According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "
Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) 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. The
European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 29 January 2018, 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. Azerbaijan was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 8 May 2018, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show. Once all the competing songs for the 2018 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Azerbaijan was set to open the show and perform in position 1, before the entry from
Iceland. The two semi-finals and final were broadcast in Azerbaijan on
İTV with commentary by
Azer Suleymanli. The Azerbaijani spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Azerbaijani jury during the final, was
Tural Asadov.
Semi-final Aisel took part in technical rehearsals on 29 April and 3 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 7 and 8 May. This included the jury show on 7 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. The Azerbaijani performance featured Aisel performing with four backing vocalists/dancers, all dressed in white. The performance featured Aisel moving around triangular slabs that light up in white LEDs as well as the use of smoke effects and
augmented reality that displayed a glittery effect. The performance was directed by
Fokas Evangelinos. The four backing vocalists/dancers that joined Aisel on stage were Hugo Baptista, Rui Andrade, Salomé Caldeira and Sandra d'Andrade. An additional off-stage backing vocalist, Stefania Rizou, was also part of the performance. At the end of the show, Azerbaijan was not announced among the top 10 entries in the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. This marked the first time that Azerbaijan failed to qualify to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest from a semi-final since its first entry in
2008. It was later revealed that Azerbaijan placed eleventh in the semi-final, receiving a total of 94 points: 47 points from both the televoting and the juries.
Voting Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1–8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final. Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Azerbaijan and awarded by Azerbaijan in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
Points awarded to Azerbaijan Points awarded by Azerbaijan Detailed voting results The following members comprised the Azerbaijani jury: • (jury chairperson)singer •
Faig Aghayevsinger • young soloist of the
Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, soprano • Tunzala Gahramanjazz singer • TV presenter == References ==