Following seven heats, a semi-final and a final on 11 February 2011, a seven-member jury selected Nigar Jamal and Eldar Gasimov as the winner.

Performing during the show in position 18, "Running Scared" was announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 14 May.

For their 2011 entry, the broadcaster opted to organize a new national final titled Milli Seçim Turu, which featured a similar process to the Land of Fire national final used in 2008 and 2010 where the selection of a winning performer would subsequently be given an internally selected song to perform at Eurovision.

The final was also streamed online at the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv and broadcast in Turkey on TRT Avaz as well as in Georgia on the GPB First Channel.

[5] The members of the jury were:[12] The seven heats took place between 15 November 2010 and 31 December 2010 at the İTV studios in Baku, hosted by Husniyya Maharramova and Leyla Aliyeva.

[15][16] Nicola Barclay was also awarded a jury wildcard, however she withdrew on 11 January 2011 due to illness and changes in the competition format.

[19][20] The final took place on 11 February 2011 at the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre in Baku, hosted by Leyla Aliyeva.

[23][24] "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.

[25] Ell and Nikki made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Running Scared" as the Azerbaijani Eurovision entry.

Between 15 and 16 April, Ell and Nikki took part in promotional activities in Malta by appearing during the TVM talk show programmes Il-Lejla and Xarabank.

[20] On 17 April, Ell and Nikki performed "Running Scared" as the opening act for De-Phazz's concert which was held at the Glavclub venue in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

[27] On 20 April, Ell and Nikki performed "Running Scared" at a live concert which was held in Kyiv, Ukraine.

[32] The performance began with the backing vocalists standing in a line before walking off in sync to reveal Ell and Nikki behind them.

The LED screens displayed predominantly white colours which later changed to gold blinking lights and the performance also included a pyrotechnic waterfall effect.

[35] The four backing vocalists that joined Ell and Nikki on stage were Åsa Engman, Jessica Marberger, Lisa Stadell and Vera Prada.

[36] At the end of the show, Azerbaijan was announced as having finished in the top ten and subsequently qualifying for the grand final.

This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.

[41] With their entry only receiving 5.26 points per country, Azerbaijan holds the record of the lowest average score for a winning song under the previous voting system (in place from 1975 to 2015).

The singers also received "Peace and Friendship Award" in Zonguldak's Ereğli district for carrying a Turkish flag onstage during final scene.