| Eurovision Song Contest 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Azerbaijan | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Internal selection | |||
| Selection date(s) | TBA, 2024 | |||
| Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Azerbaijan is set to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden. The Azerbaijani broadcaster İctimai Television (İTV) is holding an internal selection for the entry which will represent the country at the 2024 contest.
Background
Prior to the 2024 contest, Azerbaijan has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifteen times since its first entry in 2008.[1] Azerbaijan has won the contest on one occasion in 2011 with the song "Running Scared" performed by Ell and Nikki. Since their debut in 2008, Azerbaijan has had a string of successful results, qualifying to the final in every contest until in 2018 when they failed to qualify with the song "X My Heart" performed by Aisel. Azerbaijan has placed in the top ten seven times, including a third-place result in 2009 with the song "Always" performed by AySel and Arash and a second-place result in 2013 with the song "Hold Me" performed by Farid Mammadov. In 2023, Azerbaijan failed to qualify to the final with the song "Tell Me More" performed by TuralTuranX.[1]
The Azerbaijani national broadcaster, İctimai Television (İTV), broadcasts the event within Azerbaijan and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Azerbaijan has used various methods to select the Azerbaijani entry in the past, including internal selections of both the artist and song, as well as national finals to select their artist followed by an internal selection to determine the song. Between 2011 and 2013, Azerbaijan organized a national final titled Milli Seçim Turu to select the performer, song or both for Eurovision. In 2014, the broadcaster utilised an existing talent show format titled Böyük Səhnə where the winning performer would subsequently be given an internally selected song. Since 2015, the broadcaster has internally selected both the artist and song that represented Azerbaijan. On 14 July 2023, İTV confirmed its participation in 2024 and that its entry would again be selected internally.
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
Upon confirming their participation in the 2024 contest, İTV opened a submission window for interested artists and songwriters, lasting until 30 September 2023.[2] Perfomers without a song could not apply individually. Songs could be submitted in any language, and their authors are not required to be Azerbaijani nationals.[3] A total of 214 song submissions were received by İTV, 88 of which were from Azerbaijani artists.[4][5]
By 20 October 2023, sixteen acts were selected to take part in an audition round in Baku on 29 October 2023, when İTV announced the names of the fifteen auditioned artists (one having been unable to attend); among them was Aisel, who had previously represented Azerbaijan in the 2018 contest. The acts were judged by a panel which included 2009 Azerbaijani representative Aysel Teymurzadeh and Eurovision 2011 winners Ell and Nikki.[6][7] On 6 November 2023, six artists were announced to have passed the auditions, shown below in bold.[8] The Azerbaijani representative will be chosen after a consultation with focus groups of Eurovision fans, journalists and music professionals.[9]
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At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden, and consist of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 7 and 9 May and the final on 11 May 2024. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final will progress to the final. On 30 January 2024, an allocation draw will be held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country will perform in; the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) splits up the competing countries into different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[11]
References
- 1 2 "Azerbaijan". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ↑ Granger, Anthony (14 July 2023). "Azerbaijan: Eurovision 2024 Selection Launched". Eurovoix. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
- ↑ "ITV clarifies issues on selection process for Eurovision 2024". Azernews. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ↑ İTV Eurovision [@ictimaieurovision] (3 October 2023). "214 MAHNI!" [214 SONGS!] (in Azerbaijani and English). Retrieved 3 October 2023 – via Instagram.
- ↑ Conte, Davide (3 October 2023). "Azerbaijan: 214 Songs Submitted For Eurovision 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ↑ Granger, Anthony (20 October 2023). "Azerbaijan: 16 Artists Progress to Eurovision 2024 Live Auditions". Eurovoix. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- 1 2 Granger, Anthony (29 October 2023). "Azerbaijan: Live Auditions Take Place in Baku for Eurovision 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- 1 2 Stephenson, James (6 November 2023). "Azerbaijan: Six Acts Remain in Contention for Eurovision 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- ↑ Granger, Anthony (14 November 2023). "Azerbaijan: Six Acts Currently Being Assessed By Focus Groups". Eurovoix. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
- ↑ İTV Eurovision [@ictimaieurovision] (29 October 2023). "Avroviziya 2024 seçimlərinin daha bir mərhələsi uğurla başa çatdı!" [Another round of Eurovision 2024 selections has been successfully completed!] (in Azerbaijani and English). Retrieved 29 October 2023 – via Instagram.
- ↑ Van Dijk, Sem Anne (13 December 2023). "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Allocation Draw on January 30". Eurovoix. Retrieved 13 December 2023.