only participated in the first day of the first heat and therefore was disqualified from the competition. The remaining 76 artists each performed cover versions of various songs over five days and one artist was selected from each heat to advance to the semi-final based on the results of a public televote and a jury. Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal were awarded wildcards by the jury from the non-qualifying acts to advance to the semi-final. Nicola Barclay was also awarded a jury wildcard, however she withdrew on 11 January 2011 due to illness and changes in the competition format. Semi-final The semi-final took place between 10 and 14 January 2011 at the İTV studios in Baku, hosted by Husniya Maharramova and Leyla Aliyeva. The remaining nine artists each performed cover versions of various songs over five days and the top five artists were selected to advance to the final based on the results of a public televote and a jury. Final The final took place on 11 February 2011 at the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre in Baku, hosted by Leyla Aliyeva. The remaining five artists each performed four cover versions of various songs: a world hit, an Azerbaijani song, a Eurovision hit from songs performed during the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and a song of their choice. Nigar Jamal and Eldar Gasimov were selected by the jury as the winners. In addition to the performances of the artists, David Vendetta, 2010 Azerbaijani Eurovision entrant Safura, 2010 Georgian Eurovision entrant Sofia Nizharadze, 2011 Sammarinese Eurovision entrant Senit and 2011 Swiss Eurovision entrant Anna Rossinelli performed during the show as guests. Song selection On 11 January 2011, the broadcaster called for interested songwriters to submit their entries by 10 February 2011. Songwriters could be of any nationality. On 13 March 2011, İTV announced that Ell and Nikki would be performing the song "Running Scared". The selection of the song was based on the decision of İTV and the seven-member jury panel of Milli Seçim Turu 2011 from five potential songs shortlisted among 70 submissions from local and international songwriters. "Running Scared" was written by Stefan Örn, Sandra Bjurman and Iain James Farquharson, and was presented on the same day via the release of the official music video. Promotion Ell and Nikki made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Running Scared" as the Azerbaijani Eurovision entry. Between 15 and 16