PORTUGAL

The Portuguese Final was held at Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon on March 5th, hosted by Sílvia Alberto & Catarina Furtado. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals,, 4 songs qualifying from each. The winner was chosen by a 50/50 televoting/regional juries split. Going to Kyiv is Salvador Sobral singing “Amar pelos dois” (Love for two)

This is possibly the simplest stage show we have seen all year. Salvador is alone with a mic stand. There was no big light show, no real background - just him and the camera. He has a very individual singing and performance style which is so individual it is hard to describe. It has very small internal hand and eye movements which emphasise the feeling and meaning of the song. He is also very responsive to the buzz of the crowd which was so supportive towards him during the final. He looks a bit scruffy and dowdy in his oversized shirt, jacket and messy hair but it makes him feel more relatable than many of the other acts that have already been chosen.

The song begins with a mini rhapsody which slowly becomes less and less until all you can hear is the piano. But as the song progresses the strings come back in and back out again. The instrumental starts again in full force after the first chorus but during the second chorus it dies before coming back for the finish. If I had any criticism of the song it would-be that the song ends a little strangely. The last line of the song doesn’t end with the tune you would expect it too then is followed by about 5 seconds of outro. Most of the time you actually cannot hear this instrumentation because of the noise from the audience, On the plus side, it is also very obvious that they have used real instruments rather than synthesised ones. 

His story over the past few weeks has been amazing. Many were shocked by his rather large and shabby appearance during the semi, then a day the show after he was admitted to hospital for surgery to repair a navel hernia. He returned to perform in the final but during the intro he gestured that he could hear nothing in his earpiece so performed just using the sound in the arena. Finally, during the reprise he duetted with his sister, who wrote the track, which was so very touching.

This is such a beautiful piece of music. His style of singing is so personal and intriguing, he has that quality of thinking he’s singing to just you in a crowded room. It feels like something out of a 40s or 50s musical. One wonders if a video screen with a man and woman in a yellow dress might also intrigue lovers of a certain “La La Land”

On the other hand, it’s not in English but I see this as a strength rather than a negative considering at time of writing it is the ONLY song in SF1 not in English. and some may see the song as too quiet. Given a decent place in the semi this could easily stand out, or be swamped with a bad placing. I really hope this has enough sweetness and heart to qualify and I would love a top 10 finish for Salvador.

ARTIST - Salvador Sobral

SONG - Amar pelos dois

MUSIC - Luísa Sobral

LYRICS - Luísa Sobral