Exchanging Experiences: Dilara and Hersi meet András in Budapest

András Kállay-Saunders has so far concentrated on preparing himself for Copenhagen. Now, for the first time, he met two other singers who will also compete in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest: Hersi Matmuja from Albania, and Dilara Kazimova from Azerbaijan. He had invited them to Budapest, and they took part in several TV shows together. Watch our video report (courtesy of MTVA) right here:

Hersi: "Don't give in your pride - Keep calm and think twice"

"Don't give in your pride, keep calm and think twice - those two verses sum up the message of my song. Don't feel anger", Hersi explains to us.

"I like András' song Running very much", the charming singer admits. "When I saw the video for the first time, I thought - oh my god, this is really good! I hope he didn't sing like this live! But it was the same", she jokes.

Be sure to check out Hersi's participant profile too, and watch our special video feature about her! This week we have also released a Making-Of video accompanying the official preview clip.

Dilara: "The best male performance of Start a Fire!"

Azerbaijan's representative in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, Dilara Kazimova has met her fellow contestant from Hungary András Kállay-Saunders during a one-day promo visit in Budapest just a few days later.

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Dilara and András have made few press appearances together and spent some time in between the shows. But what was indeed surprising that András has prepared a cover of Azerbaijan's entry!

"I couldn't believe it! It was so nice of András and he's done it so amazingly well! The best male performance of Start a Fire I've ever listened to", said Dilara afterwards.

"András is a very sweet and cute guy. We were laughing so much together in Budapest," she added. You can watch Dilara's original version as well as András' cover on Youtube:

András confessed that Dilara’s song is one of his favourites this year, he loved it the same minute he'd heard it. So be sure to follow our coverage also during the rehearsal weeks just before the Eurovision Song Contest - Dilara and András will probably perform in a special duet at one of the Eurovision parties in Copenhagen.

András: "Performing, and being on the red carpet"

The Hungarian representative, András Kállay-Saunders, was delighted to host his fellow contestants from Azerbaijan and Albania. "I was really looking forward to meeting them and I was very curious about their careers and what they did before Eurovision. They were the first Eurovision contestants I have met this year and were very nice and talented people. It is very nice to see how the Eurovision Song Contest brings together all the nations of Europe", he told us afterwards.

András can't wait to arrive in Copenhagen and be part of the buzz: "Of course performing is what I am looking forward to the most. I am very curious to see what it will be like being on the red carpet, I have never been on one before! I am looking forward to meeting the other contestants as well, they all seem like great people."

Be sure to check out our full interview with András Kállay-Saunders right below:

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