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Eldar & Nigar
Eldar (left) & Nigar on stage in Baku (2012)
Background information
Origin	Baku, Azerbaijan
Genres	Pop
Years active	2011 – present
Members	Eldar Gasimov Nigar Jamal
Website	Official website

Eldar & Nigar, also known as Ell & Nikki, are an Azerbaijani pop duo consisting of singers Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal. On 14 May 2011 they won the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 for Azerbaijan with their entry "Running Scared". It was the country's first ever win at the contest. Although Nigar Jamal represented Azerbaijan, she lives in Enfield, North London.

Band history

National final constellation

Gasimov and Jamal separately took part in the Azerbaijani national selection, Milli Seçim Turu 2011. They qualified from the semi-finals along with three other artists to the final on 11 February 2011, where they won the right to represent Azerbaijan at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany in May 2011. Although it was originally planned to send an individual as Azerbaijan, when the winner was announced, İTV had decided that both Eldar and Nigar would be going to Germany as a duo.

Eurovision win

In the 2011 Eurovision song contest Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal performed together under the duo name Ell & Nikki. As the contest was taking place in a Western European country, the name change was made to prevent confusion of Jamal's first name being interpreted as a racial slur. Their entry, named "Running Scared", was written by Stefan Örn and Sandra Bjurman from Sweden and Iain Farguhanson from the UK. The duo were aided significantly by the four Swedish backing singers, including Jessica Marberger and Vera Prada who had earlier in the year attempted to represent Sweden as part of Shirley's Angels.

They were the overall winners of the Eurovision final on 14 May which meant that Azerbaijan has the right to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.

2011–present: After Eurovision

Since winning the Eurovision final 2011, Jamal and Gasimov travelled to many European countries to perform their winning entry in the contest. The singers also received "Peace and Friendship Award" in Zonguldak’s Ereğli district for carrying a Turkish flag onstage during final scene. Azerbaijan and Germany have issued a postage stamp dedicated to Azerbaijan’s victory with Gasimov and Jamal at Eurovision.

Discography

Singles

References

1. Azerbaijan win Eurovision as Blue and Jedward finish mid-table
2. "Eurovision Song Contest 2011: review", The Telegraph, 15 May 2011. Accessed 15 May 2011.
3. Hondal, Victor. "News - Azerbaijan sends Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal to Eurovision". ESCToday. Retrieved 11 February 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)Siim, Jarmo. "Nigar & Eldar get gold in Azerbaijan". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 11 February 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)"İctimai Televiziya və Radio Yayımları Şirkəti - "Eurovision-2011" Milli Finalının qalibi bəlli oldu" (in Azerbaijani). İTV. Retrieved 11 February 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
4. Boybands get Eurovision Blues
5. "Azerbaijani artists accept award in Turkey". Retrieved 17 July 2011.
6. "Ell & Nikki (2011) IN POST STAMPS". Retrieved 17 July 2011.
7. "Stamps on Azerbaijan's Eurovision-2011 win issued". Retrieved 17 July 2011.
8. "Stamp on Azerbaijan's Eurovision-2011 Win Issued". Retrieved 17 July 2011.

External links

• Official website

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Lena with Satellite	Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011	Succeeded by Loreen with Euphoria
Preceded bySafura Alizadeh with Drip Drop	Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011	Succeeded bySabina Babayeva with When the Music Dies

• Musical duos
• Azerbaijani Eurovision Song Contest entrants
• Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2011
• Eurovision Song Contest winners