When Eva Marija takes to the big ESC stage live for the first time on Thursday evening, three of her former competitors will be in the audience: Hugo One, Steve Castile, and Irem. "I hope Eva can enjoy the moment despite the pressure, and of course, that she makes it to the final!", says Castile.
Irem, who lives in Vienna, currently hosts Castile and Hugo One at her place.
"It is going to be really, really cool", says Hugo One, for whom it will be his first ESC experience live in the arena.
Daryss, meanwhile, is delighted that Luxembourg is back at the ESC and will be watching the show together with friends and family, as she does every year.
Andrew the Martian, on the other hand, has only watched three or four Eurovision Song Contest broadcasts so far. He often misses it and only finds out afterwards that the ESC has already taken place.
This year, however, he will not miss the semi-final and will follow Eva Marija's performance closely from home: "Of course I'm rooting for Eva." Unfortunately, he will miss the big final on Saturday due to a concert.
"But I will be sending lots of martian vibes to Vienna", says André Baptista, who performed on the LSC stage as Andrew The Martian. "Eva Marija doesn't need much luck to go through."
Initially, Luzac had also planned to travel to Vienna to watch the show, but after something came up, he decided to follow the performance from home. "Whatever the result, I just want her to enjoy it", he says.
The members of ShiroKuro have organised a small party and also invited friends to the big final, for which Eva Marija still needs to qualify. "We are convinced she has every chance of qualifying, and she is super talented", emphasises Nate, the group's singer.
Just over three months have passed since the Luxembourg Song Contest at Rockhal. Time of which the candidates have made good use, working hard on their musical careers.
"You can see that the LSC has clearly opened a door for us that we are not yet ready to close", says Nate from ShiroKuro. The band took part in another competition in Belgium and won it, which means they will be playing at the opening of the Ronquières Festival in in August.
The festival also features Macklemore and Charlotte Cardin, among others.
ShiroKuro still look back fondly on the Luxembourg Song Contest: "We miss both the LSC and Luxembourg."
Daryss took a short break after the Luxembourg Song Contest: "This whole LSC adventure was a very special moment for me. It was incredible to have been able to perform on that stage."
She has since started easing back into music, writing new songs, and working on various projects: "I hope to be able to share all of that soon."
Other LSC finalists have been very productive in releasing new songs. Hugo One, Irem, and Luzac have all released two songs since January. Another new release from Luzac is planned for June.
"I have received an enormous number of opportunities. I am incredibly grateful for all of it", he says. The singer was, for instance, also invited to perform at the ESC pre-party in London.
Steve Castile has also been making a lot of music since his participation, even if it will take a little while longer before a new song is released. He has since also appeared on German television twice to talk about his music.
Castile also performed as an artist at the Télévie in Luxembourg: "In that context, Laura Thorn, Hugo, Irem, and I went on a small tour visiting the Centres de Promesses, and in the evening we performed Poker Face together on RTL. That was definitely a highlight!"
Eva Marija is not competing alone, and she faces strong competition. The LSC finalists have already been listening to the other contributions and have quite different opinions.
There is one song they all agree on: Bella by Aidan, competing for Malta, is "extremely beautiful", according to Steve Castile; for Hugo One, it is in his top three alongside Finland and Denmark, and Luzac also likes it a lot.
Though he personally has two other favourites: "I really love Albania and Romania's contributions. Those are my top one and top two."
Daryss likes Australia's ballad. And for Nate from ShiroKuro, Romania is his "coup de coeur", because they go in a rock direction, which appeals to him. His top three are Moldova, Greece, and Georgia.
Andrew the Martian does not have clear favourites, but there are a few that stick in the mind. "But nothing compares to our LSC playlist", emphasises the former LSC finalist.
