Prior to the 2021 Contest, Azerbaijan had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 12 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 and 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. In 2019, Chingiz with "Truth" brought Azerbaijan back into the top 10, finishing in 8th place with 302 points.
Before Eurovision[]
Internal selection[]
On 20 March 2020, İTV confirmed that Efendi would remain as Azerbaijan's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.[2] On 7 January 2021, the broadcaster called for interested songwriters to submit their songs to the broadcaster by 1 February 2021. Songwriters could be of any nationality.[3] Six songs were shortlisted from 229 submissions from local and international songwriters and their titles were revealed by INFE Azerbaijan on 9 February 2021.[4][5]
"Breathing You"
"Manifesto"
"Mata Hari"
"Owe You Pretty"
"Ratata"
"When I'm Gone"
On 13 March 2021, İTV announced that "Mata Hari" was the selected song that would represent Azerbaijan. "Mata Hari" was selected from the six shortlisted songs based on the decision of İTV and participants of an opinion survey that featured music industry experts and Eurovision fans.[5][6] The song was released on 15 March 2021 alongside a music video. "Mata Hari" was written by Amy van der Wel, Josh Earl, Luuk van Beers and Tony Cornelissen.[7]
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. For the 2021 contest, the semi-final allocation draw held for 2020 which was held on 28 January 2020, will be used. Azerbaijan was placed into the first semi-final, which was held on 18 May 2021, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[8]
Semi-final[]
Once all the competing songs for the 2021 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 14, following the entry from Romania and preceding the entry from Ukraine.[9]
On 18 May, the day the semi-final was held, Azerbaijan qualified for the Grand Final.
Final[]
Azerbaijan performed 21st in the grand final on 22 May 2021, following France and preceding Norway.
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 a diversity in gender and age represented. The judges assess each entry based on the performances during the second Dress Rehearsal of each show, which takes place the night before each live show, against a set of criteria including: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.[10] Jury members may only take part in panel once every three years, and are obliged to confirm that they are not connected to any of the participating acts in a way that would impact their ability to vote impartially. Jury members should also vote independently, with no discussion of their vote permitted with other jury members.[11] The exact composition of the professional jury, and the results of each country's jury and televoting were released after the grand final; the individual results from each jury member were also released in an anonymised form.[12][13]
Azerbaijan
Lithuania
Slovenia
Russia
Sweden
Australia
North Macedonia
Ireland
Cyprus
Norway
Croatia
Belgium
Israel
Romania
Ukraine
Malta
Albania
Portugal
Serbia
United Kingdom
Greece
Switzerland
Iceland
Spain
Moldova
Germany
Finland
Bulgaria
France
Netherlands
Italy
San Marino