Destination Lisbon (#23): Meet Aisel from Azerbaijan
08 April 2018 at 10:00 CEST
Aisel represents Azerbaijan at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest
Aisel
In the 23rd part of 'Destination Lisbon', our feature counting down to the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, we get to know Aisel who will represent Azerbaijan with the song 'X My Heart'.
Aisel was born in 1989 in a family of musicians 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.Â
Aisel in Azerbaijani means "the path that leads you to the moon" which reflects in her Eurovision entry X My Heart. The song was recorded in London and was mixed by Ash Howes, internationally recognised for his work for One Direction, Dido, The Corrs, Ellie Goulding and many others.Â
About her Eurovision entry 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."
For her stage performance Aisel will work with the well-known stage director Fokas Evangelinos. Fokas is responsible for some of the most memorable performances 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 (2016).
But there's more to Aisel than music; she is also an active member of the Baku Animal Rescue Society, an association that cares for homeless dogs and cats.
Aisel travelled to Portugal in February to record her postcard video:
Let's get social!
You can follow Aisel on the following social media platforms: Â
