The broadcaster responsible for the Azerbaijani participation in the Eurovision Song Contest – ictimaiTV have announced the five artists in the final shortlist for their internal selection.
The Final Fabulous Five
The artists that are in the running are as follows:-
- Azer Nasibov
- Humay Aslanova & Amrah Musayev
- Leyla Izzatova
- Mamagama
- Turan & Tural Bağmanovlar
These five acts have all recorded their songs in the same studio using the same equipment, this is to ensure that the quality is the same among the songs. These songs will be recorded in studio and will have live performances filmed. Stress has been placed that they have worked with Azerbaijani producers and songwriters. The final focus group will listed to the studio versions and the live versions and will make further decisions based on these Ilaha Dadashova, spokesperson for the Azerbaijani delegation states.
Azerbaijan at the Eurovision Song Contest
Azerbaijan first entered Eurovision in 2008. They have been a regular participant since, winning once in 2011. 2023 will be their 15th entry, which they confirmed in October.
Azerbaijan finished 16th in the Grand Final with 106 points. Their dark ballad “Fade To Black”, performed by Nadir Rustamli, was a big hit with the juries, scoring 103 points. It received only 3 points from the public. This was the only song to ever qualify for a final without scoring a single point in the televote in the semi final, meaning under the new voting system announced last week, it would not have qualified.