In anticipation of the final of Eurosong 2010, Ireland's pre-selection to determine the country's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest, esctoday.com will be providing you with interviews of the participants competing for the honour of representing Ireland in Oslo. The national final will be held on Friday, March 5th and our series of interviews continues with Lee Bradshaw. Find out what he had to say below.

Congratulations on qualifying to the final of Eurosong 2010 once again. Did you expect to qualify again or did it come as a surprise to you?

Well you never know but I had hoped that this year I would qualify. The song is fantastic and is written by eurovision legend Ralph Siegel so I guess I was quietly confident.

Your song "So What" was a slow ballad at Eurosong 2009 and came 4th. What have you learned from your experience of last year?

Last Year I had a lot on my plate with running my own business and also setting up a new restaurant so it was quite stressful. So this year I’ve learned to relax and enjoy the experience. It seems to be working as rehearsals and performances have been going great this year.

Please tell us a little bit more about your musical career. Your song type has changed from a ballad in 2009 to a rock number in 2010 – what influences are you getting thats changing your choice of music genre all of a sudden?

I’ve always loved music and performing. This year the major influence has been Ralph Siegel who owns Jupiter records in Germany and has been hugely successful in the Eurovision over the years, and won in 1982. So I guess that’s what made me choose this song.

What message does your song in Eurosong 2010 "River of Silence" convey?

The song is a rock love ballad about unrequited love. It’s a song very close to Ralph’s heart as he wrote it when he was recovering from cancer in the US. Unfortunately Ralph has again been battling cancer and I really want to do this for him. I’d love for him to have this song represent Ireland at the Eurovision.

How will you prepare yourself for the national final on March 5th? Will there be any changes in your performance compared to last year?

This year will be so different for me. I feel completely ready for it this year. I’ve been working with Ralph and Jupiter records for a number of months now on this song and other material. We’ve been performing a lot and I feel very confident on stage. Also last year on the night I had a problem as my monitor went down so this year we’re using ear monitors to avoid this. I’m really looking forward to getting out there and performing the song on the night.

What are your personal expectations for the outcome of Eurosong 2010?

I’d really like to do well and most of all do the Irish people and Ralph proud. Ultimately I really want to win if I’m honest.

Out of all the participants of this year’s Irish national selection, besides your own entry, whose the biggest competition and why?

There is a lot of competition this year as a number of the finalists have big profiles. They will have huge PR behind them. But I hope that the public will see beyond the celebrity status and choose the right song for the competition.

Are you a follower of the Eurovision Song Contest? What will you be doing after the national final? Any new projects? Will you enter the Irish national selection again?

I’m really not sure yet what I’ll be doing after the competition. A lot will depend on the result on the night. But I have a lot of projects coming up in the bar/restaurant scene which I am very involved in. Also I will be working with Ralph and Jupiter records as we are currently reviewing a contract. And hopefully I’ll also be putting in a lot of time in preparation for Oslo in May!

What is your favourite colour and why?

I really don’t have one favourite…

Is there any message would you like to give to the readers of esctoday.com?

Yes, I would like to encourage everyone to choose the right song for Ireland. For 2 years in a row now we haven’t qualified for the Eurovision so it’s vital that we choose the right song to put us through.

Lee

esctoday.com would like to thankLee Bradshaw for taking the time to dothis interview and wish him the best of luck for the Irish national final on Friday, March 5th.