Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012

Azerbaijan participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 as host in Baku and selected their entry in a series of competitive heats and a national final Milli seçim turu, which was organised by Azerbaijani broadcaster İTV. Azerbaijan was represented by Sabina Babayeva in the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, on 26 May 2012, with the song "When the Music Dies", as the 13th act. She came fourth overall with 150 points.

Eurovision Song Contest 2012
Country Azerbaijan
National selection
Selection processMilli Seçim Turu 2011
Selection date(s)Heats:
28 November 2011 -
27 January 2012
Semi-final:
30 January 2012 -
3 February 2012
Final:
12 February 2012
Selected entrantSabina Babayeva
Selected song"When the Music Dies"
Finals performance
Final result4th, 150 points
Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2011 • 2012 • 2013►

National final

A total of 119 songs were submitted to İTV.[1] The selection process was the same as in 2011, with the exception that the number of the contestants was reduced to 72 singers. They were then split in eight heats with nine singers in each. The selected contestants included three-year candidate Azad Shabanov, as well as candidates from the previous year's selection tour: Altun Zeynalov, Empathy, Emin Hasan, Rustam Allazov, Janana Zeynalova, Orkhan Nasibov, Sabina Babayeva, Ramin Guliyev, Kanan Gadimov, Adil Bakhishli, Ulvi Rashidov, Rinat Alimov, Habil Ahmadov, and Khana Hasanova. Applicants from abroad included Yan Kashepava from the United States[2] and Vlada Akhundova from Russia.

Heats

Weekly heats consisted of five shows aired from Monday to Friday, with a foreign song performed on Monday, an Azerbaijani song on Tuesday, a past-year Eurovision song on Wednesday, a song with a special focus on performance on Thursday and a song of the singer's own choice on Friday.[3] The winner of each heat, chosen by SMS voting (50%) and an "expert" jury (50%) qualified for the semi-final.

Heat 1
Heat 1 – 28 November 2011 – 2 December 2011
Draw Artist Place
1 Ramin Guliyev 4
2 Janana Zeynalova 7
3 Orkhan Mirzayev 8
4 Samra Rahimli 3
5 Kanan Gadimov 5
6 Anastasiya Bedritskaya 9
7 Amil Gojayev 6
8 Orkhan Karimli 1
9 Elnara Hasanova 2

Heat 2
Heat 2 – 5–9 December 2011
Draw Artist Place
1 Rufat Aliyev 8
2 Mehriban Sadykhova 9
3 Farid Hasanov 3
4 Ilham Hamidov 4
5 Huseyn Abdullayev 2
6 Maryam Karimova 1
7 Sehri Rahimova (superaliyev) 6
8 Live Or Leave 7
9 Elvin Babazadeh 5

Heat 3
Heat 3 – 12–16 December 2011
Draw Artist Place
1 Khayyam Mustafazadeh 1
2 Farid Ramazanov 7
3 Rustam Allazov 5
4 Rovshan Azizov 4
5 Aysel Guluzadeh 6
6 Yelena Karimova 9
7 Anar Safarov 3
8 Altun Zeynalov 2
9 Aytaj Valiyeva 8

Heat 4
Heat 5 – 19–23 December 2011
Draw Artist Place
1 Orkhan Nasibov 7
2 Emin Hasan 6
3 Empathy 4
4 Rinat Aslanov 8
5 Nigar "Nika" Babayeva 3
6 Nadezhda Mikayilova 2
7 Fagan Safarov 1
8 Kamran Azizov 5

Heat 5
Heat 5 – 26–30 December 2011
Draw Artist Place
1 Elnara Kazimova 6
2 Azad Shabanov 2
3 Samir Mammadov 7
4 Elton Ibrahimov 1
5 Gunay Ahmadova 4
6 Yan Kashepava 8
7 Suleyman Aghakishiyev 9
8 Fidan Huseynova 5
9 Aydin Eyvazzadeh 3

Heat 6
Heat 6 – 2–6 January 2012
Draw Artist Place
1 Habil Ahmadov 4
2 Orkhan Afandi 5
3 Ramila Muradova 3
4 Elgiz Mammadov 6
5 Adil Bakhishli 1
6 Bakhtiyar Gasimov 2
7 Jahangir Gasimzadeh 7
8 Vlada Akhundova 8

Heat 7
Heat 7 – 9–13 January 2012
Draw Artist Place
1 Erkin Osmanli 8
2 Ad Gloriam 4
3 Ayla Idrisova 2
4 Kamran Abdullayev 5
5 Sabina Babayeva 1
6 Khana Hasanova 3
7 Khayal Taghiyev 9
8 Natig Baghirov 6
9 Azer Salimli 7

Heat 8
Heat 8 – 23–28 January 2012
Draw Artist Place
1 Tofig Hajiyev 5
2 Rinat Alimov 9
3 Arzu Ismayilova 1
4 Ali Mammadli 7
5 Ulkar Guliyeva 4
6 Abbas Karimli 6
7 Zaur Amiraslanov 3
8 Ulvi Rashidov 2
9 Caspian Dreamers 8

Semi-final

The semi-final was held from 30 January to 3 February 2012. The top 5, chosen by televoting (50%) and an "expert" jury (50%), qualified for the final.

Semi-final – 30 January 2012 – 3 February 2012
DrawArtist Result
1 Orkhan Karimli Finalist
2 Maryam Karimova Eliminated
3 Khayyam Mustafazadeh Eliminated
4 Fagan Safarov Finalist
5 Elton Ibrahimov Finalist
6 Adil Bakhishli Eliminated
7 Sabina Babayeva Finalist
8 Arzu Ismayilova Finalist

Final

The final was held on 12 February 2012. Each of the finalists performed 3 songs and the winner was chosen by an "expert" jury.

Final – 12 February 2012
Draw Artist
1 Orkhan Karimli
2 Sabina Babayeva
3 Elton Ibrahimov
4 Fagan Safarov
5 Arzu Ismayilova

Song selection

The song "When the Music Dies" was selected internally by jury. Written by Swedish composers Anders Bagge, Sandra Bjurman, Stefan Örn, and Johan Kronlund, the song is a symbiosis of Western and traditional Azeri tunes.[4] It is sung entirely in English.

At Eurovision
Semi-final allocation draw on 25 January 2012. Azerbaijan voted in the first semi-final.

Azerbaijan, as the last year's winner, hosted the contest, and therefore automatically qualified for the final, on 26 May.

The draw that determined the semi-finals and running orders was held on 25 January 2012. As a result of this draw, Azerbaijan (along with Italy and Spain) voted in the first semi-final, held on 22 May.

Sabina Babayeva performed at the Grand Final and came fourth place overall with a total of 150 points.

Split results
  • In the Final Azerbaijan came 4th with 150 points: the public awarded Azerbaijan 5th place with 151 points and the jury awarded 8th place with 118 points.

Points awarded to Azerbaijan
Points awarded to Azerbaijan (final)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Azerbaijan

[5]

See also

References
  1. "119 entries received in Azerbaijan". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  2. Castings for Eurovision 2012 Selection Started Archived March 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Lent.az. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  3. "72 acts qualify in Azerbaijan". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  4. Sabina Babayeva's Eurovision Contest Song Presented Archived March 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. 1news.az. 17 March 2012.
  5. Eurovision Song Contest 2012
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