PORTUGAL 2024

        

Festival da Canção, my favorite national final. A true celebration of Portuguese music, where all songs are written by the performers. This year's winner: Iolanda with her song "Grito". Let's listen:

About the Artist

Iolanda Costa is 29, born in the northern city of Figueira da Foz. After studying at the University of Sussex in England, she made a few attempts at Portuguese singing competitions to little success. This was her first attempt at FdC.

Best Things We Lost Along the Way

  • João Borsch, "...Pelas costuras", 2nd: Sometimes Portugal can get really weird! This won the televote.
  • Leo Middea, "Doce mistério", 3rd: Faced a lot of backlash for being Brazilian, unfortunately. Very cool song.
  • Rita Rocha, "Pontos finais", 5th: Eurovision needs more harps!
  • Maria João, "Dia", Semifinals: Really, really unique. Maria is a well-regarded jazz singer of half-Mozambican descent, singing parts of this song in Tsonga.

Song Analysis

"Grito" satisfies the two main requirements of an FdC winner: distinctly Portuguese and absolutely gorgeous. First off, Iolanda's an incredible singer. This song hinges on her ability to nail the high note, and I've yet to hear her miss it (or any other note in the song, really). I love the instrumentation: starting a capella, then building and building. It's also been so well-thought out choreographically. Everything the dancers do reflects what's happening lyrically.

Portugal's History


The last decade may look pretty good, but Portugal's historically been very weak. Before Salvador Sobral's stunning win, Portugal had never placed better than 6th, and hadn't even made the final since 2010. Since then, they've consistently been a qualifier.


Despite their rough results, Portugal is a top-tier country in my heart, placing 3rd in my rankings.

Prognosis

I'm concerned this may be the end of Portugal's qualification streak. This doesn't strike me as an obvious televote favorite, and Portugal's often struggled with that anyway.

Current Rankings






























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