Credit where it’s due to the Azerbaijanis. They may have only been in the competition for seven years prior to this year, but in that seven years, they’ve placed third once (2009), second once (2013) and won the damned thing back in 2011 thanks to Ell & Nikki’s ‘Running Scared’.
It’s been a couple of years, however, since their unbroken run of top ten successes came to an abrupt halt. And it will be up to 21 year old songstress Samra Rahimli to rectify that situation in Stockholm.
She’s no stranger to these kinds of competitions, having performed as part of the Turkish edition of ‘The Voice’ last year and the inaugural Azerbaijani edition of ‘The Voice’ just last month. So she’s ready and she’s pumped.
Which leaves the all-important song. What’s it like?
It’s globally accessible and has a pretty good hook, but the issue we have with it is that said hook is repeated over and over and over again. We reckon this could be one of those Eurovision entries that hinges on the actual performance on the night.
For now, however… sept points.