Mamagama: 10 Facts about Azerbaijan’s Eurovision 2025 singers

Azerbaijan is going all in for Eurovision 2025 in Basel. They’re not settling for less, with a modern yet authentic Azerbaijani song called “Run with You,” the country is represented by Mamagama.

Azerbaijan selected their Eurovision artists internally. The country gave up on national selection after 2014 and has never returned to it, preferring the internal selection method instead. This year, they are represented by the trio Mamagama, consisting of vocalist Asaf Mishiyev, guitarist Hasan Heydar, and drummer Arif Imanov. They’ve got a Eurovision track that’s both authentic and modern, along with a music video in which they invited former Eurovision artists from Azerbaijan, including Fahree, Ilkin Dovlatov, and TuralTuranX. But let’s meet Mamagama! Scroll down to see what we found out from our chat with them.

Azerbaijan won the Eurovision trophy back in 2011 with Ell and Nikki. Will they bring another one back home this year?

Azerbaijan at Eurovision 2025: 10 Facts about Mamagama

1.    They are from Baku

All three members of Mamagama come from the same city, Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

2.    They have various tastes in music

When it comes to their taste in music, the members have a variety of preferences. Asaf enjoys singer-songwriter music, Hasan is a fan of British electronic, rock, and hip-hop, while Arif enjoys all kinds of music.

3.    They have cool hobbies

Asaf is a fan of video games, especially Fallout and Dota 2. Hasan is into sports, while Arif enjoys sports, hiking, and also cooking.

4.    All of them are playing instruments

They all play instruments, and all of them play guitar. More specifically, Asaf plays guitar, Hasan plays guitar, bass guitar, and works with a DAW (digital audio workstation), while Arif plays drums and guitar.

5.    They dream big

Speaking about their biggest dreams, Asaf wants to become a successful singer-songwriter, Hasan dreams of performing on the main stage at Coachella, and Arif wishes to open a drum school.

6.    They adore their pets

Without hesitation, all of them are pet lovers, especially cats, as Hasan mentioned.

7.    Movies and books

When asked about their favorite movies and books, Asaf mentioned Rocky (1976) and every film by Andrei Tarkovsky and Aleksey Balabanov. For books, he named Spartacus by Raffaello Giovagnoli (1984) and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932). Hasan added the movie The Room (2003) by Tommy Wiseau and the book The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.

8.    Favorite Eurovision songs

Of course, they are Eurovision fans. Asaf said that his all-time favorite is “Love” by Sasha Son, who represented Lithuania in 2009. Hasan likes “Deli” by Mor ve Ötesi, which represented Turkey in 2008.

9.    They do want to run somewhere!

As their song is called “Run With U”, we asked them where they would like to run if they could go anywhere in the world. Asaf said he would run home, while Hasan mentioned anywhere in the Nordic countries.

10.  They love Shah Plov

As different as they are, there’s one thing the guys all agree on – food. All of them love shah plov, an Azerbaijani dish made with saffron-infused rice, chicken, meat, raisins, nuts, dried fruits and many other ingredients, depending on the region.

Come back for more exciting stories and facts about Mamagama as we head towards pre-parties and Basel 2025 itself.