Aisel
Aisel will represent Azerbaijan at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'X My Heart'.? Download or stream this song via your favourite platform.
Aisel was born into a family of musicians in 1989 and has been performing most of her life, starting at the Special Secondary Musical School before attending the Azerbaijan State Conservatory in Baku. Since then she has released several singles, and has performed not only in Azerbaijan, but also in Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Ukraine, Israel, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Italy.
Aisel in Azerbaijani means "the path that leads you to the moon" which is strongly stressed in her Eurovision entry X My Heart. The song was recorded in London and the mix of the song belongs to Ash Howes, internationally recognised for his work for One Direction, Dido, The Corrs, Ellie Goulding and many others.
Aisel said: "X My Heart was my favourite song from the first moment I heard it. The music gave me a positive, uplifting feeling while performing it, and it has a power that made me enjoy every second in the studio. I feel a strong connection with the lyrics of the song, since believing in myself made me overcome several difficulties I had in my life. This is a message I want to send to everyone: believing in yourself can make you "stronger than cannonballs".
Stage director Fokas Evangelinos will work with Aisel on her performance. Fokas is responsible for some of the most memorable numbers in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, such as the winning acts of Helena Paparizou (2005) and Dima Bilan (2008), the runner up numbers of Ani Lorak (2008) and Farid Mammadov (2013) and of course the stage presentation of Russia's Sergey Lazarev.
Even though Aisel comes from a family of musicians and music is her life, there's more to her than music. Aisel is an active member of the Baku Animal Rescue Society, an association that cares for homeless dogs and cats.
About the song writers and composers
X My Heart was written by the Greek producer and songwriter Dimitris Kontopoulos and Swedish songwriter Sandra Bjurman. Both authors have won the Eurovision Song Contest. Dimitris Kontopoulos won the public vote of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest with You Are The Only One performed by Sergey Lazarev and Sandra Bjurman's Running Scared won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 for Azerbaijan.
