Who is Dilara Kazimova? She is all set to represent Azerbaijan, the Land of Fire  at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest with her entry  Start a fire in Copenhagen.

It’s been a road  for the  29-year-old Dilara Kazimova to achieve her Eurovision dream, she’s now ready to take on all comers and gain the admiration of new fans in Europe.

Dilara’s first Eurovision attempt was when she competed at the  Azerbaijani National Selection as a member of pop-rock band Unformal in 2008, when the country debuted in Eurovision.  The band finished second in the final. She attempeted yet again to represent her country in 2010 when she competed at the  Azerbaijani Eurovision national selection. She qualified to the final as a part of a female duo Milk&Kisses. Eventhough she didnt achieve her Eurovision dream in  2010  she represented Azerbaijan at the 2010 New Wave Song Festival in Jurmala, Latvia

Dilara has received vocal training since she was very young, having gained a great range and vocal discipline. She has enjoyed and being part of a varied muscial backround since her childhood; opera, classical music, rock and traditional Azerbaijani music.

She’s taken elements from each of these diverse genres, developing her own unique vocal style brilliantly showed at this year’s Azerbaijani final of Böyük Səhnə.

Dilara began to sing professionally at age 14, and for the last 15 years has been experimenting with a variety of musical  styles and genres,thus training her versatile voice and gaining much experience. She was introduced to the world of music at the U. Hajibekov Baku Academy of Music. The Azerbaijani representative  graduated as an opera singer at the Baku Conservatory.

Besides music Dilara has a passion for painting and acting. Her filmography includes Try, do not breathe (2006) and In-between (2007), where besides acting she has also created a soundtrack Sonzul yol. One of her wishes is to combine both her musical and acting abilites and take part in a musical.

Dilara Kazimova was declared the winner of the 2014 Azerbaijani national final on 2 March when she won the right to represent the Land of Fire (Azerbaijan) at the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest.

Azerbaijan’s entry Dilara Kazimova will perform Start a Fire during the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, in the contest’s first Semi Final on the May 6 at B&W Hallerne in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The young, talented Dilara describes her entry song as ‘a confession of strong yet vulnerable women.’

‘The song is not just about love, but also about kindness, humanity and respect for each other,’ she said. ‘It’s also about being absolutely lonely in a world that can be so cruel.’

An established artist, Dilara is gaining popularity in Azerbaijan, and is about to attract a wider European audience. Dilara’s operatic training gives her impressive vocal diversity, and permits a repertoire that ranges from soul and opera to jazz and pop.

For Eurovision 2014, she says that she wanted a very special song. ‘Start a Fire is the best choice for me – says Dilara, – The melody is kind of hypnotizing and the story is deep and touching. It’s a bit tragic but with hope. I’m very much into the song and want to make my audiences feel its deep meaning.’

Start a Fire was written by a team of Johan Kronlund, Alessandra Gunthardt and Stefan Örn, author of Running scared  the 2011 Eurovision Azerbaijani winning entry. The song been chosen internally by the Azerbaijani national jury.

Azerbaijan has enjoyed massive success in the contest since their debut in 2008, achieving a total of 5 Top 5 placings out of their 6 participations, including a victory in 2011 (3rd in 2009, 5th in 2010, 1st in 2011, 4th in 2012,  2nd in 2013).

Azerbaijan debuted at the Eurovision Song Contestin 2008 and won the event on its 4th attempt in 2011 with Ell and Nikki’s Running Scared, thus bringing the contest to Baku in 2012.

Stay tuned to more information and news on Azerbaijan and the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest.

 

.