Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010
Azerbaijan was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 by 17-year-old singer Safura Alizadeh, selected from an open casting call for artists and a national final. She performed the song "Drip Drop" at the contest, held in Oslo, Norway, and finished 5th in the final. Azerbaijanian broadcaster İctimai Televiziya və Radio Yayımları Şirkəti (İTV) selected the song on 18 March. Before Eurovision. Land of Fire 2010. "Land of Fire 2010" was the national final organised by İTV that selected the Azerbaijani entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. The competition consisted  of a semi-final and a final on 2 February 2010 and 2 March 2010, respectively. The two shows took place at the Buta Palace in Baku and were hosted by Husniye Maharramova and Ilham Gasimov. Both shows were broadcast on İTV and streamed online via the broadcaster's website "itv.az". Format. The competition consisted of two televised shows including a semi-final and a final. During the semi-final held on 2 February 2010, each artist performed an original song and the votes of a seven-member jury panel determined the three qualifiers that advanced to the final on  2 March 2010. In the final, the remaining artists each performed three candidate Eurovision songs and the winner was selected by the jury. The jury panel consisted of: Competing artists. On 1 June 2009, İTV called for interested artists to apply for the competition. Eligible artists were those that were citizens of Azerbaijan or part of the Azerbaijani diaspora. Artists were also required to submit two cover versions of various songs, one being a ballad and one being an uptempo song. 30 applications were received and on 6 January 2010, İTV announced the six artists selected for the competition. The  selection of the six competing artists was based on the decision of a panel consisting of national and international experts who took their vocal, dance and foreign language abilities into account. İTV broadcast two introductory shows on 15 and 23 January 2010 where the competing artists were presented. Semi-final. The semi-final took place between 2 February 2010. The six competing artists each performed an original song and Maryam Shabanova, Milk and Kisses and Safura Alizadeh were selected by the jury to advance to the final. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Eurovision Song Contest 2004  winner Ruslana, Eurovision Song Contest 2009 winner Alexander Rybak and 2009 Azerbaijani Eurovision entrants AySel and Arash performed as guests. Final. The final took place on 2 March 2010. The three artists that advanced from the preceding semi-final each performed three candidate Eurovision songs selected from submissions from international songwriters and Safura Alizadeh was selected by the jury as the winning artist. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 2009 Azerbaijani Eurovision entrant AySel and 2010 Georgian Eurovision entrant Sofia Nizharadze performed as guests. "Drip Drop" was announced as the selected song on 18 March 2010. At  Eurovision. Azerbaijan competed in the second semi-final of the contest, on 27 May, seventh on the draw. "Drip Drop" was performed after Sweden and before Ukraine, and qualified for the final, placing 2nd with 113 points. The public awarded Azerbaijan 1st place with 126 points and the jury awarded 3rd place with 89 points. In the final Azerbaijan came 5th with 145 points, with the public awarding the country 5th place with 161 points and the jury awarding 9th place with 116 points.