Participant(s): Elnur Huseynov
Song: Hour Of The Wolf
Writer(s) / Composer(s): Sandra Bjurman, Nicolas Rebscher, Nicklas Lif & Lina Hansson
Broadcaster: İctimai
Social media: 

Introduction

This year there has been an internal selection of the Azerbaijani broadcaster İctimai TV. And the representative is somebody who sang the very first song for Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song contest: Elnur. Together with Samir they celebrated the debut “Day After Day” in Belgrade 2008. The decision has maybe been taken, as Elnur is a familiar face in the ESC.

Elnur Hüseynov was born in Ashkhabad, former USSR, now Turkmenistan (just opposite of Azerbaijan over the Caspian Sea) in 1987. In the age of five he went to a music school for talented children. His Azerbaijani parents moved back with him to Baku in 1999, where Elnur started to study dentistry. After that he studied music and worked at the state opera, sang in the choir. In 2003 he won the first price at a music contest in the Azerbaijani TV. In 2008 he sang the debut entry for Azerbaijan in the ESC together with Samir. Shortly after that the duo split and Elnur followed is solo career. He moved to the Ukraine to push his career. Another attempt to sing at the ESC ended in the national final 2010. He was also attending the “Notre Dame De Paris” musical in Baku. In 2015 Elnur won the fourth season of “The Voice Turkey”.

The song “Hour Of The Wolf” is a contemporary ballad with a mystic theme, a wolf who is hungry and fighting every night. The message of his song is never giving up, every heart deserves a fight, we all should fight for a better future. For the 28 years old singer a dream will come true to be on an ESC stage for another time. This year a German-Swedish composer team (Nicolas Rebscher, Niklas Lif and Lina Hansson) will fight together for a good placing in Vienna. The anthem like song will definitely shine, as it has a strong message, a sympathetic singer and a great atmosphere.

History

Debut: 2008
Participations: 8
Finals: 7
Top 10: 6
Chance for Top 10: 75%

Since Azerbaijan joined the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008, a truly outstanding story of success began. In the short history Azerbaijan has always made it into the Grand Final, and there were even six Top10 places! Statistically there is a chance of 75% for Azerbaijan to have a place in the Top10.

The Eurovision Song Contest has become very important in Azerbaijan and enjoys a huge interest within the country. For the Azerbaijani music industry the ESC is also a good platform to show what its talents.

The debut entry “Day After Day” by Elnur & Samir made a respectable 8th place in Belgrade, even if it was a very extraordinary song with a lot of drama and high notes on stage. Until 2014 there were only Top10 places. Of course there were a lot of votes by the neighbour countries. But beside of that the songs from Azerbaijan have shown a lot of modernity and the stage performances were always very special on a very high level. This is also due to the fact that Azerbaijan often invites international composers e.g. Stephan Örn, Sandra Bjuman, etc., which made the songs very international. In 2011, Azerbaijan could even win with “Running Scared” by Ell & Nikki. The ESC one year after in Baku was one of the most important events in Azerbaijan with the support of the government. This was the most south eastern ESC ever. The impressive Crystal Hall and the greatly illuminated city of Baku have surprised the visitors and watchers of the ESC, which will remain in good memories.

Last year was the first time, Azerbaijan did not reach a Top10 position, as “Start A Fire” by Dilara Kazimova made a 22nd place only, even if it was one of the strongest songs.