Azerbaijan


 * __Artist Biogra__****__ph__****__y:__**[[image:AySel_and_Arash.jpg width="218" height="147" align="left" caption="AySel & Arash"]]

Azerbaijan will be represented in this year's Eurovision Contest by the young singer AySel and the singer/songwriter Arash. The two are not formally a duo, however they were made one in order to perform the song "Always", chosen for the song contest. AySel was originally chosen to represent Azerbaijan, and it was only after selecting the song "Always" that the Iranian-Swedish performer Arash, was called upon to accompany her ("Always" was written by Arash). AySel is only 20 years old, however, she has the stage presence and vocal abilities of a much older, more experienced singer. This is one reason why so many audiences are amazed by her abilities. She has been singing since the age of 4, and has won numerous Azerbaijan contests. At the age of 13, AySel began to take on musical instruments and her ambitions only grew from there. She is presently studying at the Azerbaijani University of Foreign Languages. AySel's musical partner, Arash, is a bit older (in his mid-thirties) and is very well established within the musical community. While Arash has roots in Azerbaijan; he grew up in Sweden from the age of 10. Since Arash's debut album was released in 2005 by Warner Brothers Music, he has gone gold in five countries: Germany, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Greece. Arash has proven himself across Europe as a talented songwriter and performer. He has even admitted to being a fan of the Eurovision Song Contest and only dreamt of partaking in it. The duo are currently focusing on perfecting their performance of "Always" for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. As of now, the couple are scheduled to participate in the Second Semi-Final on May 14th in Moscow.


 * 1) Brey, Marco. "AzerBaijani entry written by Arash." __The Eurovision Family of Events.__ 5 Feb. 2009. Eurovision Song Contest. 7 May 2009 .
 * 2) Bakker, Sietse. "AySel to represent Azerbaijan." __The Eurovision Family of Events.__ 17 Jan 2009. Eurovision Song Contest. 7 May 2009 .


 * __Azerbaijan Eurovision History:__**

Azerbaijan is a nation located on the edge of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. This year's entry is only Azerbaijan's second in Eurovision history. In years past Azerbaijan's region of the world has been one of great turmoil. Governmental issues and feuds in the region with other ex-Soviet Union nations have kept countries like Azerbaijan from being involved in events like this and other things that unite the European nations. As Azerbaijan is not actually in Europe persay, its inclusion in an event like Eurovision in the past two years and hopefully the future can be seen as a big step forward in inter-country relations in the area. The most widely spoken language in Azerbaijan is Russian, although both of the country's Eurovision entries have been entirely in English. Last year the country entered the song "Day After Day" by the group Elnur and Samir. The 2008 entry placed sixth in its semi-final, a great result for a Eurovision newcomer. Even more surprisingly is the fact that the song then placed 8th overall in the final. Hopes are high for this years competitors as the nation thinks AySel and Arash will hopefully go as far as, or surpass last year's great result.

__**Song Information:**__

AySel & Arash will perform their song entitled "Always" for this year's competition. The song's [|lyrics], written by four different songwriters, (Arash Labaf, Robert Uhlmann, Elin Wrethov, Anderz Wrethov) are entirely in English. Arash is the only of the two performers that contributes something other than vocal duties to the song. He is credited as the primary songwriter and composer for the song, though he worked with three others in the songwriting process, and four others whilst composing. Robert Uhlmann, who has worked with Arash on all of his previous recordings, receives both writing and composing credit for the song. The song begins with a short introduction plucked on a traditional stringed instrument known as a Tar, and then quickly morphs into a heavily Euro-pop influenced dance number. The song makes use of thick, house-inspired beats, synthesizers, and heavily produced, multi-tracked vocals. During the breaks between verses, the producers inserted some hand drums, and more Tar to keep the traditional sound alive within the song before it went back into a dance number. Halfway through the song, the listener is treated to a Tar solo played over the song's original beat and synthesizer patterns pulled from the verses. Vocally, the two singers call and respond to one another through the song's two verses, while AySel sings the brunt of the chorus on her own, with Arash providing spare backup during the hook. Lyrically, the song is not very impressive, and has been mostly lambasted by the critics. The BBC has [|stated] that Eurovision "does not exactly have a reputation for lyrical erudition," and that holds true with "Always". The song's lyrics are standard love song fare, and the song itself is, lyrically, quite short, containing only two verses and the chorus. The song was rather despised by [|Hecklerspray], who called it, "[...] our first brain-numbingly terrible Eurovision entry." Azerbaijan, however, is happy with its entry and feels as though it can do well in the competition with it.

media type="youtube" key="HmA82DlI-Pc" height="209" width="338"

__**Narrative:**__

On the 12th of February 2009 Azerbaijan announced the launch of the Eurovision duo of AySel and Arash. AySel was originally chosen to preform the song //Always//, which was written by Arash, but then a seven-member jury decided that AySel and Arash should preform as a duo. Arash said that “Performing with AySel was important for me, since I wrote Always specifically for her.//",// “It is my sincere desire now to make our duet into something special for Eurovision 2009.” The men that were on the jury for choosing who would represent Azerbaijan were all well known personalities in the music and show business, such as iTV Director General Ismayil Omarov, Rector of Baku Musical Academy College Farhad Badalbayli, President of the Azerbaijan National Music Committee of the International Music Council Lala Kazimova, Director of the Azerbaijani public Philharmonic Hall Murad Adigozelzade. Farhad Badalbayli has [|mentioned] that this year they (the judges) are working very hard to choose the best song and artist to represent their country. Badalbayli went on to say how this year they made a point to make it fair and avoid direct and indirect pressure from producers or other interested persons. Arash lets us in on his [|secret] to winning top points from the judges and the televoters in the finals this year, and it doesn't involve cheating. Arash explains that you just have to be yourself and show love, and that is how he and AySel are going to win.