…and the fans say, “sure!”

Azerbaijan, the host of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, finally wrapped up its veritable marathon of a National Final process, the Milli Seçim Turu.  Starting all the way back in December, eight week-long heats of either eight or nine singers eventually gave way to a ten-singer Final round.  Taking the victory in Baku on Thursday night was 21-year-old Farid Mammadov (or, to be more precise, Fərid Məmmədov) and his powerful ballad “Hold Me“.

Farid will be the first solo male performer to sing on behalf of the Land of Fire at Eurovision, and he’s taking with him a song with a pedigree.  “Hold Me” was composed by the Greek producer Dimitris Kontopoulos, who also produced “Shady Lady” for Ani Lorak and wrote “This Is Our Night” for Sakis Rouvas.  (Then again, Kontopoulos was also responsible for producing the remix for Litesound’s “We Are the Heroes” that turned what was originally a pop-rock song into a number that was a bit too disco for the boys from Belarus, so take that as you will.)

Since their debut in 2008, Azerbaijan has never failed to reach the Top 10, and have stayed firmly put in the Top 5 since 2009.  Will Farid continue this trend?

As I mentioned earlier, the “Milli Seçim Turu” is a long and drawn-out process, but it definitely has its redeeming moments.  Singers are asked to sing international hits, Azerbaijani favorites, and Eurovision classics, often with some incredible results.  While Farid’s version of Donny Montell’s “Love Is Blind” was actually pretty decent, other covers over the years haven’t quite been as successful…watch, if you dare…