Ahead of this years Eurovision Song Contest we caught up with the lovely Daniel Kajmakoski from Macedonia, here is what he had to say.
Firstly thank you very much for talking to us, we are just six weeks away from the Eurovision Song Contest, how are you feeling?
First of all: hi everyone 🙂 I am really sorry that you had to wait so long for the answers… actually I feel very good, it’s great to be part of the ESC. Everyone is very lovely and in a good mood 🙂
You were selected back in November to represent Macedonia, what has it been like to see all of the other countries selecting their songs?
I think it’s not a good idea to choose the song that early but I’m not making the rules, hehe !! It was very interesting to watch the other countries selecting their songs 🙂 I have to say that this year will be very hard for all of us because we have a lot of good songs. I’m sure that it will be a great show so I can’t wait to get the party started.
You are known across the Balkans as the winner of X-Factor Adria, what was winning the show like for you?
After I had won X Factor I really felt like a soldier coming home after a long long time in the front !!! Macedonia is still very proud of my victory in Belgrade and I was very happy to see all the people celebrating across the Balkans. It was really a big big success for me, I was risking everything before I went to the X Factor auditions. I quit my job and then I moved to Belgrade !! I am very proud of all that and I have to say again :,, thank you to all the people who are supporting me from the very first day 🙂 love you all
What was it that made you decide to submit a song into Skopje Fest?
I was invited to be part of the Skopje festival :))) first I was thinking that it’s really too early for me to be part of ESC, I thought that Eurovision is really too big for me and it is. But I was not ready to disappoint all my fans because they were expecting me to be part of the Skopje fest. So I decided to enter and now I am here, hehehe.
What does it mean to you to be able to represent Macedonia on the Eurovision stage?
It means really everything to me. I love Macedonia, it makes me proud to represent the colours of my country in the city where I grew up :))) we are a small country and Eurovision is one of the most important events of the year in Macedonia !! Now it’s my turn to build bridges 🙂 ohhh my God I am getting nervous already, hahahaha…
Your song is called “Autumn Leaves”, a number of our readers wanted to know why you decided to switch from Macedonian to English?
There is no special reason for that, but we had the English version first and then we had to make a Macedonian version for the Skopje fest ! I like the English lyrics much more, I think I can identify myself more with them. I think that’s why we decided to sing it in English.
What can we expect from your performance in Vienna? The music video features stick people, are we going to see them involved in some form?
Hahaha, come on, let me surprise you 🙂 :* <3
Now we asked our readers to submit some questions, Emily from the United Kingdom wants to know, how do you feel when you sing this song?
Hi Emily 🙂 thank you for the question 🙂 I feel hope and strength when I sing it. I went through hard times during my life because of one girl, so I put all my pain in this song. It reminds me on everything I had with her.
Dennesh from Germany wants to know what was it that made you decide to change the style of the song?
Hi Dennesh !! Vielen Dank für die Frage 🙂 thanks a lot for the question 🙂 I was working with many different producers on that song and everyone has his own inspiration. In the end I believed in this version, I just followed my heart and my instinct
Finally do you have anything you’d like to say to the readers of Eurovoix.com?
Of course I have 🙂 please vote for Macedoniaaaaaaaaaaaa :))) but don’t forget to enjoy the party and thank you all for reading my interview. See you in Vienna and always remember that God gave me a big heart and there is enough space in it for all of you !!! One love
We wish Daniel all the best for the contest and for the future. You can watch the official music video for his entry “Autumn Leaves” below:
