Thursday saw even more acts take to the stage at Rockhal to compete for the chance to represent Luxembourg at next year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Although the set-up was more familiar to both organisers and performers, Day 2 of Eurovision auditions was marked by an atmosphere of excitement. Many of the singers appearing onstage will have followed the televised contest from a young age, now all hoping to make the switch from screen to stage.
One of the acts with plenty of stage experience is Edsun, with an established presence on Luxembourg's music scene for over ten years. The chance to appear at Eurovision was impossible to pass up. "Standing on such a big stage gives so many more opportunities. I live for the performance."
CHAiLD is another act with plenty of experience, whether alone or performing with Maz Univerze. The young singer prepared two songs to convince the jury on Thursday - one of which was already released in Luxembourg to great acclaim from fans, and another written especially for the competition. Appearing at Eurovision would "fulfil a CHAiLDhood dream". The duo said that progressing to the next stage would mean the world to them, not just for their careers, but as a personal achievement.
Another familiar voice was that of Kelly Decker, who appeared on reality talent show "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" back in 2017 at the tender age of 16. "I was a child then, but this is different," the young singer said after her audition, explaining she was less nervous these days, but that the competition was great.
One Last Time is another band with experience. All five band members grew up in Luxembourg and followed the ESC from a young age, always wondering why the Grand Duchy was not included among the participants. Singer Andrea Galleti expressed confidence over the group's chances, saying "I was born in 1993, I take that as a sign". But the pressure is on. "Normally during a whole show, mistakes are less noticeable, but here, you just have that one chance."
The jury certainly have their work cut out, with all the acts delivering strong performances.
"We're expecting something spectacular after 30 years"
Five international jury members will decide which singers progress to Luxembourg's pre-selection finals. The panel is comprised of international music experts who have been involved in the Eurovision Song Contest for years, as either singers, coaches, delegation heads or producers. The Luxembourg organisers deliberately opted for a foreign jury, says Dave Gloesener, Head of Eurovision at RTL:
"There are two reasons for this, one of which is the fact we have not participated for 30 years and simply don't have Eurovision experience anymore. We might not be up to date on what is popular with Eurovision and what isn't, so we needed experts from outside. The second reason is the fact that Luxembourg is a small country, of course. We just wanted to have the greatest possible neutrality in order to assess what the Luxembourg music scene has to offer."
Further reading: How an international jury is finding the right Eurovision song for Luxembourg