Since Azerbaijan first participated in Eurovision in 2008, the country has basically gone crazy for the contest. It has become the country’s most watched program on local broadcaster Azeri TV. So popular it doesn’t matter that the three-hour long show starts airing after midnight.
After winning the contest in 2011 — with a record-low average of 5.26 points, which still got the faces of the victorious performers Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal onto 15,000 stamps — Azerbaijan spent a whopping 880,000,000 euros organizing the event in its capital Baku in 2012. The following year, Eurovision even became a matter of national concern when President Ilham Aliyev ordered an enquiry into why his country did not award Russia any points in the final.
And we thought the show itself was already over-dramatic.
Azerbaijan seems as determined as ever to win the Eurovision again this year. To represent their country, the Azerbaijanis chose Elnur Hüseynov, no other than this year’s winner of The Voice Turkey. The 28-year-old, born in Turkmenistan, already ran for Azerbaijan in 2008 with another pop singer called Samir Javadzadeh.
In Vienna this year, he will be performing a “mystical contemporary ballad” called “Hour Of The Wolf,” which is about not sleeping tonight and losing one’s mind. In the video, Elnur can be seen theatrically singing around his apartment — which, fortunately, doesn’t seem to bother his flatmates.
Our vote:
Does it make you want to visit that country? 2.25/10
Was there enough glitter? 2/10
Ok to quit your day job? 2.5/10
OVERALL AVERAGE: 2.25/10
