Azerbaijan has announced that it is one step closer to finding out who will represent them in Malmö as İctimai begins the live auditions of its selection.
Who will represent Azerbaijan in Malmö?
Three months on from its initial confirmation of participation at Eurovision 2024, national broadcaster of Azerbaijan Ä°ctimai Television has revealed that the next round of its search will start soon. After initially receiving 214 submissions, that number has not been whittled down to 16. The 16 acts hoping to represent Azerbaijan will now have to go through a live audition stage with Ä°ctimai’s Eurovision team. It had previously been revealed that of the 214 songs submitted, that 88 were from Azerbaijani songwriters. In the search for last year’s entrant, it had been revealed that there was a strong desire to pick an Azeri songwriter, as international writers had previously dominated the authorship of Azerbaijan’s entries. It is not known yet whether this preference has been extended to this year.
At this present time the live auditions are set to take place behind closed doors, and the identities and potential songs of the 16 shortlisted acts are unknown.
Azerbaijan’s Eurovision Journey
Azerbaijan is a powerhouse in Eurovision, first debuting in 2008 with the song “Day After Day” by Elnur & Samir, finishing 8th. The country has since gone on to achieve five top-5 performances, including one win in 2011. Azerbaijan has a near perfect qualification record, only failing to make the final in 2018 and 2023.
For 2023, Azerbaijan was represented by twins TuralTuranX with their song “Tell Me More”. Perfoming in the first semi-final, the duo failed to qualify for the final for the second time, receiving only 4 points from the televote.
What do you think about Azerbaijan’s selection process? Who do you hope to see represent Azerbaijan at Eurovision? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky for all the latest Eurovision news.
News Source: ITV
Photo Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU
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