#LUXEMBOURG: Live Blog of Luxembourg Song Contest from 20.00 CET

By John Stanton on January 27, 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

It’s happening! Not only have Luxembourg returned to the Song Contest fold after 31 years, but they’re holding a national final! Only the fourth ever Luxembourgeoise/Lëtzebuergesch national final to boot!

Eight acts are up for the golden ticket to Malmö. Can RTL’s representative sail through a semi-final in May and make the Grand Final?

You can follow our live blog below from 19.00 GMT/20.00 CET, and watch the action as it happens HERE. All times below are GMT.

21.35 – Goodnight all

21.34 – Thanks for joining us tonight. I’m sure you’ll join with us at Eurovision Ireland and wish Tali the best of luck in Malmö in May.

21.32 – Tali gets 178 in total! We have a winner!

21.31 – The audience gave 85 points to Krick, totalling 165 points.

21.30 – In third place with 136 points (70 from the jury) is Joel Marques

21.29 – We’re back. The four presenters are back on stage.

21.24 – Ad break time. I bet you weren’t expecting that

21.23 – Tali uttered an expletive earlier. We speak to her briefly. As the juries constitute 50% of the vote, there are a further 240 points up for grabs from the public vote.

21.21 – The scores so far

21.20 – Sweden are last to give their vote. 12 to Tali (94). Joel’s on 66 and Krick 80

21.19 – France next – 12 to Tali (82). Joel’s on 58 and Krick’s on 70

21.18 – Portugal next – 12 to Tali (70). Joel’s on 50 and Krick’s on 60

21.17 – Germany next. 12 to Krick.

21.15 – Slovenia next – Tinkara Kovac gives 12 to Tali (48). Joel’s on 34 and Krick’s on 38

21.14 – Belgium next. 12 to Tali (36). Joel’s on 16, Krick on 28

21.13 – Cyprus gives 12 to Tali

21.12 – The juries give their results. First the UK. 8 to Joel, 10 to Krick and 12 points to Tali

21.11 – Words from former acts now. Conchita Wurst, Marie Myriam, Eldar Gasimov, Sandra Kim, Kalush Orchestra, Eimear Quinn, Måns Zelmerlöw, and Herreys send regards

21.06 – It’s another band now. Schëppe Siwen sing Danzen. It’s a bop

21.02 – We now speak to Ruslana and Katrina

20.59 – It’s Vicky Leandros on stage now, performing the timeless L’amour est bleu. Accompanied by Rybak

20.58 – The four presenters are on stage. And voting has finished!

20.54 – One last recap. We’re due to finish at the top of the hour, but that might not happen now.

20.51 – We’re reminded we have a few short moments left to vote for our favourite. We speak briefly to the three super-finalists

20.50 – Cabaret over – and it was good, and we adjourn to the Green Room again.

20.41 – More entertainment now, from Ruslana, Katrina, Charlotte Perrelli and Rybak to be precise.

20.40 – The Tali/Krick/Joel fan clubs make the presences known

20.38 – The voting is reset and viewers can vote up to 20 more times for the super-finalists

20.37 – First out is Tali. No surprise there. Next out for the super-final is Krick. And the final super-finalist is Joel Marques!

20.34 – We’re about to get the votes

20.32 – Martin Österdahl now sends a message from the EBU. In Geneva. He’s excited.

20.31 – Cue Alexander Rybak.

20.30 – The acts talk about Eurovision. They mention the fearless Käärijä, John Lundvik, Marco Mengoni, Duncan Laurence, Måneskin, Cornelia Jacobs, Conchita Wurst and Alexander Rybak. Hmmm

20.27 – There is much filling going on now. They mention New Zealand, Australia, the Olsen Brothers among other things.

20.24 – Voting is over – for now anyway.

20.21 – We’re in the Green Room, which is somewhere up in the gods of the arena, chatting to the acts

20.17 – Another recap of the eight songs

20.15 – Up in the Gods of the arena is Charlotte Perrelli. Looking well

20.12 – They’re singing Waterloo. It’s an obscure song that won in the 1970s.

20.11 – And we’re back. Tribute time. The performers are looking at Sweden

20.06 – A short break now. Back shortly

20.02 – Voting is open, and we get a recap.

20.00 – And that’s the songs. Melody and Desirée are in different frocks now. We get reminded that three acts will go through to the superfinal. You can vote on http://www.esc.vote.

19.58 – Tali is also in black – something of a leather nature. She switches well between French and English, which I like. It’s funky and draws you in. The choreography is there, but it compliments the song, rather than dominates it. There are also pyro effects. This could be the one to beat.

19.55 – Finally, Tali will sing Fighter

19.54 – He’s also in black and white, with black lace elbow-length gloves. Interesting. It’s another ballad but maybe not of the quality of Krick’s. The backing track which is more electronic then orchestral could do with beefing up a little in my opinion. It also ends with a whimper rather than a bang.

19.51 – Song 7 is called Hold on by Chaild

19.50 – Krick herself is in a long white dress and is stood on a box. There’s heavy reliance on the piano in the backing track. A classic ballad that will tick a lot of boxes for those that love ballads. By the second chorus there is much orchestration reminding me more and more of contests when the orchestra was there. Good times! Anyway, this is a quality ballad and they could do worse.

19.47 – Moving on, Song 6 comes from Krick, and is called Drowning in the Rain

19.46 – The five are all in black and white outfits. This is a slightly dark rocky song, with a decent verse that builds to a big chorus featuring pyros. Some fans will love that. Indeed I like this one – it’s contemporary and quite adult featuring the word suck more than once. However, it maybe does lose its way with maybe 30 seconds to go. Nevertheless it ain’t bad.

19.43 – We’re at Song 5 now, which is Devil in the Detail by five-piece band One Last Time

19.42 – A short break now, and Desirée is sitting with Anne Marie and Vicky. Anne Marie sticks to French – because she is. Vicky speaks in English. Eurovision made her, she tells us. Anne Marie tells us that Eurovision is the music championship of the world. And Vicky is on a farewell tour. Catch her if you can.

19.38 – Back to English and a ballad with just the singers and a piano backing track. They start back to back in black outfits featuring the bodice. The chorus is where it’s at and is very dramatic. Again, it sticks to the formula, and is there a key change? No! It’s very choreographed which I think is a bit too much. Not a bad effort though.

19.34 – And onto song 4. Angy and Rafa Ela will song Drop

19.33 – This takes things down a tempo or two. Naomi is very young. She’s in a black and white floor length dress. The song has class and she sells it very well. There’s a slight aloof quality to her which works. And she doesn’t miss a note. It would be nice to see a song from the Grand Duchy in French, so this could do well. And it’s the best so far.

19.30 – Song 3 comes from Naomi Ayé. It’s called Paumée sur terre

19.29 – Edsun is in striking red. His backing dancers (six, yes six of them) are in white. The vibe is funky-disco and he has some nifty dance moves. This relies a lot on the choreography to do the heavy lifting and seems like a two-minute song stretched out. It will have its fans, but we haven’t had a winner yet.

19.26 – Straight onto song 2. Edsun will song Finally alive.

19.25 – JM is in a dark suit and white T-shirt. He has dry ice aplenty and a number of backing dancers. This ballad moves along nicely and is slightly formulaic. The bridge leads into no key change surprisingly though. It’s OK, but I think we will hear better tonight.