Leyla Aliyeva graduated from the Baku Academy of Music with a degree in choral directing and has a master's degree in music. In 2004, while in her first year of undergraduate studies, she was hired by İTV to work for the channel's Department of Music, Arts and Entertainment. In 2007, she began covering Eurovision news and soon became a member of İTV's Eurovision organising committee. Aliyeva also served as the spokesperson of Azerbaijan announcing the country's first voting results in its debut at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia. She hosted the Azerbaijani national Eurovision selection tours alongside Husniyya Maharramova in 2011 and 2012.