Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

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Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Country Azerbaijan
National selection
Selection processArtist: Böyük Səhnə
Song: Internal selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 2 March 2014
Song: 16 March 2014
Selected entrantDilara Kazimova
Selected song"Start a Fire"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (9th, 57 points)
Final result22nd, 33 points
Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2013 • 2014 • 2015►

Azerbaijan participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Azerbaijani entry was selected through Böyük Səhnə, organised by Azerbaijani broadcaster İctimai Television (İTV). Azerbaijan was represented by the song "Start a Fire", performed by Dilara Kazimova and written by Stefan Örn, Johan Kronlund and Alessandra Günthardt. The entry qualified from the first semi-final to compete in the final. Azerbaijan placed 22nd in the final, scoring 33 points.

Background[]

Main article: Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2014 contest, Azerbaijan had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest six 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 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.

The Azeri broadcaster for the 2014 Contest, who broadcast the event in Azerbaijan and organised the selection process for its entry, was İctimai Television (İTV).[2] Azerbaijan had used various methods to select the Azeri 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 2009 and 2013, Azerbaijan organized a national final titled Milli Seçim Turu, which would result in the selection of a winning performer that would subsequently be given an internally selected song to perform at Eurovision. In 2014, the broadcaster utilised an existing talent show format titled Böyük Səhnə to complete a similar process where the winning artist would supplied with an internally selected song. The competition was initially developed in 2013 by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ukrainian production company Euromedia and aired as a talent casting on Azad Azerbaijan TV until it moved to İTV for its second season for the purpose of selecting their 2014 entry.[3]

Before Eurovision[]

Böyük Səhnə[]

Böyük Səhnə (Big Stage) was an Azerbaijani talent show organised by İTV that selected the Azerbaijani contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. The competition consisted of four shows that commenced on 9 February 2014 and concluded with a winning artist on 2 March 2014. The four shows took place at the NTU studios in Kyiv, Ukraine and hosted by Husniye Maharramova and Tural Asadov.[4] All shows were broadcast on İTV and streamed online via the broadcaster's website itv.az.[5]

Format[]

The competition consisted of two stages. The first stage was the supercasting which involved an audition period where interested artists attended auditions that occurred across Azerbaijan between 9 and 16 January 2014. Fourteen contestants were selected and advanced to the second stage, the televised shows. Four shows including three elimination heats on 9, 16 and 23 February 2014 selected the contestants (who each performed cover versions of various songs) that would advance to the final on 2 March 2014. In the final, the winner was selected from the remaining contestants who each performed three songs: two cover versions of various songs and an original song.[5]

The results of all shows were determined by the votes of a five-member jury panel whose members varied in composition in each show. During the heats, each jury member assigned scores ranging from 1 (lowest score) to 10 (highest score) to each contestant and those receiving a total score of over 45 automatically advanced in the competition. The remaining contestants faced an additional jury deliberation which determined those that be eliminated from the competition. In the final, each jury member assigned scores ranging from 1 to 10 to each contestant following their performances of each song and the combination of votes selected the winner.

Shows[]

Supercasting[]

İTV called for interested artists to apply for the competition by attending auditions held in the following eight cities across Azerbaijan between 9 and 16 January 2014:[6]

  • 9 January 2014 – Sumqayit and Ganja
  • 10 January 2014 – Lankaran and Yevlakh
  • 11 January 2014 – Shirvan and Shaki
  • 12–13 January 2014 – Quba and Baku
  • 15–16 January 2014 – Baku

250 artists attended the auditions and performed in front of a five-member jury panel consisting of Gulchohra Shafieva (film director), Sevda Alekbarzadeh (singer), Ilhama Gasimova (singer), Tunzala Gahraman (singer) and Saleh Bagirov (television presenter). Each jury member assigned scores ranging from 1 to 10 to each artist. Five shows covering the auditions were aired between 27 and 31 January 2014, hosted by Husniye Maharramova. 80 artists received a total score of 40 or above and were shortlisted. On 31 January 2014, İTV announced the fourteen contestants ultimately selected for the competition.[7][8] An additional show took place on 2 February which the fourteen contestants were presented with a recap.

Heat 1[]

The first heat took place on 9 February 2014 where the fourteen contestants performed cover versions of various songs. The five-member jury panel consisted of Eldar Gasimov (singer and winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011), Murad Arif (songwriter and television host), Tunzala Aghayeva (singer and composer), Mubariz Taghiyev (Azerbaijani honoured singer) and Zumruz Dadashzade (professor at the Baku Music Academy). Six of the contestants received a total score of over 45 and automatically advanced to the second heat, while the jury eliminated four of the remaining eight contestants from the competition.[9]

Heat 1 – 9 February 2014
Draw Artist Song (original artists) E. Gasimov M. Arif T. Aghayeva M. Taghiyev Z. Dadashzade Total Result
1 Lala Sultan "Aphrodisiac" (Eleftheria Eleftheriou) 7 7 8 8 7 37 Eliminated
2 Aydin Eyvazzadeh "Pumped Up Kicks" (Foster the People) 9 10 10 9 8 46 Advanced
3 Khulya Ibadova "You Are So Beautiful" (Joe Cocker) 10 8 8 9 10 45 Advanced
4 Samira Efendiyeva "All by Myself" (Eric Carmen) 8 8 10 9 8 43 Advanced
5 Elton Ibrahimov "Superstition" (Stevie Wonder) 10 10 10 10 9 49 Advanced
6 Aishabeyim Naghiyeva "Still Loving You" (Scorpions) 7 7 8 7 8 37 Eliminated
7 Wave "Sarı Gelin" (Azerbaijani folk song) 6 7 7 7 7 34 Eliminated
8 Fuad Asadov "Every Time (I See Your Smile)" (Tomas N'evergreen) 8 10 10 9 9 46 Advanced
9 Khana Hasanova "Hero" (Mariah Carey) 9 8 8 9 10 44 Advanced
10 Erkin Osmanli "Girls, Girls, Girls" (original song) 10 10 10 9 10 49 Advanced
11 Dilara Kazimova "Mercy" (Duffy) 10 10 10 10 10 50 Advanced
12 Safa Eldar "Troublemaker" (Olly Murs feat. Flo Rida) 7 7 7 8 7 36 Eliminated
13 Valeria Huseynzadeh "Glorious" (Cascada) 9 7 6 7 8 37 Advanced
14 Azad Shabanov "Fall Again" (Glenn Lewis) 10 10 8 10 10 48 Advanced
Heat 2[]

The second heat took place on 16 February 2014 where the remaining ten contestants performed cover versions of various songs. The five-member jury panel consisted of Sabina Babayeva (singer and 2012 Azerbaijani Eurovision entrant), Faiq Suceddinov (singer), Tunzala Aghayeva (singer and composer), Zumruz Dadashzade (professor at the Baku Music Academy) and Eldar Gasimov (singer and winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011). Five of the contestants received a total score of over 45 and automatically advanced to the third heat, while the jury eliminated four of the remaining five contestants from the competition.[10]

Heat 2 – 16 February 2014
Draw Artist Song (original artists) S. Babayeva F. Suceddinov T. Aghayeva Z. Dadashzade E. Gasimov Total Result
1 Khulya Ibadova "GoldenEye" (Tina Turner) 9 8 9 9 8 43 Eliminated
2 Erkin Osmanli "Lovelight" (Robbie Williams) 10 10 10 10 9 49 Advanced
3 Valeria Huseynzadeh "Drip Drop" (Safura) 8 9 8 8 9 42 Eliminated
4 Azad Shabanov "Señorita" (Justin Timberlake) 10 10 9 10 10 49 Advanced
5 Samira Efendiyeva "It's All About You" (Juliana Pasha) 10 10 10 9 9 48 Advanced
6 Aydin Eyvazzadeh "Pompeii" (Bastille) 9 8 7 8 7 39 Eliminated
7 Khana Hasanova "Dance Again" (Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull) 9 10 8 9 10 46 Advanced
8 Fuad Asadov "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (Elton John) 9 8 7 8 7 39 Eliminated
9 Dilara Kazimova "History Repeating" (Propellerheads feat. Shirley Bassey) 9 9 10 10 10 48 Advanced
10 Elton Ibrahimov "Creative" (Leon Jackson) 9 10 8 9 9 45 Advanced
Heat 3[]

The third heat took place on 23 February 2014 where the remaining six contestants performed cover versions of various songs. The five-member jury panel consisted of Tunzala Gahraman (singer), Zahra Badalbeyli (musician), Dimitris Kontopoulos (Greek composer), Murad Dadashov (producer) and Fuad Aliyev (director). Two of the contestants received a total score of over 45 and automatically advanced to the final, while the jury eliminated the three of the remaining four contestants from the competition.[11]

Heat 3 – 23 February 2014
Draw Artist Song (original artists) T. Gahraman Z. Badalbeyli D. Kontopoulos M. Dadashov F. Aliyev Total Result
1 Khana Hasanova "At Last" (Etta James) 10 10 10 9 8 47 Advanced
2 Elton Ibrahimov "Ready for Love" (India Arie) 9 8 8 7 7 39 Eliminated
3 Samira Efendiyeva "I Have Nothing" (Whitney Houston) 9 9 9 8 9 44 Eliminated
4 Azad Shabanov "Whatever Happens" (Michael Jackson) 9 9 9 8 10 45 Eliminated
5 Dilara Kazimova "Hometown Glory" (Adele) 10 10 10 10 9 49 Advanced
6 Erkin Osmanli "If You Were a Sailboat" (Katie Melua) 9 9 9 8 9 44 Advanced
Final[]

The final aired on 2 March 2014 where the remaining three contestants performed three songs: two cover versions of various songs and an original song. The show was filmed on 28 February 2014. The five-member jury panel consisted of Eldar Gasimov (singer and winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011), Tunzala Agayeva (composer and singer), Murad Arif (songwriter and television host), Stefan Örn (Swedish composer) and Jamil Guliyev (İTV director). Dilara Kazimova was selected by the jury as the winner.[12]

Final – 2 March 2014
Draw Artist Song (original artists) E. Gasimov T. Aghayeva M. Arif S. Örn J. Guliyev Total Place
1 Erkin Osmanli "Girls, Girls, Girls" (original song) 8 8 8 6 8 122 3
"Love Me Again" (John Newman) 9 10 8 8 9
"Letter to Brooke" (original song) 7 7 10 8 8
2 Dilara Kazimova "History Repeating" (Propellerheads feat. Shirley Bassey) 8 8 9 7 8 136 1
"Happy" (Pharrell Williams) 9 9 10 9 9
"Alone" (original song) 10 10 10 10 10
3 Khana Hasanova "Dance Again" (Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull) 9 9 7 7 9 129 2
"Run" (Snow Patrol) 10 9 9 9 9
"My Life" (original song) 9 9 8 8 8

Song selection[]

On 16 March 2014, İTV announced that Dilara Kazimova would be performing the song "Start a Fire", written by Stefan Örn, Alessandra Günthardt and Johan Kronlund. "Start a Fire" was selected from submissions from local and international songwriters based on the decision of İTV and a national jury panel.[13][14] The song was presented on the same day via the release of the official music video. The melody features the traditional Azeri musical instrument balaban[15] (also shown in the video clip).[15] In regards to the song, Kazimova stated: "'Start a Fire' is the best choice for me. The melody is kind of hypnotizing and the story is deep and touching. It's a bit tragic but with hope. I'm very much into the song and want to make my audiences feel its deep meaning."[16]

On 16 April 2014, the song was performed by Kazimova for the first time in Azeri, under the name "Bir qığılcım", and Turkish, under the name "Alev Gibi".[17][18]

At Eurovision[]

Dilara Kazimova at the first semi-final dress rehearsal
Aerial acrobat Matleena Laine at the first semi-final dress rehearsal

During the semi-final allocation draw on 20 January 2014 at the Copenhagen City Hall, Azerbaijan was drawn to compete in the first half of the first semi-final on 6 May 2014.[19] In the first semi-final, the producers of the show decided that Azerbaijan would perform 8th, following Russia and preceding Ukraine.[20] Azerbaijan qualified from the first semi-final and competed in the final on 10 May 2014. During the winner's press conference for the first semi-final qualifiers, Azerbaijan was allocated to compete in the first half of the final.[21][22] In the final, the producers of the show decided that Azerbaijan would perform 3rd, following Belarus and preceding Iceland.[23] Azerbaijan placed 22nd in the final, scoring 33 points.[24]

On stage, Dilara Kazimova was joined by three backing vocalists: Jennie Jahn, Sofia Lindström and Lena Engman.[25] The performance also featured aerial acrobat Matleena Laine performing on an 8-meter-high acrobatic trapeze. The staging of the performance was completed by Swedish director and dancer Asa Engman, in cooperation with Polish-Japanese choreographer Piotr Giro.[26]

The Azerbaijani spokesperson revealing the result of the Azerbaijani vote in the final was 2012 Azerbaijani contest entrant Sabina Babayeva.[27]

Voting[]

Points awarded to Azerbaijan[]

Points awarded by Azerbaijan[]

Detailed voting results[]

The following members comprised the Azerbaijani jury:[30]

  • Yegana Akhundova (jury chairperson) – pro-rector of Baku Music Academy, pianist, musician, composer
  •  [az] – People's Artist, musician, singer, actor
  •  [az] – opera artist
  • Nigar Jamal – singer, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
  • Khayyam Mustafazadeh – singer, vocalist
Detailed voting results from Azerbaijan (Semi-final 1)[31]
Draw Country Y. Axundova M. Taghiyev S. Djafarov N. Jamal K. Mustafazadeh Average Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Points
01  Armenia 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15
02  Latvia 5 6 1 4 5 4 9 4 7
03  Estonia 1 3 5 3 3 3 11 6 5
04  Sweden 12 14 12 14 14 14 8 13
05  Iceland 13 12 14 11 13 13 12 14
06  Albania 7 5 2 5 7 6 14 12
07  Russia 2 1 4 1 2 1 2 2 10
08  Azerbaijan
09  Ukraine 3 4 3 2 1 2 1 1 12
10  Belgium 8 11 7 10 8 9 6 7 4
11  Moldova 6 8 9 8 6 7 13 11
12  San Marino 9 9 10 12 10 10 4 5 6
13  Portugal 14 13 13 9 11 12 7 10 1
14  Netherlands 11 10 8 13 12 11 5 8 3
15  Montenegro 10 7 11 6 9 8 10 9 2
16  Hungary 4 2 6 7 4 5 3 3 8
Detailed voting results from Azerbaijan (Final)[32]
Draw Country Y. Axundova M. Taghiyev S. Djafarov N. Jamal K. Mustafazadeh Average Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Points
01  Ukraine 6 5 5 7 6 6 1 2 10
02  Belarus 3 2 3 4 1 2 5 4 7
03  Azerbaijan
04  Iceland 19 18 17 19 19 18 18 21
05  Norway 20 21 20 20 18 20 19 24
06  Romania 5 6 2 2 3 4 9 5 6
07  Armenia 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25
08  Montenegro 9 11 10 9 10 10 22 18
09  Poland 10 10 12 11 12 11 12 9 2
10  Greece 4 4 6 5 7 5 11 7 4
11  Austria 24 24 23 24 23 24 3 10 1
12  Germany 23 22 22 21 22 22 17 23
13  Sweden 22 23 24 23 24 23 7 13
14  France 15 12 15 13 14 14 24 22
15  Russia 1 3 1 1 2 1 2 1 12
16  Italy 8 7 9 6 5 7 23 16
17  Slovenia 11 8 8 10 8 9 21 15
18  Finland 14 15 14 15 16 15 20 20
19  Spain 12 13 11 14 11 12 15 12
20   Switzerland 21 20 21 22 21 21 6 11
21  Hungary 2 1 4 3 4 3 4 3 8
22  Malta 7 9 7 8 9 8 8 6 5
23  Denmark 17 16 18 17 17 17 16 19
24  Netherlands 18 19 19 18 20 19 13 17
25  San Marino 13 14 13 12 13 13 10 8 3
26  United Kingdom 16 17 16 16 15 16 14 14

References[]

  1. ^ "Azerbaijan Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  2. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (4 September 2014). "Azerbaijan: Ictimai confirms participation in Eurovision 2015". ESCToday. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  3. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (26 December 2013). "Azerbaijan: Boyuk Sehne will deliberate Eurovision representative". esctoday.com. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Böyük Səhnə 2014". 4lyrics. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (2 March 2014). "Watch now: Böyük Səhnə final in Azerbaijan". Esctoday. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  6. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (26 December 2013). "Azerbaijan: Boyuk Sehne auditions kick off in January". esctoday.com. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  7. ^ "Eurovision 2014 - Azerbaijan / Азербайджан". ESCKaz. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  8. ^ Omelyanchuk, Olena (9 February 2014). "14 semi-finalists in the Böyük Səhnə Show". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  9. ^ Omelyanchuk, Olena (9 February 2014). "Azerbaijan: Results of the first heat". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  10. ^ Brey, Marco (16 February 2014). "Who qualified in the second heat in Azerbaijan?". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  11. ^ Omelyanchuk, Olena (23 February 2014). "Azerbaijan: Three tickets to the final". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  12. ^ Omelyanchuk, Olena (2 March 2014). "Dilara wins Böyük Səhnə in Azerbaijan". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  13. ^ Omelyanchuk, Olena (16 March 2014). "Watch tonight: Dilara Kazimova's song presentation". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  14. ^ "Watch: Dilara Kazimova will start a fire for Azerbaijan". wiwibloggs.com. 16 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  15. ^ a b Dilara Kazimova - Start A Fire (Eurovision 2014 Azerbaijan) Archived 2014-03-17 at the Wayback Machine / Mid.az. 16.03.2014. (in Azerbaijani)
  16. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (16 March 2014). "Azerbaijan: Dilara will Start A Fire in Copenhagen". Esctoday. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  17. ^ Feliks Wiszniewiecki. Azeri Version of Start a Fire Presented. 1news.az. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  18. ^ "Parçasını Türkçe söyledi!" (in Turkish). Habertürk. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  19. ^ Escudero, Victor M. (20 January 2014). "Allocation Draw results: Who's in which Semi-Final?". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  20. ^ Siim, Jarmo (24 March 2014). "Running order for Eurovision Semi-Finals decided". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  21. ^ Brey, Marco (7 May 2014). "First Semi-Final: Meet the winners at the press conference!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  22. ^ "First Semi-Final of Copenhagen 2014". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  23. ^ Storvik-Green, Simon (9 May 2014). "Running order for the Grand Final revealed!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  24. ^ "Grand Final of Copenhagen 2014". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  25. ^ "ESCKAZ - Eurovision 2014 - Dilara Kazimova (Azerbaijan)". ESCKaz. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  26. ^ Omelyanchuk, Olena (28 April 2014). "Azerbaijan: It's all about powerful voice and aerial act". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  27. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2014: ecco l'elenco degli spokesperson" (in Italian). Eurofestival News. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  28. ^ a b "Results of the First Semi-Final of Copenhagen 2014". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  29. ^ a b "Results of the Grand Final of Copenhagen 2014". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  30. ^ Brey, Marco (1 May 2014). "Who will be in the expert juries?". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  31. ^ "Full Split Results | First Semi-Final of Copenhagen 2014". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  32. ^ "Full Split Results | Grand Final of Copenhagen 2014". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2021.

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