Fade to Black: Azerbaijan on the ESC Stage

With approximately 161 million spectators each year, the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is the biggest live music event in the world (Eurovision, 2022). Due to the size of the audience, each nation competing in the Eurovision final has a three-minute song to showcase their identity to a sizable portion of the globe. A country's performance or song selection may closely represent or deviate from its national character in many ways. They could, instead showcase a unique picture they created for the nation or even a song that they think has a chance of winning. In this blog post I will be analyzing Azerbaijan’s 2022 song entry, Fade to Black performed by Nadir Rustamli. As well as, determining to was extent it aligns with Azerbaijan’s national identity.  

“Fade to Black”

In 2022, Azerbaijan sent Fade to Black to the Eurovision stage. It was sung and performed by Nadir Rustamli, who won The Voice Azerbaijan in 2021 (Eurovision, 2022). As with many other Eurovision entries, Fade to Black was written and composed by Anderz Wrethov, Andreas Stone, Sebastian Schub, and Thomas Stengaard; however, unlike past entries, this one does not have an “Azerbaijani twist” to it (Eurovision, 2022).

The performance itself was relatively simple as far as Eurovision performance goes. It consisted of Rustamli singing and dancing on a large moving staircase prop, with a single other dancer mirroring his exact movements. The lighting stays relatively dark throughout most of the performance to match the heartbreak theme of the song but does turn into an almost laser beam show at points when dramatics are needed. These points are also accented by lightning storm graphics. Keeping with the simplicity of the props and lighting, both Rustamli and the other performers are dressed in simple neutral toned shirts and pants. 

The analysis 

As I mentioned before Fade to Black was written and composed by Anderz Wrethov, Andreas Stone, Sebastian Schub, and Thomas Stengaard, all of whom are well-known in the Eurovision world. Stengaard has been on the team that produced songs for both Cyprus and San Marino entries, and Johansson has worked on Too Late for Love, a 2019 ESC entry (Granger, 2022). 

According to the Eurovision website, Fade to Black is an emotional ballad with the theme of overcoming adversity head-on (Eurovision, 2022). After listening to the song and reading over the lyrics countless times, I personally think it deals more with watching a relationship fall apart in front of your eyes and learning to overcome that heartbreak.  This is most notable in the lyrics:

“Do you really want no part of this?
One so sweet
Reverie
You back off slowly through the door
You always go and blame the weather
The weather

It hurts so fast
When love goes bad
Until at last
We fade to black”

It was thought that Rustamli would pick a more rock genre, however, it was this pop ballad that resonated with him the most (Eurovision, 2022). The song itself doesn’t have much going for it in terms of novelty, it is kind of just your typical Eurovision emotional pop ballad. Nothing about the song is particularly unique. What does make the song interesting, gives it flavor if you will, is what Rustamli’s vocals bring to it. His voice is stunning and powerful, containing an almost falsetto and reverb.  On top of that, his vocals are grave but he’s still able to reach an incredibly high note which only adds to the emotion of the song and makes the listener really feel the lyrics. He truly has a stunning vocal range that makes the song and without it the song would be just another heartbreak pop ballad. 

As I mentioned earlier, the whole performance was relatively simple in nature. It consisted of Rustamli performing on a large moving staircase along with a dancer. 

“The staircase represents stepping away from the past and moving forward. At the end of the staircase, I face my fears, insecurities, and all of the dark thoughts I’ve been through. Then I fight through them and win…” – Nadir Rustamli (Eurovision, 2022) 

I’ve interpreted this as the dancer representing these insecurities, which is why for the majority of the performance Rustamli and the dancer are mirroring each other’s movements.  This mirroring continues until nearly the end of the song when it reaches its peak, the staircase separates in two and Rustamli goes into a drawn-out high note. It’s then that he seems to face off with his insecurities and win. 

The flashiest part of this performance is arguably the light show and the lightning graphics. Both Rustamli and the dancer are dressed simply in neutral colored shirts and pants that look as though they are meant to be tattered. This choice in outfits really adds to the feel and vibe of the performance. It makes the viewers and audience feel the raw emotion behind the song and lets that speak for itself. 

Does it align? 

Does Nadir Rustamli’s performance of Fade to Black align with Azerbaijan’s national identity? No, it does not really align.  

In 2008, when Azerbaijan first made its Eurovision debut the song they sent had lots of Mugham extracts, which is a traditional Azerbaijani music genre (Ismayilov, 2012). Similarly the next year, in 2009, the entry featured a the Azerbaijani national instrument tar (Ismayilov, 2012). The goal of this was to use the ESC as a platform to introduce the indigenous culture of Azerbaijan beyond its borders (Ismayilov, 2012). However, as Azerbaijan continued to participate in the ESC the more westernized their entries have become, with 2011’s winning entry not having much, if any, Azerbaijani flare to it (Ismayilov, 2012). 

This can be seen again in Fade to Black. Not a single part of the song or the performance can be connected back to Azerbaijan, with the only connection being that the singer himself is Azerbaijani. The lack of connection is very likely a conscious decision on the part of the government.  

 

 

References

Eurovision 2022: 161 million viewers as online engagement soars! Eurovision Song Contest. (2022, May 24). Retrieved February 24, 2023, from https://eurovision.tv/story/eurovision-2022-161-million-viewers 

Diving into Eurovision headfirst with Azerbaijan's Nadir Rustamli. Eurovision Song Contest. (2022, May 6). Retrieved March 1, 2023, from https://eurovision.tv/story/nadir-rustamli-azerbaijan-22

Granger, A. (2022, March 20). Today: 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan reveals its Eurovision Entry & 🇺🇸 american song contest commences. Eurovoix. Retrieved March 1, 2023, from https://eurovoix.com/2022/03/21/today-%F0%9F%87%A6%F0%9F%87%BF-azerbaijan-reveals-its-eurovision-entry-%F0%9F%87%BA%F0%9F%87%B8-american-song-contest-commences/ 

 

  Ismayilov. (2012). State, identity, and the politics of music: Eurovision and nation-building in Azerbaijan. Nationalities Papers, 40(6), 833–851. https://doi.org/10.1080/00905992.2012.742990

 

  Sieg. (2013). Cosmopolitan empire: Central and Eastern Europeans at the Eurovision Song Contest. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 16(2), 244–263. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549412450639