Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013
Following eight semi-finals and a final on 14 March 2013, a six-member jury selected "Hold Me" performed by Farid Mammadov as the winner.Performing during the show in position 4, "Hold Me" was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 18 May.[3][4] Milli Seçim Turu 2013 was the national final organised by İTV that selected the Azerbaijani entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013.[5] The final was also streamed online at the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv and broadcast in Turkey on TRT Müzik.[4][12] The members of the jury were:[13] The eight semi-finals took place between 17 December 2012 and 8 March 2013 at the İTV studios in Baku, hosted by Leyla Aliyeva and Konul Arifkizi.[15] The final took place on 14 March 2013 at the Buta Palace in Baku, hosted by Leyla Aliyeva and Tural Asadov.On 7 April, Mammadov took part in promotional activities in Greece where he appeared during the Alpha TV morning show programme Mes Tin Kali Hara and performed at a Eurovision party which was organised by oikotimes.com and held at the NOIZ Club in Athens.[17][18] Between 14 and 15 April, Mammadov took part in promotional activities in Lithuania where he appeared and performed during the LRT programme Labas rytas, Lietuva and the TV3 show Chorų karai.[19] Between 26 and 27 April, Mammadov appeared during the TVM talk show programmes Ħadd Għalik and Xarabank in Malta.On 17 January 2013, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in.An additional three off-stage backing vocalists were also part of the performance: Alvaro Estrella, Fernando Fuentes and Jennie Jahns.This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.
AzerbaijanFarid MammadovDimitris KontopoulosJohn BallardAzerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest◄20122014►Eurovision Song Contest 2013Malmöİctimai TelevisionAzerbaijan in the Eurovision Song ContestRunning ScaredEll and NikkiAlwaysSabina BabayevaTRT MüzikZulfiyya KhanbabayevaMinistry of Culture and Tourism of AzerbaijanLeyla AliyevaButa PalaceTural AsadovChingiz MustafayevEurovision Song Contest 2011Eldar Gasimov2012 Azerbaijani Eurovision entrantAlpha TVAthensBig FiveEuropean Broadcasting UnionMacedoniaFinlandFokas EvangelinosAlvaro EstrellaIcelandGreeceMarcel Bezençon Awards2002 contestMarcel BezençonBulgariaGeorgiaHungaryIsraelRomaniaAlbaniaFranceLatviaNorwaySan MarinoSwitzerlandAustriaLithuaniaMontenegroRussiaBelarusUkraineCyprusMoldovaCroatiaBelgiumSerbiaGermanySloveniaIrelandNetherlandsDenmarkWayback MachineChingizIlkin DovlatovEfendiFahreeElnur HüseynovNigar JamalDilara KazimovaNadir RustamliSafuraTuralTuranXCleopatraDrip DropFade to BlackMata HariÖzünlə aparSkeletonsTell Me MoreArmenia–Azerbaijan relations in the Eurovision Song ContestArmeniaEstoniaSwedenUnited KingdomRoberto BellarosaMargaret BergerBirgitAmandine BourgeoisByeAlexCascadaRyan DolanDoriansEythor IngiEmmelie de ForestDina GaripovaGianlucaKoza MostraAgathon IakovidisAlyona LanskayaMarco MengoniAliona MoonZlata OgnevichAndrius PojavisKrista SiegfridsRobin StjernbergNodi TatishviliSophie GelovaniBonnie TylerLozanoHannahNatália KellyKlapa s MoraAdrian LulgjurajBledar SejkoMoran MazorMoje 3Valentina MonettaDespina OlympiouTakasaElitsa Todorova and Stoyan YankulovWho SeeAlcohol Is Free