« Merci, Merci »: Laura Thorn even thanks her supporters while sleeping
For Laura Thorn, the night felt Surreal after her qualification for the ESC final. When we meet her for an interview, she is tired. « My friend told me this morning that I mumbled ‘Merci, Merci’ all the time. I probably thanked people individually with people, » she laughs. She won’t get too much sleep. On Saturday she appears in the grand finale, right at the beginning, in second place. « This is not so good because people may not keep you in my head anymore. I also appear directly to Norway and in front of Estonia, both of them are very strong participants. »
How would that have become, would I not have done the jump to the final?
Laura Thorn
Nevertheless, she doesn’t go crazy: « The worst is over! I was afraid of not qualifying. Especially when I found out how much was organized for me. The director of my job got tickets, but only for the final. My friend’s family organized huge public viewings, but only for the final. In Schifflingen, they organized a multi -day event. done? ”She wonders. So the biggest hurdle is mastered. « We rehearsed this appearance so often, I know the process in and by heart, » she adds. She doesn’t worry about the placement: « I do my best. Whether I end up in second place or in the last place, nothing changes in my life – unless I win. »
After it was announced yesterday that she made it to the final, she received many congratulations from Luxembourg. « I’m not going to answer with answers, » she laughs. In general, a lot of praise came from her adult students. The background: Laura Thorn is a Solfège and vocal teacher at the Escher Music Conservatory. And further: « It touches me very much to see how many people are behind me. »
After all the hustle and bustle, she shouldn’t just fall back to your professional life next week. « I have to be prepared that everything is no longer presented on the silver tray like the ESC. Nobody does my work at the conservatory. Next week the exam for my students starts, so I have to work 100 percent. »
The joy is great when Laura Thorn learns that she made the leap into the final. Photo: Jeff Spielmann / RTL
Speaking of winning: Who are the favorites of the 25-year-old? « I like Norway and Albania very much and Estonia because Tommy Cash just makes a fun show. But I’m also sad that Belgium was excreted. ‘Strobe Lights’ was my favorite Eesc song. »
Who has the best chance of winning?
Laura Thorn is currently not bad in the bets, but the bookmakers see other candidates rather than possible winners, although betting odds should of course always be enjoyed with caution. But who in your opinion will do the race?
Sweden: Off to the sauna!
Instead of the typical, highly polished Swedish pops, the Finnish-born comedy group Kaj presents with « Bara Bada Bastu » (« Simply go to the sauna ») a winking hit number. A complete sauna scenery unfolds on the stage-including upper body-free dancers, which are only dressed in towels. The self -ironic appearance was very well received by the audience in the semifinals and is even traded by betting providers as a potential winning candidate.
Austria: Opera meets pop
Austria follows in second place in the bets – but with a little distance. For the Alpine Republic, the opera singer JJ starts with the song « Wasted Love ». Accordingly, the song is a mixture of pop and opera. Staging underlines the drama of the song: JJ is on a boat while a storm rages. In any case, he hit the tones clean in the semifinals and the chances are not bad that he will be one of the winners of the jury voting in the final.
France: an ode to the mom
For our neighboring country, Louane is an internationally known singer. After the good fourth place from Slimane in Malmö last year, France now wants to get victory again after decades. Here, too, the chances are not bad: her ballad, in which she sings her mother’s early loss, touches many people.
Netherlands: C’est La Vie
The Netherlands sing in French, at least partially. This is because the singer Claude comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo and fled with his family into the Netherlands as a child. Just like Louane, he already had an international breakthrough with the pop raps song « Ladada (Mon Dernier Mot) ». He is also well received with his current song « C’est La Vie ». The audience captivates his stage show, in which he meets his childhood ego in a mirror.
Israel: A dramatic story
As in the previous year, Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest is a hotly discussed topic. And again some countries are calling for Israel’s exclusion, as has also happened in Russia because of the robbery on Ukraine. However, the singer Yuval Raphael cannot be stopped. Your story moves many. She survived the attacks by terrorists from the Gaza Strip to the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023 as a visitor. With her song « New Day Will Rise » she wants to give hope.
If you shouldn’t write off …
But even away from the top positions in the betting odds, Estonia, Malta, Finland, Albania and Switzerland should not be copyed. If you listen to the press center, you can see that these countries have developed into fan favorites in recent weeks.
Estonia and Malta in particular have been splitting the minds for months. Miriana Contes Song « Serving » had to go through a change of name. Originally it was called « Kant », which means « singing » in Maltese. However, this sounded like an English swear word or a very vulgar name for the female genital organ. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) then asked Malta to change the song title.
And Estonia’s Tommy Cash with his “Espresso Macchiato” caused upset in Italy in advance. The country felt stepped on the tie through the supposed clichés. But he claims that his song was a declaration of love to the country on the Mediterranean. In any case, one thing is certain: the bizarre staging will definitely make the audience smile – also in Italy.
