O Jardim / Cláudia Pascoal / Portugal | Review

Can Portugal make it two successive victories?

As Eurovision's musical perspective becomes more and more stagnant, one has to admire Portugal’s perseverance in marching to their own drum, no matter how this is reflected in their final scores. Their entries are always distinctly Portuguese in tone, regardless of their genre.

The breakthrough finally arrived last year with a plaintive, heartfelt ballad which took Salvador Sobral to the top of the scoreboard. Cláudia Pascoal is the singer seeking to repeat the feat for Portugal with a similarly constructed entry called O jardim (The Garden).

The song finds the nation barely shifting gears, rather continuing the wistful, melancholic mood of 2017's winner. Starting quietly, Cláudia pours every ounce of emotion into the song before the beat behind the brooding melody ramps up for a short time, then slows again for a particularly poignant conclusion. Cláudia appears to be a confident singer who sells the entry very well, if the evidence of her Festival da Canção performance is anything to go by.

That said, the concern is that this atmospheric song may very well get lost in the mix. Unlike last year, O jardim has not built up the kind of momentum which Salvador was enjoying at this stage pre-contest  - which probably stemmed more from his personal circumstances than the overall strength of the song.

In fact, dare I say that Cláudia's track is more distinct, sounds more contemporary and should give Portugal another creditable result. However, its competition is seemingly way too strong to allow the country a repeat victory.

Portugal 

Artist: Cláudia Pascoal

Song: O jardim

Big 6 Finalist

Review: Portugal: Eurovision 2015 | Leonor Andrade

Leonor Andrade to represent Portugal in Vienna

After a dozen possibilities, a couple of semi-finals at the beginning of the month and a super-final on March 7, Portugal's Festival da Canção 2015 finally produced a winner in the shape of Leonor Andrade, who will sing Há um mar que nos separa (There's A Sea That Separates Us) on the Eurovision stage in Vienna.

Andrade is another in a growing list of singers to graduate to the Contest from the television reality franchise, The Voice. In between times, she has also demonstrated a flair for acting, appearing in one of Portugal's soap operas, Água de Mar (Sea Water). No doubt it's just a coincidence that there's a connection in the titles of her song and her TV work, but there is a feeling that she will be swimming against the tide with this entry.

Portugal have always appeared to struggle with Eurovision and, while it is an improvement, one might suggest that they are not going to win over too many voters with this effort. Leonor puts on her best rock-chick face and gives the vocals some welly, but the song is reminiscent of an underwhelming and somewhat overblown example of a rock ballad from the 1980s or 1990s. There is a hook though and an obligatory key change towards the end of the song, but Portugal's (well-founded) insistence on producing its entry in its native language will again make it tough for viewers around Europe to connect with the lyrical content.

This disconnect is likely to cause Leonor to (metaphorically) drown in her own mar que nos separa, due to what looks like an increasingly competitive second semi-final. While it would be terrific to see Portugal back amongst those competing in the Final, the expectation here is that this song won't progress further than its performance slot on May 21. Unless, of course, it is tweaked for the better when its running time is reduced.

What do you think?

Eurovision 2014: Portugal: Quero Ser Tua

Portugal: Suzy

Amid accusations of cheating, fraud, an online petition and even death threats, Portugal has decided to send Suzy to Copenhagen to perform Quero Ser Tua in the first semi-final of Eurovision.

The controversy was sparked by Suzy's competitors at the 50th anniversary of Festival da Canção, the Portuguese national contest to find the country's Eurovision song. Catarina Pereira (2nd) and Rui Andrade (3rd) accused the winning composer of allegedly distorting the public telephone vote.

Further, Carlos Coelho, the lyricist of the second placed entry, thought it strange that a song that ranked fifth in the semi-final (when voters could only use one vote) should suddenly come first when voting was unlimited.

Even an online petition was created requesting the disqualification of Quero Ser Tua due to 'irregularities' in the voting.

None of this has made any difference to the outcome of the national final, as Suzy will still make her way to Denmark in May.

What she will perform there is an upbeat Latin number reminiscent of the Lambada. While it is fun, catchy and puts you in a party mood, it is nevertheless wholly unremarkable.

In general, I enjoy native language entries, but this one is so repetitive it becomes an annoyance during its first minute - much like a wasp that suddenly appears at a picnic as soon as you sit down. You just want to swat it away.

Suzy's live vocals are equally mediocre, becoming ever more erratic as the number progresses. If she and the song want to survive in the competition, there needs to be a drastic improvement in that department.

Even if that were to happen, this is one of the songs this year which I cannot see progressing to the final. While it is among only a handful of uptempo numbers, for me, it does not stand out from the crowd.

Not the best of comebacks for Portugal, but welcome back nevertheless and a Happy 50th Anniversary!