Azerbaijan will participate in the Own Eurovision Song Contest 46 in Egypt. Their entry will be selected through an internal selection, organised by Azerbaijani public broadcaster İctimai Televiziya (İTV).
On the 14th of August 2014, Azerbaijan confirmed their participation in the Own Eurovision Song Contest 46 and made a public call for entries. It was also announced that auditions would be held in the cities of Baku, Ganja and Nakhchivan. The rules for submitting entries stated that the songwriters, composers and artists must be citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan, or at the very least have an Azerbaijani parent, although a test in the Azeri language would be required to submit an entry. Songs must also be in the at least 75% sung in the Azeri language, in a bid to promote the culture of Azerbaijan.
After 3 months of searching, which allegedly cost over 1 million Manat, İTV announced that Vugarixx, a famous Azerbaijani DJ, would represent Azerbaijan in Cairo with his self-penned song "Payız Gəldi", which he announced would be sung by Tomris Nailqizi, an unknown singer who auditioned at the Baku audition day along with Vugarixx. According to Sabina Babayeva, who was part of the selection committee, this song was selected unanimously by all 15 judges out of the 3 songs shortlisted.
Azerbaijan
