Does Azerbaijan need a "Miracle" from Samra to make it to the Grand Final this Eurovision?
Country: Azerbaijan
Song Title: "Miracle"
Artist: Samra
First Semi-Final: Position 14
Last year's entry: "Hour of the Wolf" - Elnur Huseynov (12th Place)
I tend to think of Azerbaijan as a Eurovision powerhouse, since they've never missed the finals since debuting in 2008, but lately that hasn't been as assured. The last few years their final position in the contest hasn't been as high (placing 22nd in 2014) and they barely eked through to the final last year, coming 10th in their semifinal and 12th overall. With Stockholm nearing in a few weeks, does "Miracle" have what it takes to get Azerbaijan out of their (comparative) slump?
There's been no changes to the song since we last heard it, which is fine - I didn't think it needed tweaking in my first listen and I don't think that now. There's something about the song that doesn't feel totally original - I can't place the exact songs/singers this reminds me of, but this feels like well-trod lyrical territory. The production is modern enough, and as this live video shows, Samra definitely has the chops to pull off a good rendition of the song live.
Azerbaijan is never shy in their staging, even for straighforward songs, so I'm expecting their usual sense of flash when it comes to what we'll see on stage. This definitely feels like a song that could see pyrotechnics used. Amongst bookmakers (an our own internal rankings), the song feels poised to easily break through to the final. Looking at its neighbors in the performing order, Samra is performing between Estonia's "Play" and Montenegro's "Real Thing". These songs all sound radically different from one another, so I don't think there's any chance of this harming Azerbaijan's ride to their 9th finals.