Azerbaijan has still only a short history in Eurovision. However, it’s a very successful one: Seven participations so far, of which six resulted in a top 10 placement, including one victory. It was only at their latest ESC appearance, in Copenhagen last year, that they finished on a place lower than 10th – lower than 20th, even, as Dilara Kazimova ended up 22nd with her song Start A Fire.

Once again, Azerbaijan has gone for an internal selection for Eurovision 2015, and once again, the composition is a Swedish import. As if that wasn’t already playing it safe enough, the singer also has Eurovision experience: Elnur Hüseynov was the “angel” in the debut act for the Land of Fire, back in 2008, when he sang Day After Day with his stage partner Samir. And now, in 2015, he is back on the ESC stage as one of two returning artists this year. Welcome back!

Hour Of The Wolf, a ballad, is decent raw material. It’s all there, but it lacks some “cut”. It’s not as sing-along-able as Hold Me, for example, but it is more accessible than Start A Fire. The way it’s produced puts Elnur’s voice into the foreground, but with that reduced beat the song has, there’s a danger that the lead and backing vocals could get out of control and end up as one big howling. Howling… is that what they try to achieve, in respect of the song title? Because otherwise, the title has no single reference to the lyrics – that doesn’t help when it comes to being memorable, either.

My verdict is that this – like so many Azeri entries – will stand and fall with the stage presentation. This must be vocally spot-on, otherwise things could turn out unbearable. Last year, we learned that Azerbaijan can bomb on the scoreboard after all, so there is no guaranteed top 10 result for the Caucasian country with the Swedish songs. I believe a top placement is very possible in 2015, though – even if, for me personally, it doesn’t do a lot.

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