Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010

Azerbaijan was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 by 17-year-old singer Safura Alizadeh, selected from an open casting call for artists and a national final. She performed the song "Drip Drop" at the contest, held in Bærum, Norway, and finished 5th in the final. Azerbaijanian broadcaster İctimai Televiziya və Radio Yayımları Şirkəti (İTV) selected the song on 18 March.[1]

Eurovision Song Contest 2010
Country Azerbaijan
National selection
Selection processLand of Fire 2010
Selection date(s)Semi-final
2 February 2010
Final
2 March 2010
Song Selection
18 March 2010
Selected entrantSafura Alizadeh
Selected song"Drip Drop"
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (2nd, 113 points)
Final result5th, 145 points
Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2009 • 2010 • 2011►

Before Eurovision

Land of Fire 2010

Shortly after the 2009 Contest had finished, İTV released information of the selection of the 2010 Azerbaijani entry. Two separate open calls for songs and artists were held to select the song and artists to represent Azerbaijan at the 2010 Contest.

The first phase of the selection entailed submissions by interested artists to compete in the selection. Artists wishing to participate had to submit a karaoke version of the songs they wanted to take part with in the selection procedure, one of which had to be a ballad and the other an uptempo song. The artists' dancing, acting and foreign language abilities were also used in selecting the singer for the Contest. There were no restrictions to either the nationality of the composer, or the language of the song.[2]

Around 20 candidates expressed their interest in representing Azerbaijan at Eurovision 2010 by 8 July 2009.[3] Among them was the winner of the last season of the Yeni Ulduz musical talent competition Safura Alizadeh, young participants of other musical contests such as Azad Shabanov, Chingiz Mustafayev and Huseyn Abdullayev, and Sumqayit band Sevan Uraklar.[4][5][6]

From a total of 30 candidates, İTV selected six artists to take part in the contest after being assessed by local and foreign specialists.[7][8][9] The semi-final was held on 2 February 2010 at the Buta Palace in Baku. Three acts will qualify to the final, which will be held in late February 2010.[10][11] The winner of the contest will be chosen by 100% jury vote.[11][12] İTV announced the six songs selected for the contest on 30 January 2010, all of which are performed in English.[13][14]

Semi-final

The semi-final was held on 2 February 2010 at the Buta Palace in Baku, where the six acts performed original songs. Three acts: Milk & Kisses, Safura Alizadeh and Maryam Shabanova, were selected from the six artist line-up by a jury to the final. The three qualifying acts were Milk & Kisses, Safura Alizadeh and Maryam Shabanova. However the competing songs may not be used in the final, and may be changed for others.[15][16]

The contest began with a solo performance by last year's Azerbaijani entry AySel, who placed third in Eurovision 2009 with Arash with the song "Always". Afterwards Eurovision Song Contest 2004 winner Ruslana performed many of her hits: "Dance with the Wolves"; "The Girl That Rules"; "The Same Star"; and her Eurovision winning song "Wild Dances", introduced by an oriental bellydance performance.[17][15] After the competing performances, Eurovision 2009 winner Alexander Rybak performed some of his hits, including a cover version of "Can't Take My Eyes off You" and a Russian-English version of his Eurovision winning song "Fairytale".[17][15]

Semi-final – 2 February 2010
Draw Artist Song Lyrics (l) / Music (m) Result
1 Milk & Kisses "I Am On Fire" Dilara Kazimova (m & l), Farida Nelson (m), DJ LOOPer (l) Advanced
2 Elli Mishiyeva "Up, Up" Isa Melikov (m), Paulina Malikova (l), Elli Mishiyeva (l) Eliminated
3 Azad Shabanov "Smile" Zahra Badalbeyli (m), Vusal Garayev (l) Eliminated
4 Ulviyya Rahimova "In Love" Ulviyya Rahimova (l), Sergey Guliyev (m), Lala Guliyeva (m) Eliminated
5 Safura Alizadeh "Soz ver" Elvin Musayev (m), Gunel Musayeva (l), Zahra Badalbeyli (l) Advanced
6 Maryam Shabanova "I've Had Enough" Maryam Shabanova (m & l) Advanced

Final

The head of the Azerbaijani delegation, Adil Karimli, has reported that about ten composers have expressed their interest in the contest, all of whom are non-Azerbaijani. However it has been reported by APA that the composer has already been selected, being American producer Timbaland.[18][19] On 19 February 2010, Karimli confirmed that the three finalists would perform five songs between them, composed by foreign authors and recorded recently in Kiev, Ukraine.[20][21] The four songs were: "Drip Drop" and "Under My Skin", performed by all three acts; "Soulless", performed by Safura Alizadeh and Maryam Shabanova; "Cancelled", performed by Milk and Kisses and later Safura Alizadeh; and "Don't Let The Morning Come".[22]

The final was held on 2 March 2010 at the Buta Palace in Baku. The three qualifying artists - Milk & Kisses, Maryam Shabanova and Safura Alizadeh, performed a total of four songs and a seven-member jury selected Safura Alizadeh as the Azerbaijani entry for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest.[22][23]

The Georgian entry for the 2010 Contest Sopho Nizharadze, and AySel, part of last year's Azerbaijani entry, were guests at the final, with Nizharadze performing her entry "Shine" for the Azerbaijani public.[22][24][25]

On 18 March 2010, İTV selected "Drip Drop", written by Stefan Örn and Sandra Bjurman, as the Azerbaijani song, after deliberation over which song to send to Eurovision from the three performed by Safura at the final, or to choose a new song.[1][26]

Final – 2 March 2010
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s)
1 Safura Alizadeh "Drip Drop" Stefan Örn, Sandra Bjurman
2 "Under My Skin" Stefan Örn, Sandra Bjurman
3 "Soulless" Anders Lundström
4 Milk and Kisses "Under My Skin" Stefan Örn, Sandra Bjurman
5 "Drip Drop" Stefan Örn, Sandra Bjurman
6 "Cancelled" Stefan Örn
7 Maryam Shabanova "Under My Skin" Stefan Örn, Sandra Bjurman
8 "Soulless" Anders Lundström
9 "Drip Drop" Stefan Örn, Sandra Bjurman

At Eurovision

Azerbaijan competed in the second semi-final of the contest, on 27 May, seventh on the draw. "Drip Drop" was performed after Sweden's This is my life and preceding Ukraine's Sweet People, and qualified for the final, to be held on Saturday 29 May 2010.

Split results
  • In the Semi-final 2 Azerbaijan came 2nd with 113 points: the public awarded Azerbaijan 1st place with 126 points and the jury awarded 3rd place with 89 points.
  • In the Final Azerbaijan came 5th with 145 points: the public awarded Azerbaijan 5th place with 161 points and the jury awarded 9th place with 116 points.

Points awarded to Azerbaijan
Points awarded to Azerbaijan (Semi-final 2)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Points awarded to Azerbaijan (Final)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Azerbaijan[27]

See also

References
  1. Hondal, Victor (18 March 2010). "Safura to sing Drip drop in Oslo". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 22 March 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  2. Floras, Stella (1 June 2009). "Azerbaijan calls for songs and artists". ESCToday. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  3. Vugarly, Vugar (8 July 2009). "Around 20 artists have expressed their desire to represent Azerbaijan in Eurovision-2010" (in Russian). Day.az. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  4. Kerimov, O. (13 July 2009). "Today, candidates for the "Eurovision 2010" from Azerbaijan were first audition" (in Russian). Day.az. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  5. Vugarly, Vugar (13 July 2009). "Winner of the musical contest "Yeni Ulduz" applied for selection in the "Eurovision 2010" from Azerbaijan" (in Russian). Day.az. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  6. "Group from Sumqayit applies for participation in "Eurovision 2010" (in Russian). Day.az. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  7. Hondal, Victor (6 January 2010). "Azerbaijan holds semifinal on February 2nd". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  8. Siim, Jarmo (6 January 2010). "Azerbaijan details Eurovision selection plans". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 January 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  9. "Named performers who could provide Azerbaijan in Eurovision 2010" (in Russian). Day.az. 6 January 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  10. Hondal, Victor (16 January 2010). "Three candidates to qualify for Azerbaijani final". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 18 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  11. Siim, Jarmo (18 January 2010). "Azerbaijan reveals more details on selection". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 January 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  12. Hondal, Victor (13 January 2010). "100% jury vote to decide Azerbaijani representative". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  13. Hondal, Victor (30 January 2010). "Azerbaijan song titles revealed". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 2 February 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  14. "Songs and performance of 6 Azerbaijani candidates at semifinal of national selection tour for Eurovision ready". APA. 30 January 2010. Archived from the original on 22 February 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  15. Siim, Jarmo (2 February 2010). "Three turn up the heat in Azerbaijan". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 4 February 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  16. Klier, Marcus (2 February 2010). "Three acts qualified in Azerbaijan". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 4 February 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  17. Klier, Marcus (2 February 2010). "Live: Semi final in Azerbaijan". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 4 February 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  18. Hondal, Victor (3 February 2010). "Azerbaijani final to be held on February 25th". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  19. "About ten composers applied to us for composing the song for Eurovision 2010". APA. 3 February 2010. Archived from the original on 22 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  20. Hondal, Victor (19 February 2010). "Azerbaijani national final on March 2nd". ESCToday. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
  21. Siim, Jarmo (19 February 2010). "When will Azerbaijan make their choice?". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 February 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
  22. Siim, Jarmo (2 March 2010). "Azerbaijan picks Safura for Oslo, but no song yet!". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  23. Klier, Marcus (2 February 2010). "Live: National final in Azerbaijan". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  24. "Sopho Nizharadze to visit Azerbaijan as National Final`s Guest". GPB. 23 February 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  25. Brey, Marco (27 February 2010). "Sofia Nizharadze to sing "Shine" in Oslo!". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  26. Davies, Russell (4 March 2010). "Azerbaijan: Safura waits to get her Eurovision song". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 7 March 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  27. Eurovision Song Contest 2009
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