Azerbaijani entry for the Eurovision 2009 - ALWAYS by AySel & Arash

The Duo

On the 12th of February 2009 Azerbaijan the Land of Fire announced the launch of the Eurovision duo of AySel & Arash. In the second ESC semi-final on the 14th of May in Moscow, young AySel will compete for the victory in the Eurovision 2009 along with the experienced songwriter and artist Arash by her side. 



AySel Biography 

AySel was born in Baku on 25th April 1989 in the family of a University professor. Her Zodiac sign is Taurus, the underpinning of her ambitious, committed, self-confident personality, who loves the atmosphere of competition. AySel is just 19, but her ambition coupled with the faith in her talent has already led the young artist to the main stage of the European show business, the Eurovision Song Contest stage, as the representative of Azerbaijan.

Music. AySel started to sing at the age of four. AySel begins to take part in national vocalists’ competitions when she was eight. In 2001, she wins the prestigious Azerbaijani contest Рohre. At thirteen, AySel enters a Baku music school where she learns to play the piano and sings in the choir. The piano is AySel’s passion since childhood. No wonder, since AySel’s parents still keep a unique XVIII-century piano at home.  

USA. In 2004 AySel goes to study in the USA as a student of the exchange program FLEX. Within days from her arrival to the USA, she signs up for the local choir and begins training for young vocalists competitions. During her year in the US, AySel won 3 gold medals at prestigious contests which were held in the Southern Arkansas University and in the University of Texas at Austin.

Baku. Upon her return to Baku AySel takes part in the television project Yeni Ulduz 4 (“New Star 4”) where she goes straight to the final. When the project ends in 2006 AySel becomes a student at the International Relations department of the Azerbaijani University of Foreign Languages. Currently she continues her studies and is simultaneously working hard to prepare for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow. 



Arash Biography

Success. Famous singer, author, entertainer and producer Arash was born 23 April 1977 in Tehran, Iran. At the age of 10 he and his family moved to Sweden. His debut album, “Arash”, was released by the Warner Brothers Music in June 2005, after he had finished college. His singles, "Boro Boro" ("Go Away") and "Temptation", made it to the hit lists around Europe, and their respective videos garnered significant airplay on more than 20 MTV outlets across the world. In addition he has had hits notably in Eastern European and South-East European charts like Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Georgia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Turkey etc. He has gone gold in 5 countries: Germany, Russia, Slovenia and Greece for his album, “Arash”, and in Sweden for "Boro Boro". 

Way to Eurovision. Arash has Azerbaijani roots that is why he had decided to take part in the Azerbaijani Eurovision national selection. In February his song “Always” won the selection to represent the country in Eurovision 2009. On the 12th of February 2009 Azerbaijan announced the launch of the Eurovision duo of AySel & Arash. The decision to create the duo of AySel and Arash was taken by the 7-member jury of the Azerbaijani national final for the ESC 2009.

Azerbaijan to send a duet to Eurovision 2009

The Land of Fire announced the launch of the Eurovision duet of AySel and the author of her song Always. In the second ESC semi-final on 14 May in Moscow, young AySel will compete for the victory in Eurovision with the experienced songwriter and artist Arash by her side.

The decision to create the duet of AySel and Arash was taken by the 7-member jury of the Azerbaijani national final for the ESC 2009. This decision was heavily influenced by Arash’s own statements, which he made when his song Always won the Azerbaijani national selection to represent the country in Eurovision 2009. Arash was adamant that he is not only a songwriter and composer, but also a successful singer, and that is why he would like “to be on the Eurovision 2009 stage, and not just on its backstage.” This sincere acknowledgment of the author of Always gave the start to the Eurovision duet from Azerbaijan.

“This idea came to us already at the first audition of Arash’s song,” said Farhad Hajiyev, one of the jury members. “His song is about love, beautiful and pure, and love is always about two people! When in an interview Arash expressed his desire to perform for Azerbaijan, we arrived at a firm decision that our country will be represented by this romantic duet - AySel and Arash. Moreover, Arash has some Azerbaijani roots, as you may know!”

The popular songwriter and singer makes no secret that he has long been interested in the Eurovision Song Contest. In addition, one of the decisive factors for him was the offer to sing in duet with AySel.

“Performing with AySel was important for me, since I wrote Always specifically for her said Arash. “It is my sincere desire now to make our duet into something special for Eurovision 2009.”

Before announcing the duet, the Azerbaijani national jury made a somewhat unusual decision: to record a working version of Always performed by AySel and Arash. It is the song, they believe, that is the most important factor for a good result, let alone victory, in Eurovision.

“I was a little nervous,” said AySel after the recording. “Not about meeting Arash, just about the outcome of the recording. My worries proved to be groundless! We spend 48 hours in the studio, almost entirely; we changed and tweaked the song endlessly. The result of all our work you will hear very soon! What concern Arash, I am impressed by his professionalism as well as his open and friendly personality and charm.”