She’s a veteran of international jazz festivals and is known for her smooth, sexy voice. And in May AISEL will put that voice to good use as Azerbaijan’s act at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.

Ictimai TV revealed the news on Wednesday, following an intense internal selection that saw it evaluate a number of talented performers. But in the end AISEL — a pianist, vocalist and composer — won the day, owing to her sultry voice, obvious poise and fluent English.

As in recent years, Azerbaijan will wait to reveal her song. But you can already get a sense of AISEL’s voice by visiting her YouTube channel. This woman from the Land of Fire is definitely smouldering — her jazzy, melodic voice reminds us of a young Norah Jones.

Her live session of “My Only” shows off her skill. But it also depicts a woman in total control of herself and at ease while performing in an intimate setting. She loves the camera and it’s clear the camera loves her.

It would be easy to put her in the “jazz” box. But AISEL is also a fan of soul, lounge, minimal and progressive genres, suggesting she could very well surprise us at Eurovision.

Eurovision fans love of a diva, and AISEL has demonstrated she is very comfortable in that role, too. In September she performed at Zhara Fest — the star-studded festival in Baku that welcomed the likes of Sergey Lazarev and LOBODA — and more than held her own.

As you can see below, she’s able to serve drama and pain while controlling her vocals and showing off her endless beauty, which she frequently puts on show on her Instagram account.

Zhara Fest isn’t her only big stage experience.

Born into a family of musicians, she’s been performing much of her life, starting at the Special Secondary Musical School before attending the Azerbaijan State Conservatory in Baku.

Since then she’s left fans begging for more at the Caspian Jazz & Blues Festival (2002), the Baku International Jazz Festival (2005/2006), the MuzEnergo Festival of Music Improvisation (2007) and, perhaps most spectacularly, the world famous Montreux Jazz Festival (2009) in Switzerland, as part of the band of Emil Ibrahim.

She’s also performed in Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Ukraine, Israel, Switzerland, The Nederlands and Italy. Given that impressive travel log, we suspect she’ll be a staple of the Eurovision 2018 pre-party circuit.

There’s more to her than music though. AISEL is an active member of the Baku Animal Rescue Society and a lover of dogs.

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