History
Azerbaijan's first try at Eurovision proved to be successful as the country qualified for the final from the first semi-final and came 8th with 132 points in the final evening.
Previously, another broadcaster, AzTV, wanted to participate in 2007, but EBU rules did not allow this as AzTV was not an active member of the EBU. AzTV was denied active EBU membership on 18 June 2007, as it was considered too connected to the Azerbaijani government. On 5 July, İTV became a full EBU member, and on October 15 it was given permission to take part by the EBU.
Azerbaijan's first Eurovision performance by Elnur and Samir made it in the top ten placed at number 8 with 132 points. In 2009 Azerbaijan achieved an improvement on their 2008 debut, coming third and receiving 207 points with the song "Always", performed by duo AySel & Arash.
On 14 May 2011, Azerbaijan won the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with Running Scared song by Eldar & Nigar.
Since the introduction of the semi-finals, Azerbaijan and Italy are the only two countries to place within the top 10 every year that they have competed.
Read more about this topic: Azerbaijan In The Eurovision Song Contest
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