I am not going to lie: I left last year’s LSC national final with mixed feelings. Lots of money was thrown at the show itself, which was incredibly well produced especially for a new contest, but the selection of songs itself lacked a real point of view or any distinctive identity – it felt more exactly like a playlist of tracks purchased from the Melodifestivalen basement of discarded songs, including Fighter, which ultimately won and landed in (a respectable) 13th place at ESC. In that light, I approached this year’s line-up wary and hopeful in equal measure – would we get a better focus on Luxembourg’s musical scene?
The short answer is no. While I would characterize this selection as overall marginally stronger than last year’s, I don’t think any of these tracks are especially competitive, nor do they really feel specific to this or any other country. I am obviously incredibly happy to have Luxembourg back, and we’re still only in year two of this national final experiment, but if the broadcaster is looking in the direction of mainstream pop (which we love), then I think it might be worth considering actually inviting established producers and songwriters to create music specifically for the contest, as opposed to submitting pre-packaged tracks that have already been shopped unsuccessfully elsewhere. I did struggle to come up with a Top 2 – I didn’t want to have a repeat of what happened with Albania – but in reality, there is really only one option in the bunch. And it is…
Laura Thorn – La poupée monte le son
This is pleasant. It kind of reminds me of Loin d’ici, a song I adore and I will unironically defend for all eternity, except it doesn’t really come close to matching the same urgency, energy, and camp value of that entry. The title roughly translates to “the doll turns up the volume,” which I felt was promising enough, but while I can get on board with this as a pop anthem about self-empowerment, every other line in the chorus goes “na na na na na na” and both the production and the vocal are giving Junior Eurovision, as adequate as they both admittedly are. Still, it’s catchy and it will probably appeal to younger audiences looking for a break from ballads and/or more adult-sounding entries.
I included this because it’s well produced. Rafa Ela is back as a solo act this year, and she was matched with a perfectly mid album track that, were it to win, would not qualify but also not piss anyone off. There is nothing to it lyrically, but I can sit through it just fine, and in this selection that’s enough.
ESC Etc. 
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