It’s the Eurovision down season, and don’t you for a second think we’re going to stop speculating, arguing, and pushing our heated opinions. Our latest series looked at the national finals of Eurovision, and discussing how we would reform the national finals of Eurovision. This time we’re creating national finals from scratch; continuing with Azerbaijan.
In part eight of this series Euan, Angus, and Daniel discuss how they’d create a national final for Azerbaijan.
Do we think that they will return to a national final, and would we want that?
Euan
I really don’t think we’re going back to a national final in Azerbaijan any time soon which is a real shame because Milli Seçim Turu was the mother of national finals, and also given the current pivot that Azerbaijan is making in its approach to the contest. I’d really like to see one return as part of a strategy to put the country back at the top of the Eurovision scoreboard like it always deserves to be.
Daniel
I don’t think a NF is close to being on the horizon in Azerbaijan, but whilst I don’t necessarily share Euan’s level of enthusiasm for everything Azeri, I’d be interested to see one should it return
Angus
If Azerbaijan goes to a national final format within the next decade, I’d be shocked. And if it did, it would either be just an extra perk for winning The Voice or something similar. Would I want an Azeri national final? If it highlighted artists and songwriters from the domestic music scene, I am sure it could be a very neat event.
What would our dream national final look like?
Euan
Personally I think the best approach for an Azerbaijani national final would be a hybrid approach of an internal selection for the act, with the song selected via national final. They’ve always been great at finding people with good vocal and performance abilities, and I think that should continue. If they do wish to have an open selection with it then do so formally with SÉ™s AzÉ™rbaycan. It’s producing some fantastic vocalists that would do great at Eurovision.
What I’d really change is how they go about selecting the songs. I won’t hide the fact that I love Azerbaijani entrants more than most every year, but it doesn’t change the fact that several of the entries have felt inauthentic to the act performing it. Most notable Nadir apparently saying he’s have preferred to have sung a rock ballad instead of ‘Fade to black’. I think once the singer has been decided there should be a much greater involvement with the the artist’s wishes for what they want to sing. The push for Azeri songwriters should continue with an Azeri song writing camp for the purpose of the national final songs, and giving the act the opportunity to work with an experienced team if they wish.
For the actual decision part I’d like to see a five or so song final, with a superfinal. The first round decided with an equally weighted televote and jury, and the superfinal of two songs entirely with a televote. It’s been far too long since there’s been any public involvement and I think the combination of public input and greater authenticity will improve the results for Azerbaijan.
Daniel
In the last couple of editions Azerbaijan have a notable move to having more homegrown songwriters, but this has come at expense of results in the contest. I don’t want to see a return to various Swedes, so I’d focus on building up a song selection from Azerbaijan and for Azerbaijan, similar Festivali i Këngës or Sanremo, with a sprinkling of Festival Da Canção for good measure. Invite Azeri artists and songwriters to write a song, primarily in Azeri or a minority language, which they can choose to either perform themselves or hand off to a talented performer, like those from SÉ™s AzÉ™rbaycan as Euan mentions. Put 16 artists in two all televote semi finals qualifying 4 each for a final of 8, who will compete with a national jury alongside the televote to win the contest, and with it the option to represent Azerbaijan at Eurovision.
Angus
Daniel says a sprinkling of FdC, I say just go the full distance. The cultural differences between the countries are large enough that even a wholesale copy of the Portuguese NF would turn out unique. Of course, we would want a sensible proportional point system instead of the nonsense Portugal uses to dish out their scores. But conceptually FdC is fine and would work well with the direction the broadcaster has chosen for Eurovision. From this proven format, Ä°TV can go on to experiment and change things to their hearts content and make their national final truly, fully its own. Whatever that may end up looking like.
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 an impressive qualification record, only failing to make the final in 2018, 2023, and 2024.
Azerbaijan internally selected Fahree and Ilkin Dolatov to represent them in 2024 with the song “ÖzünlÉ™ apar”; they scored eleven points in the first semifinal, placing fourteenth and missing out on the Grand Final for a second year in a row.
What do you think about our reforms? As always, let us know what you think by commenting down below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky for all the latest Eurovision news!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: Corinne Cumming / EBU
Tim J