The song was performed by Dihaj, who was internally selected by the Azerbaijani broadcaster İctimai Television (İTV) to represent the nation at the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Dihaj's selection as the Azerbaijani Eurovision entrant was announced on 5 December 2016, while the song "Skeletons" was presented to the public on 11 March 2017.

Between 2011 and 2013, Azerbaijan organized a national final titled Milli Seçim Turu to select the performer, song or both for Eurovision.

In 2014, the broadcaster utilised an existing talent show format titled Böyük Səhnə where the winning performer would subsequently be given an internally selected song.

On 5 December 2016, the broadcaster announced that a national jury panel had selected Dihaj as the Azerbaijani Eurovision contestant.

"Skeletons" was written by Isa Melikov and Sandra Bjurman, and was presented on the same day via the release of the official music video.

The performance began with Dihaj chalk scrawling words in the corner of a black three-sided box with blackboard walls, while the dancer appeared on a stepladder.

[13][14][15] In regards to the performance, which was directed by Naila Mammadzada, Dihaj stated: "The box signed with various words depicts my inner world, while the guy with a horse mask sitting on the ladder impersonates a bad boy.

[16][17] The four backing vocalists that joined Dihaj on stage were Jennie Jahns, Johan D. Seil, Kristian Tåje and Marie Nordmark Sjöström, while the dancer was Vitaliy Zagoruiko.

Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency.

This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.

In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.