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Luxembourg: These are the eight finalists of Luxembourg Song Contest!

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Luxembourg will return to the Eurovision Song Contest after thirty years of absence. The Duchy returns to the contest aiming to repeat its glorious Eurovision past, counting five wins, and is now ready to compete and win for one more time.

For its return, Luxembourg has decided to host a national final in order to select its Eurovision 2024 act. Following the closing of the submission window and the end of the “castings” stage, RTL underwent an evaluation process, coming down to a longlist of around 70 songs and 50 artists.

The selection of the finalists for the televised competition was then left to an international jury. The jury evaluated the longlisted artists after three days of auditions and has now reached a decision.

Today and via “Today Radio“, RTL announced the eight finalists of “Luxembourg Song Contest“.  Hence, the finalists of the Luxembourgish national selection for Eurovision 2024 are the following:

Joel Marques

He is a 25-year-old singer from Differdange and previously worked as a teacher.

This year he made it to the Battles of The Voice of Germany. On 8 December, he released his first single with the title “Stranger”.

Naomi Ayé

The student is only 15 years old, but has already made a name for herself as a singer, composer and pianist.

In 2020, she took part in the 7th season of “The Voice Kids” and reached the final in France with her interpretation of the Queen classic “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

In February 2022, the video “Turn My Back On Light”, co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, was released. In March 2022, the student, whose full name is Naomi Ayé Vajdovics Suárez, was a guest on the RTL show Live! Planet People.

EDSUN

Edson Pires Domingos, as he is known by his real name, already has a lot of experience in the music business, having released his first EP “N.O.” in 2015. In 2016, the video for his song “Apologee” won an award at the Luxembourg Music Awards.

In 2018, he released a new EP with the release of “You Are Not Just One Thing”. A good year, as he was also named Artist of the Year at the Luxembourg Music Awards. This was followed by a tour entitled “The Platonic Touch”.

In 2022, he released two singles: “Just Text” and “Carter”.

Krick

Christine Heitz, 26, works as a nurse. That hasn’t stopped her from already having several great moments in the world of music. In 2014, she founded the cover band “The Daydreamer”.

In 2017, she took part in the German version of “The Voice”. The following year, her first single “Face Cake” was released!

One Last Time

With a resolute pop-rock style, their first EP was released in 2022.

Here are the members of One Last Time:

  • Andrea Galleti – lead singer, 30 years old, works as an advertising agent
  • Jonathan Fersino – bass, 31 years old, works as advertising agent & sound engineer
  • Barbara Salvi – keyboard, 26 years old, works as a French teacher
  • Tom Sagramola – guitar, 34 years old, works as a civil servant
  • Alessandro Sorbelli (Lalo) – drums, 24 years old, is self-employed

TALI

Real name Tali Golergant, she’s an accomplished artist despite being only 23. She wrote her first single when she was 16. She also has a band which is currently on tour in New York.

She works as a music and singing teacher.

Angy & Rafa Ela
The duo consists of the 39 year-old Angy Sciacqua, a self-employed singer-songwriter and Rafaela Teixeira Fernandes, a 26 year-old who works for the state.

Angy took part in the 2013 edition of “The Voice Belgium” while Rafaela won “Luxembourg’s Next Popstar” in 2016, and subsequently won “Top Voice Luxembourg” in 2018.

CHAiLD

At 25, Adriano Lopes Da Silva is a singer and songwriter, who has been a musician for four years. He lives and works in Brussels, the world of electro-pop.

The international jury

As it was mentioned before, the Luxembourgish line-up was decided by a five-member international jury, ensuring the greatest possible neutrality in a small country as Luxembourg. The jury consisted of the following five members, strongly associated with Eurovision:

  • Christer Björkmann, who is a Swedish producer and TV host as well as a former Eurovision participant(Sweden 1992). Björkmann has also served as a Head of Delegation for Sweden, has produced the 2013 and 2016 editions of Eurovision Song Contest held in Sweden and the only and only to date American Song Contest.
  • Jan Bors, who has served as a Head of Delegation for Czechia.
  • Cesár Sampson, who has represented Austria in the 2018 edition of Εurovision and was crowned as the jury winner. Sampson will also play an active role in the Czech preselection this year, serving as an artistic director and the presenter of the national final.
  • Alex Panayi, who is also considered as a Eurovision expert. Panayi has represented Cyprus in Eurovision on two occasions, in 1995 and 2000. In recent years, he has served as a vocal coach for several Eurovision participants and was also the backing vocalist of the 2005 winner, Helena Paparizou.
  • Tali Eshkoli, which an Israeli television producer. Eshkoli has been the producer of the 2019 edition of Eurovision, has also contributed to the 2021 edition of the Miss Universe competition held in Israel and has served as a jury member in various Eurovision preselections.

The Luxembourgish national final

The Luxembourgish national final will take place on January 27, 2024 in a major live show broadcast on RTL Télé. Viewers will be able to vote for the person they want to see represent Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö. More details are expected soon.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all news!

Source: RTL

Luxembourg: How its representative for Malmö is chosen!

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Luxembourg is returning to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024 after 30 years. As such, the Duchy’s public broadcaster decision-makers have the difficult task ahead of them of finding the delegate and the song that will represent Luxembourg in Malmö.

Thus, the day before yesterday, Wednesday 22 November, the live auditions for the selection of Luxembourg’s representative at Eurovision 2024 started. These auditions will serve to select the finalists for the national final from which the artist representing the Duchy at the 68th edition of our favourite competition will emerge.

The auditions process

It has been more than three decades since Luxembourg, the small Western European duchy with five wins under its belt, last took part in the Eurovision Song Contest. As it goes without saying, the music industry has changed dramatically compared to the early 1990s.

This was the reason why Luxembourg’s public broadcaster, RTL, turned to a panel of five experts who will have the first and last word in choosing the finalists of the national final, as the expectations and interest of the people of the Duchy exceeded all expectations.

In total, 459 artists expressed their interest to participate in the process of selecting the Luxembourg representative in the 68th Eurovision Song Contest. Then there was the pre-selection stage from which RTL‘s decision-makers singled out some 70 songs and 50 artists to be judged by the international panel. All the artists are either Luxembourg citizens, residents or closely linked to the cultural scene of the Duchy.

Source:RTL/Steve Müller

As a reminder, the panel of five Eurovision experts in charge of selecting the finalists for the Luxembourg national final is made up of the following:

Christer Björkmann, who is a Swedish producer and TV presenter as well as a former Eurovision participant (Sweden 1992). Björkmann has also served as Head of Delegation for Sweden, has produced the Contest in 2013 and 2015, where it was hosted in Sweden, as well as the only American Song Contest to date in 2022.

Jan Bors, who has served as Head of Delegation for the Czech Republic.

Cesár Sampson, who has represented Austria at Eurovision in 2018, taking first place in the jury vote. Sampson will also play an active role in the Czech national selection this year, as artistic director and presenter of the national final.

Alex Panayi, who is considered a Eurovision expert. Panagi has represented Cyprus at Eurovision twice, in 1995 and 2000. In recent years, he has acted as Vocal Coach for many Eurovision entries and was also the vocal coach for Helena Paparizou in 2005.

Tali Eshkoli, who is an Israeli television producer. Eshkoli was a producer for Eurovision 2019, has also worked on the Miss Universe 2021 contest held in Israel and has been a jury member for national selections of various countries over the years.

Source: RTL/Steve Müller

Contestants’ impressions

The process has caught the attention of the Luxembourg media, as enthusiasm is widespread in the small Western European country for its return to Eurovision after 1993.

“It has without doubt shaken up the industry in Luxembourg,” says Edsun, one of the artists present at the Rockhal, where auditions started yesterday and will run until Friday. “It has given everyone a lot of hope as to what our country can accomplish and where we can take our music. No matter what happens, Eurovision will open doors for our artists and serve as a springboard.”

“The whole experience has been incredibly exciting,” explains Shirley from the Luxembourgish band The Spaceminers, who auditioned Wednesday. “For artists, Eurovision acts as an incomparable creative prompt and the way the process in Luxembourg has been, artists have not only been motivated to write and propose new songs but have also had the opportunity to work with renowned composers.”

Jury’s impressions

Relying on an international jury at this point is crucial in order to ensure impartiality in the selection process.

“The musical industry in Luxembourg is blossoming, but it is small, as is our country,” points out Eric Lehmann, the head of the Luxembourgish delegation to Eurovision.

“By bringing in international juries, none of which are familiar with our music scene or know any of the artists, we ensure that everyone gets the same attention and treatment. Furthermore, these experts bring invaluable knowhow to the table. They know what Eurovision requires. And let’s not forget that the Luxembourgish entry won’t be judged by anyone in Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest, but by the other countries, which is also why this outside view is important to us.”

The five jury members seem acutely aware of what’s at stake and are fully invested in finding the right song for Luxembourg.

“Luxembourg has such an incredible Eurovision heritage, and we’ve waited a very long time for a return – it’s important to work really hard on making it successful,” underlines Tali Eshkoli. “It’s not easy to find the best song, the best singer, and the best performance, but I need all three. We need an entry that can create that magical moment and a unique staging.”

Jan Bors is no less demanding: “I’m looking for perfection, for talent and for a great song of course. I’m looking for a Eurovision winner, not just a song that will qualify for the final. The song and the artist need to be an impeccable match.”

Meanwhile, for Alex Panayi, the most important thing is: “Originality and honesty! And you know it when you hear it. As a vocal coach I’m obviously also very attentive to the voice and what can be done to make it even better. When I listen to each song here, I also imagine what it would sound and look like on the Eurovision scene. There’s a lot to consider.”

How the act will look and sound in context is equally vital for César Sampson: “I’m looking for a song that translates well to Eurovision. It needs to be a hybrid, something that would work as well on television as it would in a stadium. So, a stageable song and a solid performer. I want to find a winner, someone who can fill a stage. You don’t need a specific music genre to succeed in Eurovision, and that’s the beauty of it. But you need a song with a vibrant range, with a ‘beat’ like in theatre.”

“As a group, our jury has very different starting points, but it makes a great dynamic,” concludes Christer Björkman. “For me, it’s important to find a song that can connect contemporary music with Luxembourg’s Eurovision legacy. What I’m looking for is a contemporary hit with a touch of Luxembourg, and I have no doubt that we will find a great selection of songs to fit the criteria for the national selection in January!”

The auditions continue until the beginning of December, when the list of candidates who will compete in the national final in Luxembourg will be announced. The Duchy’s national final will take place on 27 January and will give the people of Luxembourg the chance to choose the song and artist who will represent them at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö in May, 31 years after their last performance in 1993.

Will Luxembourg continue its successful run at Eurovision?Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: RTL

Luxembourg: The live auditions ahead of Eurovision 2024 have begun!

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Luxembourg is returning to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024 after 30 years. As such, the Duchy’s public broadcaster decision-makers have the difficult task ahead of them of finding the delegate and the song that will represent Luxembourg in Malmö.

Thus, yesterday, Wednesday 22 November, the live auditions for the selection of Luxembourg’s representative at Eurovision 2024 started. These auditions will serve to select the finalists for the national final from which the artist representing the Duchy at the 68th edition of our favourite competition will emerge.

Jury Committee

A panel of five people with experience of the Eurovision Song Contest has the first and last say in the selection of the artists who will compete in the national final in Luxembourg. This panel is made up of the following:

Christer Björkmann, who is a Swedish producer and TV presenter as well as a former Eurovision participant (Sweden 1992). Björkmann has also served as Head of Delegation for Sweden, has produced the Contest in 2013 and 2015, where it was hosted in Sweden, as well as the only American Song Contest to date in 2022.

Jan Bors, who has served as Head of Delegation for the Czech Republic.

Cesár Sampson, who has represented Austria at Eurovision in 2018, taking first place in the jury vote. Sampson will also play an active role in the Czech national selection this year, as artistic director and presenter of the national final.

Alex Panayi, who is considered a Eurovision expert. Panagi has represented Cyprus at Eurovision twice, in 1995 and 2000. In recent years, he has acted as Vocal Coach for many Eurovision entries and was also the vocal coach for Helena Paparizou in 2005.

Tali Eshkoli, who is an Israeli television producer. Eshkoli was a producer for Eurovision 2019, has also worked on the Miss Universe 2021 contest held in Israel and has been a jury member for national selections of various countries over the years.

Source: RTL/Steve Muller

The auditions

During these auditions, candidates have just ten minutes on stage to convince the jury that they are the right act to represent Luxembourg. Several performers struggled with anxiety, to the point where they had to restart the audition several times.

Speaking about the process, ESC producer and jury member Tali Eshkoli described the excitement as “huge”, while her colleague Christer Björkmann agreed that Luxembourg had waited too long to return to the competition. The jury now has a “big responsibility and a huge challenge” to find the right candidate and get the best possible performance from each artist who takes to the stage during the auditions.

Source: RTL/Steve Muller

The auditions continue until the beginning of December, when the list of candidates who will compete in the national final in Luxembourg will be announced. The Duchy’s national final will take place on 27 January and will give the people of Luxembourg the chance to choose the song and artist who will represent them at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö in May, 31 years after their last performance in 1993.

Will Luxembourg continue its successful run at Eurovision?Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: RTL

Luxembourg: The preselection’s final line-up will be decided by an international expert jury!

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Luxembourg’s return to Eurovision after thirty years of absence is expected to be epic. A national selection will be held in order to choose the next Luxembourgish act and the preparations are on fire. The preselection was open to

  • either singers who already had a maximum of three songs to submit
  • or singers who did not have a song but they would like to represent Luxembourg in Eurovision and would therefore be contacted via RTL with a team of songwriters.

Following the closing of the submission window for the first category and the finish of the “castings” stage for the second category, RTL underwent an evaluation process, coming down to a shortlist of around 70 songs and 50 artists.

Now, it is up to an international jury to decide the final line-up.

The international jury

The choice of an international jury was made in order to achieve the greatest possible neutrality in a small country as Luxembourg. Hence, this jury consists of the following five members, strongly associated with Eurovision:

Christer Björkmann, who is a Swedish producer and TV host as well as a former Eurovision participant(Sweden 1992). Björkmann has also served as a Head of Delegation for Sweden, has produced the 2013 and 2016 editions of Eurovision Song Contest held in Sweden and the only and only to date American Song Contest.

Jan Bors, who has served as a Head of Delegation for Czechia.

Cesár Sampson, who has represented Austria in the 2018 edition of Εurovision and was crowned as the jury winner. Sampson will also play an active role in the Czech preselection this year, serving as an artistic director and the presenter of the national final.

Alex Panayi, who is also considered as a Eurovision expertise. Panayi has represented Cyprus in Eurovision on two occasions, in 1995 and 2000. In recent years, he has served as a vocal coach for several Eurovision participants and was also the backing vocalist of the 2005 winner, Helena Paparizou.

Tali Eshkoli, which an Israeli television producer. Eshkoli has been the producer of the 2019 edition of Eurovision, has also contributed to the 2021 edition of the Miss Universe competition held in Israel and has served as a jury member in various Eurovision preselections.

What’s next for the Luxembourgish preselection?

The names of the finalists who have managed to convince the jury will be revealed at the beginning of December.

The Luxembourgish national final will take place on January 27, 2024 in a major live show broadcast on RTL Télé. Viewers will be able to vote for the person they want to see represent Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö.

The former Eurovision powerhouse will return to the contest after thirty years of absence. During its almost fourty years participation, Luxembourg was crowned as the winner five times in total.

Will Luxembourg mantain its glorious Eurovision course? Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all news!

Source: RTL

Eurovision 2021: Sietse Bakker gives answers for the live on tape videos, the vaccines and the scenario that will be chosen! (Video)

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A really interesting interview was given by the executive producer of Eurovision 2021, Sietse Bakker, to Jan Bors and his YouTube channel, Humans of Eurovision.

For the cancellation of Eurovision 2020

Sietse Bakker said that the team that was preparing for the contest in 2020, was very sad and disappointed, after so much effort was lost. Of course it was something that in the last days before the cancellation more and more people expected, since all the big events were canceled.

The fact that no one in Europe initially paid much attention to the pandemic was the reason why they were not prepared at all for this scenario and so we were led to the cancellation of Eurovision 2020. Unlike last year, this year the team is working feverishly for each possible scenario, related to the evolution of the pandemic.

Which scenario will be chosen for Eurovision 2021?

Unfortunately Sietse Bakker is not yet able to answer this question. He said they would have to announce next month, the scenario they believe could be implemented in May, so essentially predicting the course of the pandemic by then. It is a very difficult thing, but it is in consultation with all the competent bodies, in order to make the right decision.

Scenario D is not the worst possible thing for Sietse Bakker, but to disappoint the fans of the competition and not have done everything in their power to have the best Eurovision, under these conditions.

Live on tape videos will offer a great variety in the contest

Jan Bors asked Sietse Bakker of course about the live on tape videos and if we would be able to watch them, even if in the end the contest is not based on scenario D.

The executive producer of the competition mentioned the differences that will exist in the process of live on tape videos, in relation to what was observed for Junior Eurovision.

The national broadcasters will be given more freedom to make their own scene, that is, not all scenes will be the same. Of course there will be some limits to this. Directing, each country will have the opportunity to present its own approach. According to Sietse Bakker, this will offer a great variety and even if these appearances need to compete, it will be of great interest to viewers.

It is a decision of the EBU whether these appearances will eventually be broadcast, in case we do not go to scenario D.

The vaccine will not be mandatory

Although he is a proponent of vaccination, Sietse Bakker is clear. This decision belongs to the politicians and they cannot make it. For their part, they will do everything possible to keep the artists alive in Rotterdam, many rapid tests and they will ask the delegations to stay as long as possible in the hotels, in order to reduce the possibility of one of them getting sick.

Will there finally be an audience at the Ahoy Arena?

The answer to this question will be given shortly before the competition, as no one is able to predict what the situation will be in the Netherlands in May. But Sietse Bakker promises in this regard, that both his own intention and that of the organizers is to have a Eurovision as “normal” as possible, if of course conditions allow.

Czech Republic: Former Head of delegation,Jan Bors reveals the reasons of his resignation

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The Czech Republic was one of the countries which were much discussed in the previous days. Initially the resignation of former Head of delegation Jan Bors and the replacement of the new one, Cyril Hirsch. Then, of course, the most important was the cancellation of the television national final they had announced and planned, by restoring the well-known online process that had taken place in the last two years. These events appear to be related to each otherr, as revealed in a Q&A on his Instagram profile by Jan Bors.

The cancellation of the national television finale, the reason for the resignation of Jan Frost Bors

One of the questions Jan Bors received was whether the cancellation of the national television final by the Czech public television was also the reason for his resignation from the post of Head of delegation in the competition.

Jan Bors responded that this was essentially the drop that overflowed the glass, implying that there were other friction points between the two sides, but essentially canceling a project that he had struggled with was also the reason he took the decision to resign.

Is budget cut the reason to cancel the national television final?

In another question, whether the reduced budget was the reason for the cancellation of the national television final, Jan Bors replied that this was not the reason. A number of other problems, which he did not name, were the reason because Czech Public Television preferred to reintroduce the well-known online procedure  for the third consecutive year in this way.

Will Jan Bors take over as executive supervisor?

What is widely rumored among fans is that Jan Bors resigned from the post of Head of delegation  to claim the position of Executive Supervisor at the EBU. Obviously he could not be asked in the light of the above, if his next business plans include the Eurovision Contest in general. Jan Bors does not exclude anything, leaving everything open, preserving the rumors they want him as one of Jon Ola Sand’s potential successors.