ESC entry performs national song in Italy

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan's Eurovision 2022 entry has performed a song "Memory" in Azerbaijani during a press conference in Italy.

At a press conference, the singer spoke about his contest composition and stage number at Eurovision 2022, after which one of the journalists asked Nadir Rustamli to perform mugham, one of the main genres of Azerbaijani traditional music.

The Azerbaijani singer decided to perform "Memory" , well-known to the listeners, from the repertoire of the world-famous mugham performer, People's Artist Alim Gasimov.

Recall that Nadir Rustamli sang the composition Xatir?dir at the Voice of Azerbaijan singing contest.  The performance was greeted with a storm of applause at the press conference.

The singer will compete in second semifinal with the song "Fade To Black" released on March 21 2022.

Nadir has been into music since a young age. He took piano lessons for seven years, studied in music school and, while at university and joined a music band "Sunrise" as the front man. In the music band, he also served as the art director for the music band. Moreover, Nadir Rustamli is the winner of the Voice of Azerbaijan singing competition's winner.

Meanwhile,  Eurovision 2022 will take place in Turin, Italy on May 10-14.

As a result of the draw, Azerbaijan's entry will perform on May 12. The first semi-final will take place on May 10.

The Azerbaijani delegation at Eurovision 2022 will be headed by composer and producer Isa Melikov.

Azerbaijan marked its debut in 2008 with the duo of Elnur and Samir, who managed to become the eighth in the final with their song "Day after day".

The brilliant duet of Aysel and Arash, which represented Azerbaijan next year, took third place at the song contest, while Safura Alizada, who represented the country at the Eurovision 2010 in Oslo, became fifth.

On its fourth attempt with Ell and Nikki's "Running Scared" song, the Land of Fire won the event, bringing the contest to Baku's Crystal Hall in 2012. Ell and Nikki were the first mixed-gender duo to win the contest since 1963 and the first winners from Azerbaijan.

It is noteworthy that Azerbaijan reached the Top 5 in five consecutive contests - 3rd in 2009, 5th in 2010, 1st in 2011, 4th in 2012, and 2nd in 2013.

In 2018, Aysel Mammadova performed brilliantly at the Eurovision 2018 semi-final, but she couldn't make it to the final. The singer represented Azerbaijan with the song "X My Heart".

Azerbaijan's Chingiz Mustafayev impressed all Eurovision fans with his stunning performance in 2019. The singer finished in eighth place at the song contest.

In 2020, the song contest was cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, fans of the music contest had a great chance to enjoy a spectacular show "Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light", featuring 41 songs of this year's entries.

During the show, Samira Efendi pleased Eurovision fans with the song "Cleopatra" about trusting your gut instinct, standing up for yourself and being a "Queen" - even when things get tough and especially if someone betrays or hurts you.

Last year,  Samira Efendi performed in the second half of the Eurovision 2021 final with the song "Mata Hari" and took place the 20th place. Speaking about the meaning of the song, Efendi noted that it is about female power.

She thrilled Eurovision fans with stunning performance that featured a giant orb in the background.

At the end of the stage show, the orb was lifted into the air where it exploded in a rain of golden sparkles, leaving the image of Nazar, a symbol of fortune in Azerbaijan.

Efendi's costume was adorned with precious and semi-precious stones; it combined Azerbaijan's traditional elements but with a modern twist. The costume was designed by world-famous fashion designer Rufat Ismayil was behind her outfit.