From The Vault: Elnur and Samir

In 2008, Azerbaijan participated in Eurovision for the very first time. For their debut, they sent Elnur and Samir (Elnur Hüseynov and Samir Javadzadeh), a pop-opera duo influenced by mugham, a genre of traditional Azerbaijani folk music. Their song, "Day After Day" describes an epic battle between good and evil. 

Elnur, dressed as an angel, and Samir, dressed as the Devil, were joined onstage by angel babes and devil sluts. And a costume change! They knew what they were doing. Perhaps it is a bit excessive, but nuance is hard when you're trying to appeal to viewers in 40 different countries. And you know what will never get docked points at Eurovision? Enthusiasm. Voters felt the same: they awarded this entry 132 points, and it finished in eighth place. Not bad for first timers.

Eurovision has always been very popular in Azerbaijan. Participation is taken very seriously and is viewed as a great source of national pride. They are a favorite country in the Contest, and 2011 brought the first Azerbaijani victory with "Running Scared," a sweet, bubbly duet between Ell and Nikki (Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal). They have toned it down a little bit since their debut.

Austria Announces Host City

Since Conchita Wurst won Eurovision in May, her home country, Austria, will have the honors of hosting next year's competition. The cities of Innsbruck and Graz were considered for the position of host city, but it was announced today that the capital, Vienna, has been selected.

Vienna has a rich cultural history and is regarded as the "City of Music." It is home to many beautiful cathedrals, operas, museums, imperial palaces, and the world's oldest zoo. The Wiener Stadthallen was chosen as the official venue of the Contest. It has an approximate seating capacity of 16,000 and has hosted some of the biggest musical performers in the world, including Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and former Eurovision winner, Céline Dion.

Eurovision 2015 has been scheduled for the third week of May, with the two semifinals taking place on May 19 and 21, and the final on May 23. This is only the second time Austria will host the Contest, the first was also in Vienna, in 1967.