In an exclusive interview this year's Eurovision Song Contest entrant from Hungary Zoli Adok talks to esctoday. He talks about how he feels about representing Hungary in the contest, his past performance for Andrew Lloyd Webber and how he may not listen to the other competing songs until after the contest.

Hi Zoli, first of all, congratulations on being selected to perform for Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest. How does it feel to represent your county in the contest?

I am extremely overwhelmed and happy and very excited, can't wait to be in Moscow to perform.

There was a lot of controversy this year when the 2 songs and singers initially selected by MTV were both rejected for various reasons. Are you affected by this?

Not at all, I only see the good side of it. I am representing my country and that is all that matters. I only concentrate on getting ready for the contest and I practice a lot.

How would you best describe your entry Dance with me?

Dance with me is a happy up-tempo song full of energy, that makes you want to get up and dance. Of course it is my favourite song on my debut album and I am proud that Thomas Thörnholm who also worked for Alcazar did the arrangement of the song .

The video for Dance with me is a big production and certainly one of the most entertaining preview videos in this years contest. Can you tell a little bit about the concept for the clip?

As I was a ballet-dancer and I have been working as a dancer for years it was obvious that my clip would contain a lot of dancing. We wanted to show the colourful world of music and dance.In the video we see you travelling through time to perform different styles of music with many costume changes and more than a little bit of humour.

Will this also be the concept for your presentation on the ESC stage?

No, it is going to be a totally new concept. Surprise! 🙂

Do you have plans for a promotional tour for Dance with me?

Yes I do. Most probably in the surrounding countries.

Have you had a chance to listen to this years songs and if so which are your favourite songs in the contest?

Although I have already collected all of the songs I have not listened to them yet. It is strange but it will be the first time I will not listen to the Eurovision songs until the contest. 🙂 To tell the truth I don't want to get nervous because of the other entries. When I was younger I was a junior champion in figure-skating and in that time I never watched the performance of competitors to be able to concentrate on my own show. So now I want to use all my time to make my song and performance perfect.

Throughout your career you have developed a wealth of theatre and television experience. Do you think this will give you an advantage in the Eurovision Song Contest?

I have been performing in musical theatres for over 15 years. For me it doesn't make any difference if I have to perform for 10 or for 150 million people. If I perform I am in my own world. As a graduate in psychology I am writing my thesis about the "Mental states on stage" so about that strange situation not to feel any pain or trouble when you are on stage.

I understand that you have previously appeared in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat. How did you enjoy the experience and have you had the pleasure of meeting ALW?

I love Andrew Lloyd Webber and his plays a lot! I did Cats in Berlin for almost 2 years and now Joseph here in Hungary. The Master was in Budapest when my company, Madách Theatre organized a performance in honour of the 60-year-old Webber. It was a huge pleasure to get to know him personally, and I hope we will meet again in Moscow and I could say: “Andrew, I am overjoyed to meet you face to face”:)

Immediately after the contest you will be debuting in a musical called Contact in Hungary. How will you schedule your time to fit performing in the ESC and appearing in a new musical?

I always say there is always time for everything. Luckily Eurovision doesn't collide with my schedule in the theatre.

Can you tell me something about this new musical?

This is not a new musical. It was running on Broadway for quite long. Contact was created by Susan Stroman. "A dance play" divided into three parts: the first piece has as its source in The Swing, the second in an Italian restaurant in Queens in 1954 where the heroine, trapped in a loveless marriage, fulfills her romantic fantasies, and the third is a 40 year old suicidal man who tries to engage a beautiful young woman in a yellow dress. It won the Tony award for best musical in 2000. I play different lead characters throughout these 3 parts. We will start to rehearse the world-wide successful Monty Python’s Spamalot which will be presented in September.

Have you released any records in Hungary or will release a new album after Eurovision?

My first album Tánclépés (which is my ESC song Dance with me in Hungarian) got released in November 2008. My second video is already out which is a movie soundtrack for a Hungarian movie called Dream.net.

Zoli Adok- Dance with me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnX9_65_qNU

Zoli's new video