Eldar Gasimov

Eldar Qasımov
Eldar Gasimov in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Eldar Gasimov
Born	4 June 1989
Origin	Baku, Azerbaijani SSR, Soviet Union
Genres	Pop, R&B, jazz-funk
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	2010-present
Associated acts	Nigar Jamal
Website	Eldar Qasimov

Eldar "Ell" Gasimov (Azerbaijani: Eldar Qasımov; born 4 June 1989) is an Azerbaijani singer who successfully represented Azerbaijan at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in the music duo Ell & Nikki with Nigar Jamal. He co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 held in Baku, Azerbaijan with Leyla Aliyeva and Nargiz Birk-Petersen.

Early life

Eldar Gasimov is the great-grandson of Azerbaijani actor couple Honoured Artist of Azerbaijan Abbas Mirza Sharifzadeh and People's Artist of USSR Marziyya Davudova, and the grandson of People's Artist of Azerbaijan actress Firangiz Sharifova.^[1] Gasimov began singing when he was very young and has taken part in several concerts in various cities of Azerbaijan and Russia. Between 2001 and 2005 he received professional training in music and learned to play the piano.^[2]

Eldar Gasimov graduated from Baku Slavic University with a double major in international relations and regional geography. Since 2010, he has been a graduate student of international relations at the same university.^[1] Eldar Gasimov speaks Russian and German fluently and is also proficient in English.^[2]

Career

Eurovision Song Contest 2011

Gasimov took part in the Azerbaijani national selection, Milli Seçim Turu 2011. Gasımov's first appearance was in Heat 6, placing second with 10 points, behind winner Ilgara Ibrahimova with 12 points with both qualifying to the semi-final. Gasimov qualified from the semi-final along with four other artists to the final on 11 February 2011, where he and Nigar Jamal won the right to represent Azerbaijan at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany in May 2011.^[3][4][5] They sang under the pseudonym Ell & Nikki the song "Running Scared" written by Stefan Örn and Sandra Bjurman from Sweden and Iain Farquharson from the UK, which won the competition with 221 points.

2011–present: After Eurovision

Eldar in Malmö during Eurovision Song Contest 2013

After winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Gasimov and Jamal got to travel to a number of countries and perform their winning entry. In Azerbaijan 15,000 postage stamps in the denomination of 1 Azerbaijani manat were printed.^[6] Germany also printed postage stamps to the value of €0.45.^[7] The production of postage stamps in both Azerbaijan and Germany were in dedication of Eldar and Nigar's victory at 2011 contest.^[8] In 2012, Eldar Gasimov was among five musicians from Azerbaijan chosen as the jury in the Danish national selection of the 2012 Eurovision contestant.^[9]

In January 2012, he released his first post-Eurovision song called "Birlikda nahayat" ("At last together").^[10] Gasimov was one of the hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 held in Baku, Azerbaijan after his win the year before.^[11]

On 17 July 2012, Gasimov released the acoustic version of his new single I'm Free.^[12] The official video was released in September of 2012.

In October 2012, Eldar Gasimov announced on his social network account that he had been hired by the Baku Slavic University, where he had received his master's degree, to teach a course in international relations.^[13]

Discography

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions										Certifications	Album
		AUT [14]	BEL (Vl) [15]	GER [16]	IRE [17]	NL [18]	ROM [19]	RUS [20]	SVK [21]	SUI [22]	UK [23]
2011	"Running Scared" (with Nigar Jamal)	22	37	33	41	59	99	1	50	11	61	—	—
2012	"Birlikdə nəhayət" ("At last together")	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"I'm free"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014	"Ice and Fire" (with Zlata Ognevich)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

See also

• Azerbaijani pop music
• Azerbaijani jazz

References

1. Eldar Gasimov Disclosed Details of Private Life. 1news.az. 11 February 2011.
2. Singer Ell: Music is All That Makes me Live. Echo. 12 November 2010.
3. Hondal, Victor. "News - Azerbaijan sends Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal to Eurovision". ESCToday. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
4. Siim, Jarmo. "Nigar & Eldar get gold in Azerbaijan". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
5. "İctimai Televiziya və Radio Yayımları Şirkəti - "Eurovision-2011" Milli Finalının qalibi bəlli oldu" (in Azerbaijani). İTV. Archived from the original on February 14, 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
6. "Stamps on Azerbaijan's Eurovision-2011 win issued". Retrieved 17 July 2011.
7. "Stamp on Azerbaijan’s Eurovision-2011 Win Issued". Retrieved 17 July 2011.
8. "Ell & Nikki (2011) IN POST STAMPS". Retrieved 17 July 2011.
9. Azerbaijan Show Business Reps Appointed Jury for Danish National Selection. Vesti.az. 16 January 2012.
10. New Song by Eurovision 2011 Winner Eldar Gasimov. Vesti.az. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
11. Siim, Jarmo. "Eldar, Nargiz, Leyla to host Eurovision 2012". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
12. Irada Asadova. I'm Free: Eldar Released Acoustic Version of New Single. Echo. 17 July 2012.
13. (Russian) Eldar Gasimov to Change Jobs. 1news.az. 19 October 2012.
14. "Running Scared". Peak Chart Position. Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
15. "Running Scared". Peak Chart Position. Ultratop 50. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
16. "Running Scared". Peak Chart Position. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
17. "Running Scared". Peak Chart Position. Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
18. "Running Scared". Peak Chart Position. Single Top 100. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
19. "Running Scared". Peak Chart Position. Romanian Top 100. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
20. "Running Scared". Peak Chart Position. Russian Music Charts. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
21. "Running Scared". Peak Chart Position. IFPI. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
22. "Running Scared". Peak Chart Position. Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
23. "Running Scared". Peak Chart Position. UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

• Media related to Eldar Gasimov at Wikimedia Commons