Azerbaijan in The Origin Song Contest 09

Azerbaijan will take part in the eighth edition of The Origin Song Contest. İTV, the Azerbaijani broadcaster, will organise the national final *AzeMelodiya Grand Prix*.

## Before TOSC

### ***AzeMelodiya Grand Prix 03***

*AzeMelodiya Grand Prix* *03* was the third edition of the Azerbaijani music competition that selected Azerbaijan's entry for the The Origin Song Contest 09.

#### **Format**

Ten songs competed in one show where the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the top 5 songs based on the combination of votes from a public vote (50%) and a ten-member jury panel (50%) qualified to the Gold Final. In the Gold Final, the winner was determined by the combination of votes from the public (50%) and an alternate six-member jury panel (50%). Public votes were grouped into five geographical regions and each region awarded 12, 10, 8, 6 and 4 points to their top 5 songs. The sixth set of votes were the results of mobile phone calls, which had a weighting equal to the votes of a single voting region.

#### **Competing entries**

Artists and songwriters were able to submit their song entries to İTV from 1 May 2020 to 14 May 2020. Songwriters of any nationality were allowed to submit entries, but at least one of the performers had to hold Azerbaijani citizenship or live in Azerbaijan. İTV received a record number of 106 entries. A committee of music professionals and members of OGAO selected 7 songs for the competition with the remaining 3 entries being selected by an international jury consisting of representatives from ten countries. The competing artists and songs were announced on 23 and 24 May 2020.

#### **Final**

The final took place on 28 June 2020 at the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, hosted by Husniye Maharramova and Dilara Kazimova. The winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the top five advanced to the Gold Final based on the votes of a ten-member jury (50%) and a public vote (50%). In the Gold Final, the winner, "Sekret" performed by Hafex & Nessa Savage, was selected based on the votes of an alternate six-member jury (50%) and the public vote (50%). The results of the public vote were revealed by Azerbaijan's five regions, with the televoting figures of each region, alongside with the mobile phone voting figures being converted to points.

## At TOSC

The Origin Song Contest 08 will take place in Brussels, Belgium and will consist of two semi-finals on 2020 and a final on 2020. According to TOSC rules, all nations with the exceptions of the "Big 6" (The host country and the top 5 placed countries of the previous edition) 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.

On 6 April 2020, the allocation draw for the semi-finalists took place, where the semi-finalists were drawn into the two semi-finals. Azerbaijan was drawn to perform in position 12 in the first semi-final, following the entry from Switzerland and preceding the entry from Sweden.

### **Semi-final**

Azerbaijan performed 12th in the first semi-final, following the entry from Switzerland and preceding the entry from Sweden. At the end of the show, Azerbaijan was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Azerbaijan placed TBA in the semi-final, receiving a total of TBA points.

### **Final**

Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. Azerbaijan was drawn to compete in the second half, in the position TBA, following the entry from TBA and before the entry from TBA.

## Voting

### **Points awarded to Azerbaijan**

Points Awarded to Azerbaijan (Semi-final)
 -5 points

Points Awarded to Azerbaijan (Final)
 -5 points