In co-operation with the website Gylleneskor.se esctoday.com can now proudly presents an interview with Katrina Leskanich. This interview was performed by gylleneskor editor Diana Falheim and edited by esctoday.com�s Alexander Borodin. Katrina Leskanich is back in a double sense, On the 22nd October she will turn up in Forum, Copenhagen as a host for the Congratulations show. This week she also released her new and very first album as a solo artist. The album is called Katrina Leskanich. In the interview she talks about her artistic career, about the preparations for Congratulations and also about how it felt to win the Eurovision Song Contest back in 1997.

When did music come into your life?
I come from a very musical family. I have four sisters and a brother and we all learned musical instruments and sang in various church choirs and bands.

In the beginning, what kick started your interest in music?
I loved listening to music and when I was 14 I asked my parents for a guitar and as soon as I had it, I played from morning �til night. I carried my guitar around with me at school and sang during every break, lunchtime and after school.

When did you start to write your own material?
I started writing my own songs right away as a form of self- expression. I was listening to Cat Stevens, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles. They wrote all their own material so I thought I�d better learn how.

What are your musical influences?
Ellie Greenwich, (she wrote Be My Baby, River Deep Mountain High, I Can Hear Music, Da Doo Ron Ron and many more) Mama Cass Eliot and Emmylou Harris. I love the sound of the girl groups like the Shangri-Las, Shirelles and the Supremes and I love Edie Gourmet and Trios Los Panchos.