PORTUGAL

The Portuguese Final was held on March 2nd at the Portimão Arena, hosted by Filomena Cautela & Vasco Palmeirim. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals with four qualifying from each. The winner, chosen by televoting (50%) & regional juries (50%), was Conan Osiris with “Telemóveis” (Mobile phones)

Conan is joined on stage by his dancer, João Reis Moreira and they are dressed similarly in white fluffy gowns and trousers and both have long gold finger adornments. Conan is also wearing a gold face piece which covers his chin and cheeks. Also on the stage is a small flight of stairs that is used through the performance to go up, down and sit on. The background is fairly innocuous as there is so much on stage to look at but mostly consists of red flashing lights and the motif of a red rose that is blooming.

The song is a multi-faceted song with nods to minimal techno, indie, world music and fado. Unlike most commercial songs this doesn’t really have a reoccurring verse/chorus repetitive structure although the backing track has certain rhythms and themes that repeat as well as some lines that come back time and again. The backing track Is really the star of the show with lots of minor key macro beats with yelps and bells interspersed between them. It has a real visceral tribal feel to it which is really brought home by the dancing. The ending of the song is oddly elongated, which creates premature clapping and keeps it going until the conclusion.

This is a piece of art. Like all art, some people get it some people don’t. The same is true with this. It is visually and aurally stunning and intricate but this might just be a bit too much for the everyday common watcher of Eurovision. It has certainly polarised the fans - even some of the people who wanted it to win lauded its creativity but are not that fond of the actual song – but being talked about is always better than not being talked about. This does need work and if anything he can afford to make this more outrageous, more strange and more weird. Although the Portuguese language makes this rather an unintelligible piece to the average listener, it does give him the scope to focus on the outrageousness of the performance. I just hope that Conan keeps control of his show and is not persuaded to change or add things he is not happy with. However odd this might be, you really get the sense that this is authentic. I personally love its quirks and how I hear or see something different on every play. This is possibly a bit too out there and a bit too alternative for Eurovision but I think it is a really pointer to the way in which the contest is going.

Considering the amount of publicity this has got and will get during the contest, this will be getting a lot of eyes on sets during its semi final – the song and its performance went viral before it even got to the final of Festival Da Cancao. People who love this will absolutely love it and those who don’t will find it confusing, find it just too weird or find it absurd. Whichever way it goes this is a must must MUST see event.

ARTIST –  Conan Osiris with

SONG – Telemóveis (Mobile phones)

MUSIC -  Conan Osiris

LYRICS - Conan Osiris