The Azerbaijani broadcaster ITV has defended its Eurovision 2026 artist and song selection following criticism after its entry and artist were revealed.
Two days after “Just Go” was revealed as the Azerbaijani song for the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, performed by JIVA, ITV has taken to social media to defend its selection. In a statement on Instagram ITV said that it decided to release a statement to explain in more detail how the selection process worked.
In the statement, ITV explained that three acts made it through to the final shortlist, which included JIVA. That the final decision was made based on the results of a specially formed focus group and expert opinions. And that an important factor in determining their entry was that jury voting will be reintroduced in the semi-finals of Eurovision. As a result, strong live vocals and performance abilities were taken into account.
In addition, the statement addresses claims on social media that the song has been written using artificial intelligence. ITV states that:
These ideas do not reflect the truth. “Just Go” is an original musical work prepared on the basis of a professional creative approach, and behind it are many years of experience, preofessional knowledge and creative work.
The broadcaster goes on to give its full support to JIVA as the Azerbaijani representative. She will perform in the first half of the second semi-final on May 14.
Source: Ictimai Eurovision
Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest+
Azerbaijan debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008. They were represented by Elnur & Samir with the song “Day After Day”, who finished 8th in the final. In 2011, Ell & Nikki won the Eurovision Song Contest for Azerbaijan with their song “Running Scared”. The song scored a total of 221 points, receiving only three sets of 12 points from Malta, Russia and Turkey. In 2018, Azerbaijan failed to qualify for the final for the first time, having previously had a 100% qualification record.