The Portuguese Final (Festival da Canção) was held on March 6th at the RTP TV Studios in Lisbon, hosted by Filomena Cautela & Vasco Palmeirim. Before the final there were two semi-finals selecting the top 5 from each semi-final The winner was chosen by televoting (50%) & 7 regional juries (50%) However, there was a tie at the end of the voting, the televoting portion of the vote took precedence. Going to Eurovision is The Black Mamba with "Love is on my side"
The band is spread out on stage, which may or may not be due to COVID planning. As we look at the stage, the singer is front and centre with two guitarists either side, a pianist on out left and a drummer on the right. They are all dressed rather smartly in shirts, ties and some of them suit jackets too. The lead singer is also porting a rather fetching hat. The setting is made more memorable by use of a black and white film filter during the first minute. There are also small montages of old clips on the back screen which gives it a slightly retro and laidback feeling.
The tune and feeling of the song is akin to "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera as well as Justine Pelmelay's Dutch song from 1989. The start is very melancholic and atmospheric and has a nice orchestral feel. This fades out to just piano as the first verse starts, however the transition from verse to chorus is a little awkward especially as the chorus is so repetitive. There is then another verse and chorus which leads into a guitar led part which has the backing singers carrying on with the chorus the song then winds down to the last line of the chorus which the lead singer sings.
The band has been around for just over a decade and have three albums to their name, each released in 2010, 2014 and 2018. Their style of music seems to have international appeal and they have travelled extensively on tour through Europe, the USA, South America and Africa. The majority of their songs are in English although they have recorded some tracks in their native tongue.
This song really stand out from the crowd, whether you like the song or not. It's feel is a bit bluesy, jazzy sometimes a bit country and I feel like certain jurors and general viewers will enjoy this song a lot. It has a lot of repetition which helps it get in your head and the lead singers voice and presence on stage is also very memorable. I also think this will sound very much at home on any adult contemporary radio station in the world. I feel that the backing track could be made a little more full to make those transitions more flowing. This is the very first time Portugal have sent a song totally in English and I don't think this fact should be taken lightly. In a country where they have real pride in their national song traditions, for a song like this to get jury and televote support means the song must be well thought of. I hope this does well purely on the basis that this is something different to a lot we've seen up to now.
ARTIST - The Black Mamba
SONG - Love is on my side
WRITING CREDITS - Tatanka
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