All opinions expressed in this article are those of the person quoted and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the other team members or ESC United as a whole.
Hello, and welcome back to Eurovision This Decade! We as a team are looking through all the entries of the past decade country by country and showing you our rankings for them. Today it’s the turn of Azerbaijan, but before we dive into their decade, let’s take a look at your favourites from Austria!
It should come as no surprise, but Conchita Wurst is your favourite from the last ten Austrian entries, earning 35% of the vote. Second went to Cesár Sampson with 21% of the vote, followed by Zoe in third with 15%.
Azerbaijan have competed in all ten contests this decade and have given us some unforgettable songs. Let’s take a quick look at their track record and then get into ranking!
2010 – Safura – Drip Drop
Performed seventh in the second semi final where Safura qualified for the final in second place with 113 points. She then performed first in the grand final and finished in fifth place with 145 points.
2011 – Ell & Nikki – Running Scared
Performed 18th in the first semi final and qualified for the final in second place with 122 points. They then performed 19th in the grand final and won the contest with 221 points in total.
2012 – Sabina Babayeva – When the Music Dies
As the host, Azerbaijan qualified automatically for the grand final. They performed 13th in the final and ended the night in fourth place with 150 points.
2013 – Farid Mammadov – Hold Me
Performed fourth in the second semi final and qualified for the final in first place with 139 points. Farid then performed 20th during the grand final where he finished as runner-up with 234 points.
2014 – Dilara Kazimova – Start a Fire
Performed eighth in the first semi final and qualified in ninth place with 57 points. Dilara then performed third in the grand final and finished 22nd on the night with 33 points.
2015 – Elnur Huseynov – Hour of the Wolf
Performed 11th in the second semi final and qualified for the final in tenth place with 53 points. Elnur then performed 24th in the grand final and finished in 12th place with 49 points overall.
2016 – Samra – Miracle
Performed 14th in the first semi final and qualified for the final in sixth place with 185 points. Samra then went on to perform fourth in the grand final where she finished 17th with 117 points.
2017 – Dihaj – Skeletons
Performed eighth in the first semi final and qualified for the final in eighth place with 150 points. Dihaj then performed 12th in the grand final and finished 14th overall with 120 points.
2018 – Aisel – X My Heart
Opened the first semi final and failed to qualify for the final, coming 11th on the night with 94 points.
2019 – Chingiz – Truth
Performed 18th in the second semi final and qualified for the final in fifth place with 224 points. Chingiz then performed 20th in the grand final where he finished in eight place with 302 points overall.
Our Winners:
The members of our team who ranked the entries have each said a few words on their winners. Here they are!
Connor – 2015 – Elnur Huseynov – Hour of the Wolf
Azerbaijan has brought a lot of heavy hitters to the contest, so this choice was a hard one as well, but I knew for sure that I would pick “Hour of the Wolf”. This song gives me chills every time I hear it, and that’s why its in my top 3 for the 2015 year. And that moment when he slips into those falsetto notes towards the end…..it’s an amazing song. And don’t you dare come for me!
James – 2013 – Farid Mammadov – Hold Me
I don’t get the hate for Ell & Nikki’s “Running Scared,” which I will aggressively defend, but my favorite Azerbaijan entry has to be Oscar de la Hoya look-a-like Farid Mammadov’s runner-up “Hold Me.” A power ballad delivered with gusto with incredible staging, with the upside down mirror dancing before the glass case is filled with rose petals in a tribute of sorts to Dima Bilan’s first tilt at Eurovision in 2006, this should have won Eurovision 2013.
Jordan – 2019 – Chingiz – Truth
Azerbaijan is one of Eurovision’s strongest countries but their strongest song of all is “Truth”. It’s a slick, well-produced pop song with some excellent ethnic elements. Chingiz is an excellent live performer and the staging for this song was just inspired. I was so pleased to see Azerbaijan back in the top 10 again after a few years of mediocre results. They really deserved it.
Roy – 2013 – Farid Mammadov – Hold Me
Azerbaijan is THE country when it comes to making a good song seem incredible with their staging. “Hold Me” is no different. This song to me is just good, but the performance and staging make this one of the more memorable songs in Eurovision and is definitely amongst my favourites.
Sean – 2018 – Aisel – X My Heart
Funnily enough, the only Azeri song not to qualify is my highlight of the decade. The performance was slick and impressive, Aisel seemed really likeable and to me the song itself is an earworm with staying power. I guess the same could not be said for Europe and the draw killed many of this song’s hopes of keeping up their final streak, but this still keeps guilty pleasure status for me.
Zack – 2017 – DiHaj – Skeletons
So much swag in this song. Still my jam from that year.
Team Ranking:
We have scored all of Azerbaijan’s entries Eurovision style, and now it’s time for the moment of truth!
…and it seems that phrasing is appropriate, as this year’s entry “Truth” tops our editors poll for Azerbaijan! Interestingly, the only Azeri winner in the contest finished last in this ranking, despite not being last in any of our editors’ individual rankings.
Readers Ranking:
In the poll below #YOU can vote for your favourite Azerbaijani entry from this decade!
[socialpoll id=”2558977″]We’d love to know what #YOU think of Azerbaijan’s entries and the series as a whole. Get in touch with us by commenting below, posting on our forum or visiting our social media pages.
