The stage is heating up: Tomorrow evening, Luxembourg’s Eurovision pre-selection, “Luxembourg Song Contest 2025,” will take place – get to know the artists competing for the ticket to Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland!
Tomorrow at 20:00 CET, the Luxembourgish National Broadcaster, RTL, will air the Luxembourgish Eurovision pre-selection, “Luxembourg Song Contest 2025“, where the country’s representative for Eurovision 2025 will be chosen. During the evening, seven talented candidates will compete for the honor of representing their country at the world’s largest musical event, each bringing a unique style and captivating musical experience. Each contestant brings their personal story and different musical career, giving them a unique fingerprint in the competition – get to know the contestants!
Laura Thorn
Laura Thorn, a music teacher, plays piano and cello and has studied pop, country, and jazz music. Laura is a relatively new and anonymous singer in Luxembourg. Beyond her stable musical background, Laura also maintains her physical fitness with regular training that prepares her for the big stage, as the ambitious singer sees her body as an instrument in itself and therefore strives to cultivate it well. Her workouts improve not only her physical fitness but also allow her to present excellent musical performances while working on her breathing.
The singer revealed that she came to the Luxembourg Eurovision pre-selection by chance, when a producer and songwriter from Paris connected her to the competition along with a song: “I received an SMS from someone: ‘Hey, I have a song for Eurovision, do you want to sing it and send me a performance video?’, I said to myself ‘Okay, how does he know me?’ and replied ‘Yes, sure, okay’. This is how my participation in the competition was created”. The singer disclosed that she is interested in connecting with past contestants and hopes for the luck of first-time competitors.
Laura revealed a bit of information about the upcoming performance: “A lot of things are going to happen on stage, I won’t be alone. The whole performance will be very enjoyable, but it’s also a strong song. The message behind it is very powerful”. About the song’s message, the singer said: “A doll cannot move by itself, someone from the outside must control it. I am a strong woman and I decide what I will do, not anyone else. The performance will reflect exactly that. First, the doll controlled by someone, and then we’ll see the power and strength I have, this is the message of the song and the performance”.
Rafa Ela
Rafaela Teixeira Fernandes, known by her stage name Rafa Ela, is a 26-year-old singer and civil servant. She won Luxembourg’s “Next Popstar” in 2016 and “Top Voice Luxembourg” in 2018. She participated in the Luxembourg Eurovision pre-selection as part of a duo with singer Angy Sciacqua, 39, an independent singer-songwriter, with the song “Drop” but did not advance past the second stage last year.
The singer revealed that after the Luxembourg Eurovision pre-selection in 2024, she began creating her own music and released her debut single in March 2024. Rafa Ela says that the local pre-selection improved her self-confidence and made her feel loved: “This Eurovision bubble from last year helped me a lot with confidence because people just embraced us, and once you’re in – you stay there forever, even if you didn’t win the local pre-selection, they don’t care. They really love you and support you throughout the year. They helped me grow and believe in myself because that was a very big problem for me.”
Rafa Ela talks about her song, “No, Thank You“: “There’s a very big story behind it. I flew to Sweden last year to record it with Christopher Johnson and Johan Jampek. They wanted to write a song for me and we had many meetings and talked about how important meaning in songs is. I wanted there to be a very strong and empowering message behind the song. When I sing this song I just feel like it’s me. I’m trying to represent all the women who are going through difficult times and just be yourself – no matter who you are, what you are, what size you are, what your color is, just be you.”
One Last Time
One Last Time participated in last year’s Luxembourg pre-selection with the song “Devil In The Detail“, which wasn’t enough to advance them to the second stage. With a well-defined pop-rock style and sound, the band One Last Time released their debut mini-album in 2022. The band members are Andrea Galleti, lead vocalist, 31, Jonathan Fersino, bassist and sound engineer, 32, Barbara Salvi, keyboardist, 27, Tom Sagramola, guitarist, 35, and Alessandro Sorbelli, drummer, 25.
The band revealed that four out of five members were in favor of returning this year, while the fifth member wanted more time to think about it. They mention that it’s a new song they were more involved in writing: “We’re just happy to be back, we know what’s going to happen and we know how to prepare for it.” Andrea, the lead singer, added: “I was very nervous at the auditions because I wanted to be here again. It’s like Disneyland. Being here is like getting this amazing audience, a Eurovision audience who are amazing people who encourage you, so yes, it’s great to be back. So I was very very nervous and a bit insecure at the auditions, but here we are – we’re back.”
The band further revealed: “We wrote the song specifically for Eurovision, and I would say that if I had to draw a Eurovision song, we would draw it. Because this – this is a Eurovision song by ‘One Last Time’, it’s 100% a ‘One Last Time’ song, if you want a big party in Basel – vote for us.”
Luzac
Luzac, originally a teacher, is the child of a Belgian mother and a Tunisian father. Luzac’s passion for music appeared early when he started taking violin lessons. He became interested in music and singing at age 9 after watching “High School Musical”, and when he moved from Belgium to Luxembourg at age 10, he discovered Michael Jackson and began writing his own songs. He later wrote songs for many artists and realized he was writing without receiving credit, so he started writing for himself. He studied and specialized in the world of urban pop and began his career writing and composing mainly for other artists. However, the release of his debut single “J’y arriverai” in 2021 marked a turning point, as he shifted focus to his own music. Since then, he has devoted himself to songwriting. He is currently working diligently on his first album.
The singer also revealed intriguing information about his song: “This song was born in a writing camp. I worked on the song with Edsun, one of last year’s competitors, and with Linda Dale who wrote last year’s winning song, ‘The Code‘, by Nemo Mettler. The song talks about a toxic relationship between a woman and a man. We took expressions from the world of cat and mouse, for example ‘I gave my tongue to the cat’. In the song, I’m the mouse and the woman is the cat.”
Rhythmic Soulwave
Rhythmic Soulwave is a band that combines styles of soul music, jazz, Latin music, and pop-rock. The band consists of six artists: Cuban vocalist Carmen Carbonnell Suarez, Hungarian keyboardist Zakar Lörinc, bassist Mael Fontana, Spanish drummer Diego Lucero, violinist Angela Aguilera Caballero, and trumpeter Leopold Strauβ.
The band revealed that they met through the Conservatory, which led to the shared idea of forming a band. The band’s name is a combination of three words: “Rhythm,” which dictates the essence of the band; “Soul,” as the guiding musical style of the band is soul music; and “Wave,” representing the wave of energy they try to convey together with the audience.
Carmen, the lead singer, disclosed that she wrote the song “Stronger” back in 2017 after experiencing a difficult heartbreak: “My heart was completely broken. That’s why I never thought of singing this song live, because I left it aside. After we founded the band, we did many cover versions of songs and the idea came up to start writing our own original music. I thought to myself: ‘I feel safe enough with these people, I’m ready to release the song with them’. And this represents a closure with my heartbreak.”
MÄNA
The singer MÄNA is a music student studying in Dudelange, southern Luxembourg. She plays the violin and flute. She released her debut single, “Stay,” in 2023. Currently, she is learning to become a teacher and musician.
The singer revealed that she tried to compete in last year’s Luxembourg Eurovision pre-selection with her debut single, but the song did not make it to the final eight contestants. MÄNA also shared that she went through a long and significant process: “I worked a lot on myself and my confidence, and of course on my music, and only now have I discovered who I want to be as an artist.” Alongside a busy musical year, MÄNA is in her final year of university, studying primary education.
MÄNA shared the story behind her song “Human Eyes”: “When you think about a person, and you really love them, and after some time the person just changes completely, you feel like ‘you are not the person I loved and enjoyed being with,’ so you see human eyes, but they are not there.” Regarding her performance, she mentioned that it is accompanied by immense anger and reveals a very vulnerable side of her, along with the sadness that accompanies the performance, but the message she tries to convey is to be strong and know that you are doing something good.
ZERO POINT FIVE
The band ZERO POINT FIVE is considered one of the most famous groups in Luxembourg, with performances that fill venues and various festivals. The group blends pop, folk, and country music. It was established in 2009 and consists of three men: Federico (Kiko) Menichetti, Gilles Saracini, and Christophe Reitz.
The band revealed the origin of their name; Kiko explains: “From the beginning, Gilles and I, as a duo, were just with two acoustic guitars playing songs, and people would say ‘you are only half a band,’ there are no drums, no bass, nothing. The phrase ‘half a band’ stuck with us and we needed a name for the band, so zero point five – half a band.” Gilles adds: “Kiko and I studied together, so we started playing together. Our first recording wasn’t really in the country style; it was only after Chris joined us that it really focused us in that direction. It wasn’t country from the start; we added instruments like banjo, violin, and I even played mandolin sometimes, and from the second recording everything started.”
The band states that the main message behind their song “Ride” is to overcome struggles and tough times. They also revealed: “The song was not specifically written for the competition. We consistently write music for future albums, and you will get the party feeling that is present in our performances.”
All the Details About “Luxembourg Song Contest 2025”:
The artists and songs participating in the Luxembourgish Eurovision pre-selection are:
- One Last Time – “Gambler’s Song“
- Rafaela Teixeira Fernandes – “No, Thank You“
- Laura Thorn – “La poupée monte le son“
- Luzac – “Je Danse“
- Rhythmic Soulwave – “Stronger“
- MÄNA – “Human Eyes“
- ZERO POINT FIVE – “Ride“
Click on the song title to listen!
The songs and contestants of the Luxembourg Eurovision pre-selection: The Luxembourg television network, RTL, has revealed the seven songs competing in the Luxembourg Eurovision pre-selection, “Luxembourg Song Contest 2025.” The Luxembourgish pre-selection will take place on Saturday, January 25, at the Rockhal concert hall in the city of Esch-sur-Alzette. The second edition of the pre-selection will retain last year’s format, where the contestants performed live in front of an audience and competed for the votes of the jury (50%) and the audience (50%) to determine which artist will win the coveted ticket to Basel.
53 artists from 12 different nationalities registered for the national selection, submitting no less than 79 original songs. The list of participating songs and artists was determined by a jury of Eurovision known artists, including Bulgaria’s 2011 and 2016 representative Poli Genova and 2011 Eurovision winner Eldar Gasimov.
Luxembourg in Eurovision 2024
“Fighter” is the name of the song performed by Tali, who was chosen to represent Luxembourg after winning the local Eurovision pre-selection. Luxembourg advanced to the grand final after securing fifth place in the first semi-final with 117 points, and in the grand final, they finished in 13th place with 103 points.
Luxembourg returned to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024 after a 31-year absence and achieved significant success.
Source: RTL Play.
Eurovision 2025: This will be Luxembourg’s 39th participation in Eurovision. Luxembourg joined the competition in 1956, was one of the seven founding countries, and has won it five times over the years. Luxembourg’s last victory was at Eurovision 1983 with the song “Si la vie est cadeau” performed by singer Corinne Hermès. In 2024, Luxembourg returned to the competition after a 31-year absence.
