Luxembourg: First impressions from the auditions!

For the participation of Luxembourg at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, the first auditions took place with more than 100 people taking part at Rockhal in July.

A performance on the big stage of the Eurovision Song Contest lasts three minutes, and it will have a great repercussion on the lucky candidate. After a hiatus of 30 years, Luxembourg is back and therefore looking for the candidate or group that will represent the country in the 68th contest in Sweden. Therefore, candidates can apply for three categories:

1. Singers and bands who can present a complete song.
2. Candidates who don’t have their own song yet.
3. Composers and songwriters who will collaborate with someone from category 2 to compose a new song.

Doropshi was the first audition in July of all the people who submitted their candidacy in the second category. Over two days, the most diverse candidates found their way to Rockhal.

At 63, Pierre Urbing was not only the oldest candidate, but also the first to sing.

“Basically, it was always my desire to make music when I was young, but then the opportunity wasn’t as available as it is today. And now we said, try to do something for Luxembourg”.

Melina Frisch is only 16 years old, so she was one of the youngest who dared to stand before the jury.

“I think even younger people should be asked to show that they can do something from a young age. Not just adults. I’m just doing it for fun and who knows what will come out of this”

She was accompanied by Christiane Hoffmann, a friend of the family. For her, the dream of the big stage had already come true in 1991, when she was able to represent Luxembourg as a pianist in Italy.

“It was a bit stressful because we couldn’t see much of Rome. So we had to go to Cinecittà every other day to rehearse. And it was very nice, because you got to know the other countries too. At that time there were not many. It was a great experience.”

Before audition candidates even take the stage, they would first have to convince the jury. The panel consisted of RTL.lu manager Sandra Biintz, RTL cultural program manager Jenny Fischbach, Eurovision coordinator Eric Lehmann, sound expert Jules Serrig, head of Radio Dave Gloesener and radio animator Samuel Steen.

“I would say that 50 percent of the candidates who came forward sing well. We have also made some suggestions for improvement. And I think the crowd will continue to improve until January when the decision is made and I think we’ll keep 40 to 50 people,” says jury member Eric Lehmann after the first day of casting.

Most performances were a cappella. Mainly in English and French, but partly in Luxembourgish, German, Portuguese and even Serbian. Some solo performers were accompanied by guitar or piano or brought a musical accompaniment. As a result, most candidates had chosen a slower song. The jury would like more up-tempo songs, but will take this into consideration for improvement next year and possibly allow background music during auditions.

The best singers will later compete with those candidates who are already more established in the music industry and have their own songs in their repertoire. The finalists will then compete against each other in a big televised show at the Rockhal on January 27, and the winner will represent Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö in May 2024.

Source: RTL

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the updates around the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest!