"Cleopatra" | ||||
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Single by Samira Efendi | ||||
Released | 10 March 2020 | |||
Length | 3:00 | |||
Label | BMF | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Samira Efendi singles chronology | ||||
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Eurovision Song Contest 2020 entry | ||||
Country | ||||
Artist(s) | ||||
Languages | ||||
Composer(s) |
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Lyricist(s) |
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Finals performance | ||||
Semi-final result | Contest cancelled | |||
Entry chronology | ||||
◄ "Truth" (2019) | ||||
"Mata Hari" (2021) ► |
"Cleopatra" is a song recorded by Azerbaijani singer Samira Efendi. It would have represented Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 [1] if the 2020 contest was not cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. [2] The song was written by Luuk van Beers, Alan Roy Scott and Sarah Lake, [3] and employs the refrain "Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō", which is a central mantra of Nichiren Buddhism.
The song was originally written at Las Negras camps in Spain, by Sarah Lake, Alan Roy Scott and Luuk Van Beers, under the guidance and A & R direction of former UK, BBC, Music Consultant, Greig Watts. [4] Once the final demo was complete, Publishers, Greig Watts from Dwb Music and Kevin Lee, from Wii Bii Music, engaged in finding the perfect home for the song. The track was originally submitted to San Marino RTV and a demo was recorded by Senhit, [5] but the composers withdrew the song from the Sammarinese selection.
Once it was agreed that the song would be Azerbaijan's Eurovision entry, Tony Cornellisen and Luuk Van Beers travelled to Baku, to record Efendi, and produce the final version of the track. [6]
The song features three traditional Azerbaijani instruments, an oud, a balaban and a tar. When 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." [1]
The song earned widespread praise amongst fans for the lyric "Cleopatra was a queen like me/Straight or Gay or in between", despite LGBT rights being a taboo subject in Azerbaijan. [7]
The song was due to represent Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, after Samira Efendi was internally selected by the Azerbaijani broadcaster, İctimai Television (İTV), and was going to be performed in one of the two semi-finals. On 28 January 2020, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Azerbaijan was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2020, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Contest was cancelled. [8]
A music video to accompany the release of "Cleopatra" was first released onto YouTube on 10 March 2020. [9] The music video was filmed in Azerbaijan at the Gobustan National Park. [1]
Azerbaijan has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 16 times since making its debut in 2008. The Azerbaijani participant broadcaster in the contest is İctimai Televiziya (İTV). Azerbaijan was the last country in the Caucasus to debut in the contest and the first to win.
San Marino has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 14 times, debuting in the 2008 contest, followed by participation from 2011 onward. The Sammarinese participant broadcaster in the contest is Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV). San Marino did not participate in 2009 or 2010, with SMRTV citing financial difficulties as the reason for its withdrawal. Having failed to qualify in their first four attempts, the nation qualified for the contest's final for the first time in 2014. Valentina Monetta represented San Marino in 2012, 2013, and 2014, making her the first entrant to participate in three consecutive contests since the 1960s. In 2019, Serhat managed to qualify to the final, marking the second appearance of the country in a Eurovision final and achieving their best result to date of 19th place. Following the 2020 contest's cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, their 2020 candidate Senhit was again selected to represent San Marino in the following contest. She qualified to the final, making it the first time that San Marino made it to two consecutive finals.
Armenia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, a pan-European music competition, since 2006, while Azerbaijan has participated since 2008. The conflict between the two countries over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is considered to be a de jure part of Azerbaijan by the United Nations, but had been wholly or partially under control of the Armenia-backed de facto Republic of Artsakh between 1993 and 2023, has affected the Eurovision Song Contest on several occasions.
Senhit Zadik Zadik, known professionally as simply Senhit, is an Italian pop singer. She represented San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf with "Stand By", but failed to qualify for the final. She would have represented it again in 2020 with "Freaky!", before the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, she was chosen to represent San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Adrenalina", where she qualified to the final and placed 22nd with 50 points.
Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, with the song "Suus" performed by Rona Nishliu. Its selected entry was chosen through the national selection competition Festivali i Këngës organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2011. To this point, the nation had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eight times since its first entry in 2004. Prior to the contest, the song was promoted by a music video and live performances in Cyprus, Hungary, Montenegro, Romania and the Netherlands.
Azerbaijan participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Truth" written by Borislav Milanov, Trey Campbell, Joacim Persson, Pablo Dinero and Hostess. The song was performed by Chingiz, who was internally selected by the Azerbaijani broadcaster İctimai Television (İTV) in March 2019 to represent the nation at the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. Songwriter Trey Campbell represented Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 as part of the group Equinox with the song "Bones" where they placed fourteenth in the grand final of the competition. The song "Truth" was presented to the public on 8 March 2019.
San Marino planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was scheduled to be held in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Italian singer Senhit was chosen to represent the nation with her song "Freaky!". Sammarinese broadcaster San Marino RTV (SMRTV) internally selected the singer, while her song was selected through a national final entitled Digital Battle. Senhit previously represented San Marino in the 2011 contest, but failed to qualify for the final. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe during 2020, the Eurovision Song Contest was cancelled in mid-March 2020. "Freaky!" was subsequently an entry for several replacement events including Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light, Der kleine Song Contest and Sveriges 12:a. Senhit announced during the former of the three that she would return to represent the nation at the 2021 contest the following year.
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The United Kingdom originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "My Last Breath" written by James Newman, Ed Drewett, Adam Argyle and Iain James. The song was performed by James Newman, who was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Newman and "My Last Breath" was announced as the British entry on 27 February 2020.
Azerbaijan originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Cleopatra" written by Luuk van Beers, Alan Roy Scott and Sarah Lake. The song was performed by Efendi, who was internally selected by the Azerbaijani broadcaster İctimai Television (İTV) to represent the nation at the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Efendi's selection as the Azerbaijani Eurovision entrant was announced on 28 February 2020, while the song "Cleopatra" was presented to the public on 10 March.
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