Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023

Both the artist and song that represented Azerbaijan at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was selected internally by İTV. On 8 December 2022, interested artists and songwriters were called upon to submit their applications and entries by 15 January 2023.^[3][4] Songwriters could be of any nationality, but submissions from Azerbaijani songwriters were preferred. Head of Delegation Vasif Mammadov stated: "Our goal and desire with this is to have local composer's music featured in the competition. Based on the selection process, if local and foreign songs meet the same criteria, we will prefer the local song. That is, we really want the music of Azerbaijani composers to be played in the competition. Let's demonstrate that we also have talented composers. I hope this can serve as a stimulus for years to come."^[5] Following accusations from singer Rauf Kingsley who claimed that İTV had already selected the band Mamagama to represent Azerbaijan due to links with music producer for the Azerbaijani delegation Eldar Gasimov, the broadcaster revealed on 1 February 2023 that five potential performers had been shortlisted with their names being announced on 2 February 2023.^[6][7]

On 9 March 2023, İTV announced that the duo TuralTuranX would represent Azerbaijan, performing the song "Tell Me More".^[8][9] The selection of TuralTuranX, consisting of twin brothers Tural and Turan Bağmanov, as the Azerbaijani Eurovision contestant was based on the decision of İTV and a focus group, while "Tell Me More" was selected from over 200 submissions from local and international songwriters in a similar method.^[5] "Tell Me More" was written by TuralTuranX themselves together with Nihad Aliyev and Tunar Taghiyev, and was the first locally produced Azerbaijani entry since their debut in 2008.^[10] The song was presented on 13 March 2023 via the release of the official music video.^[11]

Results of the internal selection^[12]

Artist	Song	Songwriter(s)
Azer Nasibov	Unknown
Humay Aslanova and Amrah Musayev	Unknown
Leyla Izzatova	"Gəl"	Nazim Mehdiyev, Leyla Izzatova, Ayten Ismikhanova
Mamagama	"River"	Madina Salikh, Roman Zilyanev, Safael Mishiyev
TuralTuranX	"Tell Me More"	Nihad Aliyev, Tunar Taghiyev, Tural Bağmanov, Turan Bağmanov

TuralTuranX made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Tell Me More" as the Azerbaijani Eurovision entry. Between 2 and 4 April, TuralTuranX took part in promotional activities in Tel Aviv, Israel and performed during the Israel Calling event held at Hangar 11 of the Tel Aviv Port.^[13] On 15 April, TuralTuranX performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the AFAS Live venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Hila Noorzai.^[14] On 16 April, TuralTuranX performed during the London Eurovision Party, which was held at the Here at Outernet venue in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Nicki French and Paddy O'Connell.^[15]

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the reigning champion nation (Ukraine) and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Azerbaijan has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.^[16]

Once all the competing songs for the 2023 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Azerbaijan was set to perform in position 12, following the entry from Sweden and before the entry from Czech Republic.^[17]

The two semi-finals and final were broadcast in Azerbaijan on İTV with commentary by Azer Suleymanli.^[18] The Azerbaijani spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Azerbaijani jury during the final, was Narmin Salmanova.^[19]

TuralTuranX took part in technical rehearsals on 1 and 3 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 8 and 9 May. This included the jury show on 8 May where the professional back-up juries of each country watched and voted in a result used if any issues with public televoting occurred.^[20]

The Azerbaijani performance featured the members of TuralTuranX dressed in matching designed shirts with contrasting jackets and trousers performing on a raised heart-shaped podium at the centre stage. The LED screens displayed 60s styling and the performance also incorporated multi-hued spotlights as well as a black and white camera effect at the beginning.^[21][22] The performance was directed by Mads Enggaard who worked as the stage director for Azerbaijan since 2019.^[23]

At the end of the show, Azerbaijan was not announced among the top 10 entries in the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final.^[24] It was later revealed that Azerbaijan placed fourteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 4 points.^[25]

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting in the final vote, while the semi-final vote was based entirely on the vote of the public.^[26] Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, each member of a national jury may only take part in the panel once every three years, and no jury was permitted to discuss of their vote with other members or be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member in an anonymised form as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.^[27]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Azerbaijan and awarded by Azerbaijan in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

The following members comprised the Azerbaijani jury:^[29]

• Anar Yusufov
• Emin Useynov
• Gulyaz Mammadova
• Tarana Muradova
• Zumrud Dadashzadeh

Detailed voting results from Azerbaijan (Semi-final 1)^[30]

R/O	Country	Televote
		Rank	Points
01	Norway	9	2
02	Malta	11
03	Serbia	8	3
04	Latvia	5	6
05	Portugal	13
06	Ireland	14
07	Croatia	12
08	Switzerland	4	7
09	Israel	1	12
10	Moldova	7	4
11	Sweden	2	10
12	Azerbaijan
13	Czech Republic	6	5
14	Netherlands	10	1
15	Finland	3	8

Detailed voting results from Azerbaijan (Final)^[31]

R/O	Country	Jury							Televote
		Juror 1	Juror 2	Juror 3	Juror 4	Juror 5	Rank	Points	Rank	Points
01	Austria	12	23	15	10	16	18		19
02	Portugal	13	10	10	11	26	17		26
03	Switzerland	14	9	3	14	13	7	4	10	1
04	Poland	16	25	26	17	25	23		11
05	Serbia	7	19	9	15	8	15		17
06	France	18	22	24	25	23	26		14
07	Cyprus	6	8	18	7	21	13		5	6
08	Spain	5	6	1	5	10	4	7	13
09	Sweden	2	13	6	2	2	2	10	2	10
10	Albania	3	15	2	1	11	3	8	20
11	Italy	4	16	5	3	6	5	6	7	4
12	Estonia	11	3	11	13	19	10	1	12
13	Finland	9	11	14	26	3	8	3	3	8
14	Czech Republic	21	21	17	20	9	20		8	3
15	Australia	23	1	8	22	7	6	5	23
16	Belgium	20	5	13	23	5	11		24
17	Armenia	22	18	21	24	20	24		25
18	Moldova	19	12	16	16	12	19		16
19	Ukraine	8	14	7	6	15	9	2	4	7
20	Norway	10	24	19	9	4	14		9	2
21	Germany	25	2	12	21	14	12		18
22	Lithuania	17	20	23	18	22	22		22
23	Israel	1	4	4	4	1	1	12	1	12
24	Slovenia	24	17	20	12	17	21		6	5
25	Croatia	26	26	25	19	18	25		15
26	United Kingdom	15	7	22	8	24	16		21