Through an internal selection process, Azerbaijan chose “Özünlə Apar” by FAHREE featuring Ilkin Dovlatov as one of the final entries to be announced this year. FAHREE and Ilkin Dovlatov will be performing 12th in the first semifinal.

We aren’t sure why we’ve ranked this entry so high. We keep reevaluating, thinking we must have messed up, but somehow it always sneaks its way towards the top. Our guess best guess is that its unique sound sets it apart from the rest of the entries, so it stands out more in our minds and is a sort of palette cleanser. Also, the music video is simple and pretty.

In general, we gravitate towards songs that feel locally specific to the country they are representing. This song features the most Azerbaijani lyrics in a Eurovision entry ever. Plus, the song is elevated by featuring mugham (a style of classic Azerbaijani music) singer Ilkin Dovlatov. These elements distinguish it and add that je ne sais quoi which keeps bringing us back to listen again without even fully realizing it. Also, like Luxembourg, there is a series of catchy and repetitive ascending and descending notes that makes our brains go brrr (see yesterday’s post). 

We do not have a live performance and any sense of staging to go off of to picture what this entry will look like on the Eurovision stage. However, Azerbaijan has often been a surprise qualifier, effectively elevating their entries on stage and only failing to qualify for the final twice in their sixteen years competing. Additionally, should this song make it to the final, we expect that it would do exceptionally well with the jury. But, with juries no longer impacting the qualifications from the semi finals, the fate of FAHREE and Ilkin Dovlatov is up to the televoters.