Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Country	Azerbaijan
National selection
Selection process	Böyük Səhnə
Selection date(s)	Supercasting: 27 January 2014 28 January 2014 29 January 2014 30 January 2014 31 January 2014 2 February 2014 Heats: 9 February 2014 16 February 2014 23 February 2014 Final: 2 March 2014 Song announcement: 16 March 2014
Selected entrant	Dilara Kazimova
Selected song	"Start a Fire"
Selected songwriter(s)	Stefan Örn Johan Kronlund Alessandra Günthardt
Finals performance
Semi-final result	Qualified (9th, 57 points)
Final result	22nd, 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.

Böyük Səhnə

Böyük Səhnə (Big Stage) was an Azerbaijani talent show that selected Azerbaijan's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. The show 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 in 2014 for the purpose of selecting the Azerbaijani Eurovision entry. Several participants from the 2013 edition of the talent show, including the eventual 2013 Azerbaijani Eurovision contestant Farid Mammadov, participated in the 2013 Azerbaijani national final.^[1]

Format

The format of the show involved an audition period that occurred across Azerbaijan between 9 January 2014 and 16 January 2014. Select candidates proceeded to the supercasting shows which were broadcast between 27 January 2014 and 31 January 2014 and resulted in fourteen finalists advancing further. Three heats on 9, 16 and 23 February 2014 determined which contestants would enter the final on 2 March 2014. In the final, the winning artist was selected. Husniye Maharramova hosted the supercasting shows and was joined by Tural Assadov to host the heats and the final.^[2]

Auditions

Auditions were held across Azerbaijan between 9 January 2014 and 16 January 2014 where interested singers could apply for participation. 250 candidates attended the auditions. The audition schedule included the following eight cities:^[3]

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

Shows

Supercasting

The supercasting consisted of five shows that aired between 27 January 2014 and 31 January 2014, hosted by Husniye Maharramova. Contestants auditioned in front of a five-member jury panel. Each member of the jury panel assigned each contestant a score between 1 and 10. Contestants required a total score of 40 and above in order to proceed in the competition. The jury panel that assessed the contestants consisted of Gulchohra Shafieva (film director), Sevda Alekperzade (singer), Ilhama Gasimova (singer), Tunzala Gahraman (singer) and Saleh Bagirov (television presenter). At the conclusion of the five shows, fourteen finalists qualified to continue in the competition.^[4] An additional show on 2 February 2014 provided a recap of the fourteen qualifying contestants.

Heat 1

The first heat took place on 9 February 2014 in Baku. Fourteen candidates performed cover versions of various songs with each of the five jury members assigning them a score between 1 and 10. The jury panel consisted of Eldar Gasimov (singer and winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011), Murad Arif (television host), Tunzala Aghayeva (composer and singer), Mubariz Taghiyev (Azerbaijani honoured singer) and Zumruz Dadashzade (professor at the Baku Music Academy). Candidates who scored over 45 points automatically advanced to the next round while those who scored 45 and less were in danger of being eliminated. Four contestants were eliminated after jury deliberations.^[5]

Heat 2

The second heat took place on 16 February 2014 in Baku. Ten candidates performed cover versions of various songs with each of the five jury members assigning them a score between 1 and 10. The jury panel consisted of Sabina Babayeva (singer and 2012 Azerbaijani Eurovision entrant), Faiq Suceddinov (singer), Tunzala Aghayeva (composer and singer), Zumruz Dadashzade (professor at the Baku Music Academy) and Eldar Gasimov (singer and winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011). Candidates who scored over 45 points automatically advanced to the next round while those who scored 45 and less were in danger of being eliminated. Four contestants were eliminated after jury deliberations.^[6]

Heat 3

The third heat took place on 23 February 2014 in Baku. Six candidates performed cover versions of various songs with each of the five jury members assigning them a score between 1 and 10. The jury panel consisted of Tunzala Gahraman (singer), Zahra Badalbeyli (musician), Dimitris Kontopoulos (composer), Murad Dadashov (producer) and Fuad Aliyev. Candidates who scored over 45 points automatically advanced to the final while those who scored 45 and less were in danger of being eliminated. Three contestants were eliminated after jury deliberations.^[7]

Final

The final took place on 2 March 2014 in Baku. The three finalists performed two cover versions of different songs and one original song. The jury that evaluated the artists consisted of Eldar Gasimov (singer and winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011), Tunzala Agayeva (composer and singer), Murad Arif (composer and producer), Stefan Örn (composer) and Jamil Guliyev (İTV director). The winning artist was Dilara Kazimova.^[8]

Song announcement

The song that Dilara Kazimova performed at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was presented on 16 March 2014. The song, "Start a Fire", was internally selected by an expert jury. The song was composed by Stefan Örn (composer of the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Azerbaijani contest entries), Alessandra Günthardt and Johan Kronlund (one of the composers of 2012 Azerbaijani entry).^[9]

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.^[10] In the first semi-final, the producers of the show decided that Azerbaijan would perform 8th, following Russia and preceding Ukraine.^[11] 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.^[12] In the final, the producers of the show decided that Azerbaijan would perform 3rd, following Belarus and preceding Iceland.^[13] Azerbaijan placed 22nd in the final, scoring 33 points.

On stage, Dilara Kazimova was joined by three backing vocalists: Jennie Jahn, Sofia Lindström and Lena Engman.^[14] 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.^[15]

The Azerbaijani spokesperson revealing the result of the Azerbaijani vote in the final was 2012 Azerbaijani contest entrant Sabina Babayeva.^[16]

Points awarded to Azerbaijan

Points awarded by Azerbaijan

Semi-final 1 Points awarded in first semi-final: 12 points  Ukraine 10 points  Russia 8 points  Hungary 7 points  Latvia 6 points  San Marino 5 points  Estonia 4 points  Belgium 3 points  Netherlands 2 points  Montenegro 1 point  Portugal

Final Points awarded in the final: 12 points  Russia 10 points  Ukraine 8 points  Hungary 7 points  Belarus 6 points  Romania 5 points  Malta 4 points  Greece 3 points  San Marino 2 points  Poland 1 point  Austria

Split voting results

The following five members comprise the Azerbaijani jury:^[17]

• Yegana Akhundova (Yeganə Axundova) – Chairperson – Pro-rector of Baku Music Academy, pianist, musician, composer
• Mubariz Taghiyev (Mübariz Tağıyev) – People's Artist, musician, singer, actor
• Samir Djafarov (Samir Cəfərov) – Opera artist
• Nigar Camal – singer, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
• Khayyam Mustafazadeh (Xəyyam Mustafazadə) – singer, vocalist

Semi-final 1

The Azerbaijani votes in the first semi-final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.^[18]

Semi-final 1 – Azerbaijani Results
Draw	Country	Y. Axundova	M. Tağıyev	S. Cəfərov	N. Camal	X. Mustafazadə	Average Jury Rank	Televote Rank	Combined Rank	Scoreboard (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

Final

The Azerbaijani votes in the grand final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.^[19]

Final – Azerbaijani Results
Draw	Country	Y. Axundova	M. Tağıyev	S. Cəfərov	N. Camal	X. Mustafazadə	Average Jury Rank	Televote Rank	Combined Rank	Scoreboard (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	8	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

See also

• Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest
• Eurovision Song Contest 2014

References

External links

• Official İTV Eurovision website
• Böyük Səhnə official website

Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest   Participation 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016   Artists 2000s Elnur & Samir Aysel & Arash 2010s Safura Ell & Nikki Sabina Babayeva Farid Mammadov Dilara Kazimova Elnur Hüseynov   Songs 2000s "Day After Day" "Always" 2010s "Drip Drop" "Running Scared" "When the Music Dies" "Hold Me" "Start a Fire" "Hour of the Wolf" (Note: Entries scored out are when Azerbaijan did not compete)