A total of 119 songs were submitted to İTV. The selection process was the same as in 2011, with the exception that the number of the contestants was reduced to 72 singers. They were then split in eight heats with nine singers in each. The selected contestants included three-year candidate Azad Shabanov, as well as candidates from the previous year's selection tour: Altun Zeynalov, Empathy, Emin Hasan, Rustam Allazov, Janana Zeynalova, Orkhan Nasibov, Sabina Babayeva, Ramin Guliyev, Kanan Gadimov, Adil Bakhishli, Ulvi Rashidov, Rinat Alimov, Habil Ahmadov, and Khana Hasanova. Applicants from abroad included Yan Kashepava from the United States and Vlada Akhundova from Russia.
Heats
Weekly heats consisted of five shows aired from Monday to Friday, with a foreign song performed on Monday, an Azerbaijani song on Tuesday, a past-year Eurovision song on Wednesday, a song with a special focus on performance on Thursday and a song of the singer's own choice on Friday. The winner of each heat, chosen by SMS voting and an "expert" jury qualified for the semi-final.
Heat 1
Heat 2
Heat 3
Heat 4
Heat 5
Heat 6
Heat 7
Heat 8
Semi-final
The semi-final was held from 30 January to 3 February 2012. The top 5, chosen by televoting and an "expert" jury, qualified for the final.
Final
The final was held on 12 February 2012. Each of the finalists performed 3 songs and the winner was chosen by an "expert" jury.
Song selection
The song "When the Music Dies" was selected internally by jury. Written by Swedish composers Anders Bagge, Sandra Bjurman, Stefan Örn, and Johan Kronlund, the song is a symbiosis of Western and traditional Azeri tunes. It is sung entirely in English.
At Eurovision
Azerbaijan, as the last year's winner, hosted the contest, and therefore automatically qualified for the final, on 26 May. The draw that determined the semi-finals and running orders was held on 25 January 2012. As a result of this draw, Azerbaijan voted in the first semi-final, held on 22 May. Sabina Babayeva performed at the Grand Final and came fourth place overall with a total of 150 points.
Split results
In the Final Azerbaijan came 4th with 150 points: the public awarded Azerbaijan 5th place with 151 points and the jury awarded 8th place with 118 points.
