DISCOVER Efendi And Her Song "Cleopatra" Which Would've Represented Azerbaijan At Eurovision 2020
On the 18 March 2020, it was officially announced that the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 had been cancelled, which means all these amazing songs won’t get their chance to shine on the Eurovision stage and some acts may not even get the chance to represent their country. Azerbaijan had chosen Efendi as their act on 28 February 2020 and revealed her song “Cleopatra” on the 10 March 2020. She has been officially confirmed as the representative of Azerbaijan for Eurovision 2021, although she’ll be singing a different song; and, as we wait for 2021, we will make sure that every song in the cancelled contest gets it’s time to shine, here on CelebMix.
Efendi, real name Samira Efendiyeva, was chosen via internal selection and would have been the first of their acts to include another language, other than English, in their Eurovision song. This is due to her song, “Cleopatra”, containing some Japanese lyrics – the last and only other Eurovision song to have done so was the 2018 winning song “Toy” by Netta.
Talking about the song, Efendi said: “‘Cleopatra’ is a song about trusting your gut instinct, standing up for yourself and being a ‘queen’ – even when things get tough and especially if someone betrays or hurts you. It is truly a song about freedom, a celebration of all cultures and all sexualities and it’s a song that is meant to inspire people to be who they are and to be proud of themselves – just as Cleopatra was. She was a queen who went through love, heartbreak, and betrayal, but she stood up for herself and is now remembered as an icon of strength and femininity.”
Watch Efendi’s Music Video To What Would Have Been Her Eurovision 2020 Song “Cleopatra” Here:
Unique, but in a good way, we believe Efendi would’ve stood out for all the right reasons with a performance of “Cleopatra” on the Eurovision stage. Fierce, confident, and passionate, Efendi is on point in all areas during this music video, paying homage to Ancient Egypt and Cleopatra herself, whilst also looking sexy, self-assured, and sassy. The song is just that touch of magic that we were missing from the whole Eurovision 2020 line-up. We reckon this would’ve done well if the show wasn’t cancelled, and we’re looking forward to seeing what she brings to Eurovision 2021.
Azerbaijan usually does well in the Eurovision Song Contest, mainly because they bring current, exciting, and incredible acts and songs. They went on to win it in 2011. Last year, they came eighth with Chingiz’s “Truth”. Efendi will be hoping to do just as well when her time comes in 2021.
Eurovision 2020 may be cancelled but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate it this year, it doesn’t mean we can’t listen to the songs, and it doesn’t mean we forget about the artists either. Join us here on CelebMix this year as we continue the Eurovision party in the coming months whilst we’re all staying at home, looking after ourselves, and doing our best to stop the coronavirus. So why not check out the other acts from this year who would’ve been on the Eurovision 2020 stage, such as Blas Cantó for Spain, Hooverphonic for Belgium, VICTORIA for Bulgaria, Sandro for Cyprus, Vincent Bueno for Austria, Arilena Ara for Albania, Tornike Kipiani for Georgia, Jeangu Macrooy for the Netherlands, Vasil for North Macedonia, Tom Leeb for France, Benny Cristo for the Czech Republic, Eden Alene for Israel, Stefania for Greece, Montaigne for Australia, Samanta Tina for Latvia, Diodato for Italy, Destiny Chukunyere for Malta, Roxen for Romania, THE ROOP for Lithuania, Ulrikke Brandstorp for Norway, Athena Manoukian for Armenia, Alicja Szemplinska for Poland, James Newman for the UK, Samira Efendi for Azerbaijan, Ana Soklic for Slovenia, Ben Dolic for Germany, Uku Suviste for Estonia, Daði og Gagnamagnið for Iceland, Natalie Gordienko for Moldova, Ben & Tan for Denmark, Roxen for Romania, Gjon’s Tears for Switzerland, Go_A for Ukraine, The Mamas for Sweden, VAL for Belarus, Senhit for San Marino, Damir Kedzo for Croatia, and Lesley Roy for Ireland.
The 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest would have been hosted at the Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands after Duncan Laurence won the 2019 contest with the song “Arcade”. The two Semi-Finals would have taken place on 12 May 2020 and 14 May 2020, with the Grand Final on 16 May 2020. A total of 41 countries would’ve competed in the contest.
What do you make of Efendi’s “Cleopatra”? Let us know on Twitter @CelebMix.
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