Interview: Eurovision.tv talks to Elnur & Samir

You just finished your first rehearsal. How satisfied are you with your performance, and would you like to change anything until the Semi-Final?



Elnur & Samir: "To be honest, we sang better in the first rehearsal. We are both quite sick today. That's why today, not everything went as well as we hoped. But the stage act itself and the reception of the public was all on the highest level. We are happy, and now we concentrate on getting well again and on having a great performance on the Semi-Final night."



Azerbaijan participates in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time this year. Did you receive any advice from former participants in the Eurovision Song Contest?



Elnur & Samir: " Not really. But we met Marija Šerifović and Sertab Erener in the national preselection of Azerbaijan this year. We are very grateful for what they told us and what they have done for us. By the way, we will sing on a party on Friday with several former participants of the Eurovision Song Contest, in Belgrade at Kalemegdan fortress. Of course, all press people are invited there!"



As regards your participation in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, which kind of result would make you satisfied?



Elnur & Samir: "Of course, we are hoping for a victory in order to bring the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest to our country, just as all other participants, too. But, as we are participating for our country only for the first time, it does not matter if we don't win. Somebody should win who really deserves it. And if we deserve it, we will win."



How do you plan to proceed with your musical career? Will you continue working and performing together, or will both of you focus on your solo careers?



Elnur & Samir: "We will definitely keep working together, and we already have a lot of projects in mind. We are planning to record an album together - you will get to hear it soon! Actually, we have been friends long before we performed our Eurovision song together for the first time. We have always wanted to cooperate with each other in music, and now we did it for the first time. And it was a success, in our opinion. We'll see what will be the next step and our next song."



You perform as devil and angel on stage. Can you explain the symbolism behind that to our readers?



Elnur & Samir: "The global main topic at this very moment is war. Everything evil comes from the devil - who is, in fact, just a fallen angel who was expelled from paradise. He symbolizes everything evil which happens on earth. However, he can turn into an angel again, which means winning over all evil. We just hope that this will happen some time soon in our world."



Your song features elements of traditional Azeri Mugham singing. Why did you add that style to your song, and why did you still decide to sing in in English and not in your mother tongue?



Elnur & Samir: "Well, yes, our mother tongue is Azerbaijani. But we want the whole world to understand our song, and therefore, we will sing in English. Mugham is one of the oldest parts of our culture, and it was even declared part of the UNESCO World Heritage, and it's very difficult to sing it correctly. We decided to add it to our song to present it to a wider audience."



Azerbaijan was one of the lucky countries who could choose their draw position in the First Semi-Final of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest themselves, and your Head of Delegation picked number seven. Why did he opt for this number?



Elnur & Samir: "Seven is a lucky number for the whole country of Azerbaijan. According to astrologers, seven is also a lucky number for Samir. However, Elnur's lucky number is three. So, if everything works out well, we'll be third in the final."

Eurovision.tv thanks Elnur & Samir for taking their time for this interview and wishes them the best of luck in the First Semi-Final of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, and we thank Olena Omelyanchuk for her assistance in recording and translating this interview!