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Finalists known next week
Azerbaijan begins quest for Eurovision 2009 participant
The head of the ICTV Department of Art and Entertainment, Fizuli Ismayilov, promises another impressive edition of Land of Fire, the country's national final which managed to make waves last year featuring three recent Eurovision Song Contest winners, Sertab, Ruslana and Marija Serifovic as special guests and a spectacular show.
The first phase of the Azerbaijani national preselection is now complete with the participation of thirty acts who performed for the special ICTV jury. The process was closed to the local media and the exact number and names of the finalists will be announced next week. Some of the artists who took part in the first stage are:
Nura Suri
Gunesh Abbasova
Aysel Teimurzadeh
Arzum
Azad Shukurov
Vusala Seidova
Emin Hasan
Elnara
Natavan Habibi
Sevda Yahyaeva
Gunesh Abbassova, although Azerbaijani, tried her luck last year in Eurofest 2008 to represent Belarus.
Very special thanks to Ruslan Ismayilzadeh, president of OGAE Azerbaijan for the information.
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Style-a-Nizer : LOOOOL! You are pathetic like Drusus1!
"btw: I Think Land Of Fire Was WAAAAAAYYYY Better Then MF....it was like a great and entertaining show...but MF is always the same"
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! Azerbaijan had ONE national final. MF has been in many years. Wait to Azerbaijan has many national finals as Sweden and you will say they doing same too. You can't compare Azerbaijan to MF and then then say MF is the same. Pathetic!!
MF is still NR 1 national final! No one isn't even close!
I can only hope for a better song and real singers next year....
azerbaijan should withdraw from the contest.it has nothing to offer
Why do you compare "The Land of Fire" to "Melodifestivalen"???
Both competitions are good. Of course, Melodifestivalen has a great history for the contest like that. Land of Fire was very cool for the very first time and i am sure it will be much better with time.
Good luck to Azerbaijan! ! ! Make a good choice! 
Good Luck Azerbaijan!
I Loved Day After Day!!
Hope You Pick A Good Song In 2009!
Euro Sheep
Its OK I know what it feels like, I have some pollen and bang i'm completely out of it! 
Consider it, a bee's cocaine 
Good luck to Azerbaijan I love "Day after day" and I hope they will come up with something as good in 2009
Azerbaijan will Do Great This Year, They will even Top The Song of last Year...I hope 4 a Song like Rhythm of Fire (Aynur Iskenderli) but with better singing abbilities of course.....Gunesh Abassova is my Fav. so far!
GOOOOOOO Azerbaijan
btw: I Think Land Of Fire Was WAAAAAAYYYY Better Then MF....it was like a great and entertaining show...but MF is always the same
Jonny
Woops! ROFL at myself!!! It's the farmer's fault, he moved me to a new field today, one with daisies in it - they mess with my head!
Azarbaijan was one of the best entry this year. Carry on like that.
"Day after day" is my no 2 from this year, and it's on my "top 10 ever"-list. In my opinion there is no way Azerbaijan can top that, but I really hope they will stay true to their culture and not come up with somewhat pathetic Eastern pop, like a lot of their neighbours have done.
(Btw euro sheep i'd rather Addis Black Widow win MF some day than Nicole make the final, and that says alot about how much I like Nicole! 
)
Ben
I do know what you mean, the song is much better in studio version And its one of the best instrumentals i've ever heard
Euro Sheep
What!?? The video I just posted was "when you need me" by Therese! The first video I posted was of "i largornas sken" but I never said anything about second chance then lol
Eat some more grass (and snails) and you'll be back on track
Jonny:
I think it's a good idea for an entry at its core but something about it doesn't quite work. Her vocals are arguably quite underwhelming and I think the style of the song was a bit lost for an identity. I'd give it 5.5/10
Jonny
I'm sorry, what did you say!? Nordman got knocked out in Andra Chansen did they? Wow, I must have been watching a completely different show rofl
Oh yeah I remember now! And the Nicole got to the final!
What do you think of this song Ben? It got knocked out at the second chance round at MF and never made the final, but its similar to "day after day" because its operatic but also slightly rock-y at the same time, and very dramatic http://uk.youtube.co(...)&feature=related
I never meant for my comments to sound like the final word. It was my opinion. I'll watch the MF final again in 2009 and maybe it can redeem itself with me. I just think the hype is unjustified, sorry.
Ben Gray
As much as I completely agree with you about the Azeri entry this year, I'm sorry to say this, but your word is not the ultimate authority on what is good and what is not. Watching the one final in Melodifestivalen 2008 does not give you an overall view of all the songs - it is not "just" schlager, dated-pop, ballad as I've tried to show you.
Now, as much as I like the Azeri entry this year (and believe me, I do!) and the fact that Land of Fire 2008 had 3 big names, if you look at the quality of the music there and contrast it with other finals - it just seems like a joke. I know I am coming at this from a very western perspective but I struggle to see how anyone could like Unformal's ear-splitting rock, or Aynur's horrid wailing. Anyone, accuse me of being racist - I don't care, because I know I'm not, it's just I don't see Land of Fire ever being bigger than Melodifestivalen!
My comments are here for posterity, so if, in the distant future I'm wrong you can all look back and laugh!
Ben
But for me the whole Azeri presentation looked over the top, cheesy, fake and too confusing. Yes they put alot of effort into staging their entry, and full marks to them for trying, but for me it didn't come together brilliantly at all. And as for the opera, to me it sounded like screaming, sorry
And I wouldn't call Melodifestivalen camp or cheesy at all. Yes there are some bad songs and some songs that even Gok Wan would cringe at. But there are also some really good honest songs
Now to me this is the MF version of "day after day". Its slightly rocky, but traditionally swedish at the same time - http://uk.youtube.co(...)/watch?v=_vsWekSNcfo But for me this is way better than "day after day" because the presentation is simpler and works much better on camera Plus I prefer the song anyway because it sounds more genuine
Now OK there are some awful pop songs in MF, and there is alot of "out of date" music. But lets be honest, 90% of eurovision music is out of date, Azeri songs in included.
Also: Melodifestivalen? Top quality songs? Do me a favour. It's great for Eurovision's "traditional" cult following, but I'm not a part of that following. Sweden staged a good show, but I thought that a lot of the songs were either bad schlager, outdated pop or 'okay' ballads.
If national finals is all about entertainment and production values then yes Sweden is right up there but when it comes to the songs, the whole package is just far too camp and cheesy for me.
Guys, there is a very good reason Azerbaijan did well with a song such as Day After Day. It wasn't just a three minute Azerbaijani debut Eurovision entry. They took it really seriously and selected two very highly qualified singers who couldn't even speak English let alone sing in it. A classically trained singer as well as someone able to sing in the Mugham style. It was more of a grand production than a song. The song was made to be performed live and not so much listened to. Think of it as an something off a traditional Azerbaijani musical soundtrack.
For a western audience, it was something completely unlike we had ever heard and ever will hear, but undeniably it came together on stage brilliantly and for a first entry, a great show was staged by a country who wanted to let Europe know who they were. I never expected much from Azerbaijan at first because (and no offence to any Azeri readers of course) Azerbaijan initially seemed like a poor middle-eastern country. In the UK, if someone hadn't heard of Azerbaijan before (and I hadn't before they entered Eurovision) and then pointed to the country on a map, they would also think that.
In summary, this very underrated country staged an unforgettable debut performance in 2008 and while the song may not be for everyone, you gotta give them credit! They deserved every point of their top 10 placing.
drusus.
Land of Fire can't top Melodifestivalen because of a bigger stage, and bigger venue.
How many fans were there, who werent Azerbaijani, hardly any.
Now turn to Melodifestivalen. The festival is known throughout Europe, and people from different corners of the globe go and see their top quality songs.
And also, Melodifestivalen has numerous venues.
Land of Fire has just the 1.
Glenis is right, no selection will EVER top Melodifestivalen! "Land of fire" can't top it because its only been around for a year, MF has been round for like, 50! Plus MF has way more songs, better quality songs and better performers (in my opinion)
Melodifestivalen is the grand-daddy of all selection processes!
@ Glen - It already topped the Melodifestivalen. Easily.
PS : Good luck to Azerbaijan....some nice names on that list.
Anything they send next year will be better than this year...the worst song ever sent to Eurovision
GOOOO AZERBAIJAN GOOOOO OUR BROTHERS.... LOVES YOU
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