It was officially announced this morning that Azerbaijan will be represented in Eurovision 2017 with the song Skeletons by Dihaj. The official video for the entry was also released. It is written by celebrated duo Isa Melikov and Sandra Bjurman, whose previous successes include the Eurovision 2011 winner.
The press release from Azerbaijani broadcaster ITV reads as follows:
‘Azerbaijani National Broadcaster ITV has announced that Dihaj will perform Skeletons on the Eurovision’s stage in the First Semi-Final on May 9th in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Dihaj is the stage name of Azerbaijani singer and musician Diana Hajiyeva. It’s taken from first letters of her name and surname. After graduating from Baku Music Academy in 2010 she moved on to The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance in London. While in the UK, Diana got involved with the local underground music scene by singing in a progressive trance trio called Looper & Mancus. Around that time, she decided to launch her own band.
In 2014, she created Dihaj, an electronic music collective from Baku. The band’s breakthrough first single was I Break Again. Diana co-wrote it with Azerbaijani jazz pianist Isfar Sarabsky. Music critics have called the band “experimental doom pop,” praising its post-rock guitar riffs, semi-acoustic drum set, and atmospheric vocals.
As the lead singer of Dihaj, Diana has performed at numerous music festivals including “Women in Paradise” in Amsterdam, “Tbilisi Open Air / AlterVision” in Georgia and “Kulturos Naktis” in Lithuania. In 2015, Dihaj won the prestigious Caucasian Music Awards Phoenix as The Debut of the Year with the cover of Gecələr Keçir (Nights Passes).
Diana aka Dihaj will perform Skeletons at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv. The song was written by famous Azerbaijani composer/producer Isa Melikov and Sandra Bjurman. They both previously worked with Eldar Gasimov and Nikki Jamal on their winning entry at Eurovision 2011. Isa’s creative vision brought to life songs for Dima Bilan and Aysel. Sandra also helped to write Elnur’s Hour of the Wolf, Safura’s Drip Drop and Maria Yaremchuk’s Ukrainian entry song Tick-Tock.’
You can watch the official video for the 2017 Azerbaijani entry below. Let us know what you think!
