problem. You neither accept logical arguments nor official statement by EBU and keep making stories that sound way bizarre than alien theories and accept it as a reality, the dichotomy.
Yes, I am fully aware that the anonymity was for others. That means journalists or fans can do no digging. The EBU did no checking whatsoever, they just accept the HoDs words.
I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but Azerbaijan have NEVER actually won the contest by merit. The records should be wiped, like with the Tour de France and Lance Armstrong. Cheating happens. It happens everywhere. For example… the Aliyev family being in power for over 30 years, since the independence of Azerbaijan from the USSR. If you really accept this is fair, well then… sadly it is you who is deluded. Goodnight for real this time.
You clearly have no idea and talking bs. Aliyev hasn’t been in power for 30 years. No wonder it serves your interest. The other day you were telling that HRW, Memorial, European Court of Human Rights, United Nations Security Council, United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees were lying when they said Armenia occupied Azerbaijan, ethnically cleansed 1M Azerbaijanis and committed mass murders against them, systematically destroyed everything belonging to Azerbaijanis in the occupied territories by a single argument that ‘Aliyev was the president which is funny because the president was Elchibey during the 90’s who was the first democratically elected… Read more »
Readers, please note that Elchibey was indeed the first democratically elected president. Until the Aliyevs came along in 1993 and booted him out. They have been there ever since. The current dictator took over from his father in 2003, and the next dictator will be the current dictator’s son. Mrs. Aliyev is now the Vice Dictator. Like I said, the Aliyevs have been in power for 30 years, as 1993 was 30 years ago. Even before independence from USSR, it was Aliyev Senior who was Soviet chief there. Has anything really changed?
Always and Drip Drop were great songs lol and they got their well-deserved places. As I said even now Running scared is doing well among Eurovision 2011 songs, because it was a decent song in a weak edition, honestly, Azerbaijan came second (182) in jury vote while Italy won the jury vote with 251 points and was #11 in televote (thus no chance of winning), Sweden was #9 in jury vote thus losing all chances of winning, the only country doing ok with both televote and jury vote was Azerbaijan and that’s why it won. It’s not rocket science.
That is a very unconvincing argument. The final scores are bogus, invalid through one country hoovering up points through cheating. We will never know what the final positions would have been if rules had been adhered to. Juries were PAID to vote for Azerbaijan, while simultaneously being paid to vote DOWN other favourites. A team of agents were sent out across Europe to manipulate the televote. I know this all sounds very far-fetched, but don’t underestimate the lengths this dictator goes to to get a platform on the world stage. It was never because he cared about the Eurovision Song… Read more »
Wow great, so Azerbaijan came 2nd in the jury vote (Italy won by a landslide) and 1st in the televote (223 points, 221 points Sweden), and you argument is that all of the anonymous juries were contacted, they were all told to vote down Sweden, vote up Italy and Azerbaijan, agents were sent across Europe so all of the televoters were manipulated to vote for Azerbaijan as a result Azerbaijan got 223 points from televote, and it all sounds convincing to you? It seems to me you’ve got serious problems.
Right back at ya. It seems to me that YOU have serious problems. Like I said, it all seems far-fetched… but people, please remember examples like Russia cheating at the Olympics, Qatar bribing their way to hosting the World Cup etc. Large and extensive cheating is a fetish that dictators have, and can easily afford.
FACT: The song was a decent song and it was a weak year with no clear favorite, the votes were scattered and all over the place and this is why Running Scared won. But I like you fantasies, you could be a top selling fantasy-book author. Have a nice night and don’t forget to drink jasmine tea to relax your nerves.
That is not a fact. Goodnight, your majesty.
So you deny that it was a weak year with votes scattered all around and no clear favorite? You’ve really got issues and that’s not normal.
I do deny that, and alas it is perfectly normal to have issues. Most people do, such is life.
You are still naming countries who did the cheating.
And you come up with assumptions that just bcz above mentioned countries cheated it’s highly likely Azerbaijan did cheating. But not fact, you still don’t come clear with the fact, what you are doing is talking about your assumptions and rumours.
😀 😀 😀