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Run With U by Magamama
Azerbaijan’s Eurovision fortunes have taken a downward turn of late. Since debuting in 2008 they finished in each of the top 5 places from 2009 – 2013, including their 2011 victory and hosting in 2012 at a record-breaking cost. However, they’ve only notched up one top 10 finish since and found themselves mired in a jury voting scandal in 2022 that prompted the return of televote-only semi-finals. Not the easiest of arenas for Magamama to enter, though they do so with an opportunity of a return to form.
Run With U, despite seeming too urgent to add a couple of extra letters and have proper spelling, is a very nice pop song. I hear echoes of Daft Punk, and even Darren Hayes’ solo material. The mainstream pop sound is punctuated by a post-chorus instrumental on the saz, the regional long-necked guitar-like instrument which adds just enough local flavour for this to stand out.
The video features a Galvanistic resuscitation of the lead singer whose severed corpse is brought back from the dead like Frankenstein’s monster, though far less spooky than it sounds.
I’d love to see this get Azerbaijan through to the final for the first time since 2022, and musically it feels very deserving. But you have to persuade the public now and Azerbaijan is not a Eurovision nation that enjoys widespread public support. It’s sandwiched in the middle of a run of up-tempo songs, albeit punctuated by Italy’s non-competitive semi-final performance, which makes it a far less easy call to make.
My marks: 8 points
Photo: Tato Panahi/EBU