Prior to the 2019 Contest, Azerbaijan had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eleven times since its first entry in 2008.[1] Azerbaijan had won the contest on one occasion in 2011 with the song "Running Scared" performed by Ell/Nikki. Since their debut in 2008, Azerbaijan has had a string of successful results, qualifying to the final and placing in the top ten each year until 2014, 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. However, in 2018, Azerbaijan placed eleventh in the semi-final with the song "X My Heart" performed by Aisel, making it the first occasion that Azerbaijan did not participate in a Eurovision final since their debut in 2008.
Before Eurovision[]
Internal selection[]
On 20 November 2018, İTV organised an internal audition round where over 40 artists attended and four potential performers were shortlisted: Chingiz Mustafayev, Leman Dadashova, Samira Efendi and Tofig Hajiyev. On 24 November 2018, the broadcaster called for interested local and international songwriters to submit their songs by 7 February 2019.[2] On 8 March 2019, İTV announced that Chingiz Mustafayev would represent Azerbaijan, performing the song "Truth". The selection of Chingiz as the Azerbaijani Eurovision contestant was based on the decision of İTV and a national jury panel. "Truth" was selected from over 350 submissions from songwriters in a similar broadcaster and jury decision method.[3]
"Truth" was written by Chingiz alongside members of the songwriting team Symphonix International, Borislav Milanov, Trey Campbell, Joacim Persson, Pablo Dinero and Hostess. The song was presented the same day the selected song and artist was announced via the release of the official music video.
At Eurovision[]
According to Eurovision rules, 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 progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2019, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Azerbaijan was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 16 May 2019, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[4]
Once all the competing songs for the 2019 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Azerbaijan was set to perform in position 18, following the entry from North Macedonia, closing the semi-final.[5]
Semi-final[]
Azerbaijan performed last in the second semi-final, following the entry from North Macedonia. At the end of the show, Azerbaijan was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Azerbaijan placed fifth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 224 points: 121 points from the televoting and 103 points from the juries.
Voting[]
Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results will be released shortly after the grand final.[6]
Azerbaijan
Armenia
Ireland
Moldova
Switzerland
Latvia
Romania
Denmark
Sweden
Austria
Croatia
Malta
Lithuania
Russia
Albania
Norway
Netherlands
North Macedonia
Czech Republic
Germany
San Marino
Slovenia
Cyprus
Greece
Israel
United Kingdom
Iceland
Estonia
Belarus
France
Italy
Serbia
Australia
Spain