Ahead of Dora 2022 this coming Saturday we were able to speak with returnee ERIC and got to know more about him as an artist. Check out our interview below to learn about his time on The Voice Croatia, his debut album I Am Eric, and his perspective on Dora this year!
Hello Eric – we are so excited to speak with you today and get to know you better! Why don’t you introduce yourself to our readers?
Hello everyone! I’m Eric, I’m 21 years old and I was born and raised and still living in Croatia. I started experiencing music when I was 3-4 years old as I would listen to the radio basically all day and play my drum set for kids to it. I started learning about music when I joined a local Music School and started playing classical guitar. However, I never really liked the fact that you can’t really improvise in classical music so I started writing my own and here I am today. I’m writing, producing and recording my own music and I’m doing that as a full-time job.
Wonderful thank you for that! And of course, you’ve been announced as one of the participants in Dora this upcoming month – what has life been like since the announcement?
Well of course, once you are a participant in Dora your life suddenly gets much busier than usual, but it is all part of the job and I love every aspect of it.
Now I know that you were a part of The Voice Hrvarska (Croatia) back in 2019. Did you learn anything about yourself as an artist during the filming of the show?
Yes, since I mainly focused on playing guitar in the past, I wasn’t sure if my singing is good enough for making my own music. That’s why I wanted to compete on The Voice Croatia. After the show I realised that I’m better than I have thought so I decided to keep going in that direction.
You also just put out your debut album I Am Eric this past June, which has been highly well received and even charted at number 1 in Croatia! Did you ever expect that your career would take off in just two short years?
I really didn’t. I was very surprised by everything. I knew I had really good songs on the album with the production which is very modern compared to other mainstream songs in Croatia. I feel like Croatian people appreciate when they hear someone from their own country sounding like it’s coming from UK or USA.
I remember you were a participant in Dora last year, and it was your first time participating. What was it like participating in the selection for the first time during COVID?
I remember the things were pretty strict with COVID and everything but I was really glad to finally be surrounded by the musicians. Basically, last time I was in such a good company, it was on The Voice Croatia 2019. I really liked the whole competition no matter the “Safety first” COVID measures.
So now we are back again for Dora 2022, is there anything that you plan to do differently this year?
Last year I really didn’t expect to be selected as a finalist on Dora. This year my team and I invested a lot of different resources to make everything as good as it can be. Hopefully it will pay off, but I wouldn’t be disappointed if I don’t win. The competition is really harsh!
Well fingers cross because you never know what could happen the night of the final! Your song for this year is titled “I Found You” – what is the message or story behind your entry?
It’s about a girl who doesn’t remember you. Basically, it’s a pretty positive and vibey song, I think people really might like it!
And how have preparations, rehearsals, etc. been going for your performance in Dora? Do you feel like you are ready?
I feel like I’m ready. I had a lot of rehearsals and preparations. It was a really busy time for me but I worked hard and we’ll see what happens soon enough!
It wouldn’t be a good interview if I didn’t ask you about Eurovision – do you have any favorite songs from the contest?
I agree haha! My favorite Eurovision song ever is Heroes performed by Mans Zelmerlow in 2015. I really liked the Maneskin song last year and aside from our entry – Albina’s Tick Tock, they were definitely my favorites.
For those who want to connect with you ahead of or after the national selection – where can they find you and your music?
You can find my album “I Am Eric” on every digital platform there is. I would really appreciate if you took a closer look at the songs I make.
Last question – is there any message you’d want to share with the ESCUnited readers?
I just wanna greet every Eurovision fan as I am a huge one myself! Thank you for this interview, check out Dora and no matter who wins, give us some love on the Eurovision semifinals with the voting I mean. 🙂
Well Eric thank you so much for spending some time with us today and we wish you the best of luck in the Dora final this week!
What do #YOU think of Eric’s song “I Found You”? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!
