Samira Efendi (shortened as Efendi) is returning to represent Azerbaijan again at Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam.
A little recap from last year: Samira Efendi (Efendiyeva) is a 29- year- old young artist from Baku who graduated from several music schools since 2001. Her portfolio includes taking part at different competitions nationally including Yeni Ulduz (New Star) 2009, Buyuk Sahne (Big Stage) 2014 and the Voice of Azerbaijan (2015-2016- third place) as well as Silk way Star in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2017 (finished third). She was again in Kazakhstan in 2019 for Voice of Nur Sultan.She was chosen by Ictimai TV last year to represent Azerbaijan in Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with her song “Cleopatra.”
“Cleopatra” could have been an epic production on stage which unfortunately we will never know and see.
This year she returns to Eurovision stage with another strong song with another strong woman title : “Mata Hari.”
“Mata Hari” was written by Amy van der Wel, Josh Earl, Luuk van Beers and Tony Cornelissen. Van Beers was also one of the songwriters of “Cleopatra”and Tony Cornelissen was the producer of “Cleopatra”. This potentially explains the similarities between the two songs.
The song is a combination of modern and traditional sounds. Ethnic instruments zurna ( a variation of trumpet) and nagar( a variation of drums) were mixed into modern elements. Azerbaijani folk dance yalli was blended into the mixture.
We also hear Azerbaijani language within the lyrics which is the first time in Eurovision history. Listen carefully the following lyrics: “Yalan da mən, yanan da mən, yaman da mən” – ‘I am the lie, the burning one, the relentless one.’
Azerbaijan is one of my favorite countries in the contest. If you ask my personal opinion about this year’s entry though, it’s a mish mash of a big mess. In summary: This is a story about a Dutch femme fatale claiming to make a point about strong women, composed by Dutch artists with traditional Azeri sounds, representing Azerbaijan in the Netherlands. It is definitely catchy and fun to watch but there are better strong woman stories in the contest this year.