Mamagama are in the race for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 trophy. They’re heading to Basel to represent Azerbaijan with the song ‘Run With U’.

Three friends go to Basel

Eurovision is a marathon, not a sprint, and trio Mamagama have got the right training. They were selected by Azerbaijan’s broadcaster İctimai to represent the country, and with good reason. Soon after they were chosen, they released their song Run With U, and they had the whole country bopping.

The band is made up of singer Asef Mishiyev, guitarist Hasan Heydar, and Arif Imanov on the drums. They’re three best friends who got together to make music in 2021, and their friendship is the heart and soul of their sound. The three artists have different cultural roots, and they’re proud of their diversity.

The songwriting sprint

They’ve already represented their country on the international stage, at the Kënga Magjike music festival in Albania, for example. And now, they get to bring their music to the biggest music stage on the planet.

Hasan has dipped his toes in the Eurovision world before. He was one of the songwriters on Azerbaijan’s Eurovision 2024 entry, the haunting Özünlə Apar performed by FAHREE feat Ilkin Dovlatov.

Run With U was written by Asef and Hasan, along with producer Roman Zee. It’s full of groovy beats and an energetic rhythm, designed to get the whole of Europe moving.

Beyond getting selected for Eurovision, Mamagama have something else to celebrate. They’ll be bringing their beloved saz – a long-necked, plucked stringed instrument – to the Eurovision stage.

Magamama’s Eurovision training

Mamagama’s Eurovision heroes are the two most recent Azerbaijani acts to enter Eurovision – TuralTuranX from 2023 and FAHREE feat Ilkin Dovlatov from 2024. There’s one particular reason that Mamagama love these groups: it's because, like them, they are artists who write their own songs.

When we asked Mamagama who they would most like to have dinner with, Asef said he would choose the TuralTuranX twins, FAHREE and Ilkin Dovlatov. Do we sense a mega-group forming?

Asef has been watching Eurovision since he was a child, and the first song to leave an impression on him was Sasha Son’s Love, which represented Lithuania in the 2009 Contest. It featured a grand piano, a jaunty hat, and piano keys projected across the stage.

Hasan remembers watching t.A.T.u. performing Ne Ver', Ne Boysia, representing Russia in 2003. And Arif has strong memories of Elnur & Samir representing Azerbaijan for the very first time on the Eurovision stage with Day After Day, an energetic falsetto-angel-rock blend. If you haven’t seen it before, now would be a good time to change that.

The beats that get Mamagama moving

If you ever end up at karaoke with the members of Mamagama, there are a few specific songs that will get them at their best.

Asef loves to sing Michael Bublé’s version of Feeling Good, Hasan favours Oasis’ Don’t Look Back In Anger, and Arif’s song of choice is Feel by Robbie Williams.

Their playlist of favourite songs is full of pop, indie, and rock classics, including Nirvana's Heart-Shaped Box, Daft Punk’s One More Time, and Justice’s D.A.N.C.E.

Running for the mountains

Mamagama associate Switzerland with chocolate, watches, and mountains. But they’re most excited to see the country’s beautiful nature, and of course the Eurovision stage.

Listen out for Mamagama on the Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast .

You can learn more about Mamagama from Azerbaijan right here .