Elnur Hüseynov (born on March 3, 1987 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan) is an Azerbaijani pop singer. He was selected as Azerbaijan's representative to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.
Hüseynov was born in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, to ethnic Azeri parents. His father was a military serviceman and his mother specializes in music theory. At age 5, Elnur was admitted to a music school for gifted children where he was trained as a piano player. In 1999, the family moved to Baku, Azerbaijan, where Elnur studied at a medical school and graduated with a degree in dentistry. In 2004 he graduated from the Asaf Zeynally College of Music and took up some hairstylist courses. He worked shortly at the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre and with the choir group of the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Society, in addition to singing in a church choir.[1]
In 2003, he received first prize in the musical competition Sing Your Song aired on Azerbaijan's Lider TV. In 2008, he and Samir Javadzadeh were selected to represent Azerbaijan at the Eurovision marking the country's debut in this song contest. They were placed eighth in the finals.
Following the contest, the duo split. In December 2009, Elnur Hüseynov announced his intention to move permanently to Ukraine to further pursue his musical career.[2] In June 2010, Elnur Hüseynov performed the part of Phoebus in the musical Notre-Dame de Paris, which was staged in Heydar Aliyev Palace.[3] In October 2010, he submitted an application to represent Azerbaijan at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011[4] but did not compete in the semifinals, with the exception of making a cameo appearance in one of the performances of the semifinalist Diana Hajiyeva.[5]
Elnur Hüseynov currently performs in the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall.[6]
| Preceded by – |
Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest (with Samir) 2008 |
Succeeded by AySel & Arash with Always |