Azerbaijan internally selects Samra with ‘Miracle’

This year, the Azerbaijani broadcaster ITV decided to choose their act internally, and now we know that it is Samra who will be representing the nation with the song Miracle.

The song was chosen from a pool of over 400 entries, which were submitted by both international and local songwriters. The final choice was made with an internal ballot within ITV and also a survey sent out to more than 100 music and television industry experts, as well as some avid Eurovision fans from a range of countries.

In previous years, the Azerbaijani delegation has worked closely with Swedish songwriters, which arguably has brought them great success over the years. This year is no exception, and this year, the team behind the song are Amir Aly, Jakke Erixson, and Henrik Wikstrom. The song is described as the story of a painful breakup, however is not a ballad. The song is anthemic in sound, and is extremely catchy.

Who is Samra?

Samra Rahimli is a young up and coming talent from Baku, who has spent time in both Azerbaijan and Russia, before eventually settling in Baku. In 2012, Samra participated in the national final for Azerbaijan, with the intentions of representing her nation at Eurovision. After impressive performances, she formally enrolled at the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts to study music.

Samra returned to the spotlight last year, when she participated in the Voice of Turkey, where she reached the quarterfinals. The Voice television show then came to Azerbaijan, so Samra participated again, and dazzled the judges, and ended up in the finals. At last, it seems Samra has almost come full circle, and is now representing Azerbaijan, 4 years after her first attempt at the contest.

You can listen to the song down below, and if you think Azerbaijan could grab their 2^nd Eurovision win, make sure to vote for Samra in our poll, which you can find here.