Festival da Cancao has a forgone conclusion and that is Carolina Deslandes is going to win. And it's not a bad thing because her new EP is excellent, the visual video accompanying is amazing and she is such a talent and deserves all the success she gets.
It's not ever a forgone conclusion with FdC. The voting system isn't proportional and the juries hold most of the power; last year everyone thought Bárbara was gonna win...only to be tanked by the jurors.
When Medo de Sentir became a hit in Portugal it wasn't obvious that Barbara was going to win. Plus, Barbara came in second with a result that could have easily been a draw. Carolina is very different from Barbara. The most important being her song doesn't sound like a French Eurovision entry. Also, Carolina strikes a better balance with a song that has a message, with a great pop image that is familiar but not mainstream and she is currently one of the best songwriters in Portugal. And she has a new look
I would add Karetus to this short list of favorites, as they were already very popular before they appeared at FdC. NEEV song has a very strong lyrics but musically I find it extremely boring and I love Carolina but in this contest there are some better songs.
Other than Karetus (which was mentioned), I'd include Sara Afonso. I'm seeing A LOT of Portuguese fans in love with the song in Eurovision forums and Facebook groups. Maybe even Valéria as a dark horse. That being said, the main Portuguese Facebook group (aka Tugavision) is head over heels for Neev; the Portuguese people on forums are not as hyped for it. I wonder how the average FDC viewer is supporting.
TIX didn't mime - he was just well backed up by pre-recorded vocals. It's more obviously live on the reprise as he plays around with languages, adlibs and ducking notes. The video on the official Eurovision channel is dubbed with the studio version.
The article that announced the rule-change in the first place says "As part of the measures to ensure the sustainability of the Eurovision Song Contest, the Reference Group has decided on a one-year trial basis to lift the ban of backing vocals (harmonies) from the backing tracks. "All lead vocals performing the melody of the song, including an eventual use of a so-called lead dub, shall still be live on or off stage in the arena." Are there requirements for the content of the backing track? The backing track cannot contain Lead Vocals, Lead Dubs and/or any other vocals that would have the effect of, or aim at, replacing or unduly assisting the Lead Vocals during the live performance on stage. I suspect that means that TIX, for example, will need a live backing singer to support him. It will be interesting to see how strictly they enforce this rule. Would The Mamas have got away with the amount of backing they had on their choruses last year? Could you have a full choir? And it sounds like the pre-recorded vocals have to be harmonising with the lead vocal rather than just boosting it.
Hurricane‘s song is called Loco Loco. And Tix already filmed his back up video in case ESC only shows peformances from the studio which means he won‘t change the staging.
It's great. I didn't like his previous entry at all but this one is much more poppy. It sounds really chartworthy actually.
Reach for the glue, girls, because Gaia is coming for wigs at Sanremo: Spoiler And get absolutely fooled by that flamenco-ish pose because early reviews of "Cuore amaro" unanimously report it as a Rosalía-pretending-she's-Latina kind of summer bop gig. Early reviews also say that despite this edition being probably the youngest, most left-field ever, the percentage of sugary ballads and sentimental midtempos is still sky-high, so approach with caution.
Sanremo ate the other selections UP in terms of song quality last year so I'm so ready for those songs to drop.
A rumor went around about a few months ago that ZENA was playing at pro-Lukashenko rally's at the height of the Belarusian political drama in order to comeback to Eurovision. I guess those rumors were right! Messiest way to make a comeback ever.
A snippet of the Germany entry has apparently leaked and... well... all I can say is good luck Germany because you're going to need it.
