The Portuguese song and act were selected on March 8th using their long running national final "Festival da Canção". Prior to the final there were two semis with 6 songs qualifying from each. In the final, the ranking of the televote was added to an equivalent rank of regional juries. This, however, resulted in a tie for first place and the entry with the better televoting score was declared the winner of the competition. Going to Basel is the group NAPA with the song "Deslocado" (Out of place)
NAPA is composed of Francisco Sousa (guitar), João Guilherme Gomes (vocals and guitar), João Rodrigues (drums), Diogo Góis (bass), and João Lourenço Gomes (piano). They formed in 2013 on the island of Madeira under the name "Men on the couch" which is the name they released their first album with. The band changed their name to NAPA in 2023 before the release of their second album which saw them move towards more acoustic and classical instrumentation and use of choirs and more acoustic intonations and collaborations. Last year they undertook a national tour and made a concert film called "Teatro Maria Matos" where the band played in a big band style. Most of their output is in an indie pop style.
On paper this entry feels like a very straightforward but the song is much more complex. The start of the song comes in very quietly with an interesting piano line which almost sounds Japanese. Over the top there are some interesting harmonies before the guitars start up which gives it a loungy Beatles energy. The structure is just verse, chorus, verse chorus although each verse and chorus is slightly different in length than the other and have slight changes in tune and rhythm. The group are dressed very casually in a range of beigey, muted outfits and they are spaced out around the stage giving many of the band members room to move about a bit. The backdrop is full of glowing colours - more vibrant than pastel but dimmer than primary and secondary colours - which gives it a hazy summer feel. The ending kind of gently steers out just like it gently crept in.
The song ended up being a bit of an 'accidental' winner not only because of the tie for first place but also because the jury and televote scores really did not correlate. Even for Portugal this is not really the archetypal Eurovision entry, which could be its strength or its weakness. In a final or semi-final full of busyness, this song could easily fall through the net or could stick out as an idyll of calm in a sea of unpredictability. There is scope for a rethink in terms of the staging, costuming and camera angles to sell the story, which is kind of missed if you don't speak Portuguese. The lyrics are poignant (about missing where you come from and not feeling at home in a big city) and almost provide a sentimental follow up to Baby Lasagne's song last year. It slightly reminds me of Azerbaijan's 2023 entry which was a subtle retro pop song but just didn't go anywhere and ended up forgotten. NAPA's position may well be more effected my other acts doing badly and losing votes than more people voting for them. Unless the whole of the Portuguese diaspora vote for this wholeheartedly in the semi-final I just can't see this getting much further.
ARTIST - NAPA
SONG - Deslocado
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - D Góis, G Gomes, J Gomes, J Rodrigues, A Santos, F Sousa
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