Eurovision 2019 spotlight: Portugal's Conan Osiris with "Telemóveis"...

I'm rolling ahead with my spotlights on the countries and singers taking part in this year's Eurovision Song Contest being held in Tel Aviv, Israel this time out. If you want to catch up on the whole series, you can click here to check out all the entries so far...

Now we come to the country that hosted last year's event, Portugal. After four tries without making the finals, and two where they didn't even compete, the Iberian country came back in 2017 and won for the first time with Salvador Sobral's travel back to chanson-land with "Amar Pelos Dois". But in 2018, with a guaranteed spot in the final from being the hosting place, Portugal ended up in last place with the esoteric but not totally unworthy entry of "O Jardim" from Cláudia Pascoal. The delicate song really wasn't meant for that year, with the world needing a release from all the shit happening in the world (ahem, Trump) and this simply was not it. (Can't totally count out Sobral being a total dick the entire time either.) But instead of capitulating and putting through something "safe", the country's choice won in its national finals is far beyond experimental and much more interesting than what even they sent in the last two years.

Portugal - "Telemóveis" from Conan Osíris

"Conan", born Tiago Miranda in the country's capital of Lisbon, took his performing moniker from Japanese anime and Egyptian mythology, which perfectly fits his musical style. Melding genres from many of the places Portugal had colonized, like Kuduro from the southwest African country of Angola, to Chinese influences from Macau, to funk carioca from Brazil, Conan labels his result "Normal Music" which ends up defying the worldbeat sticker this type usually gets. The song itself, "Telemóveis" ("Mobile Phone"), is about death and loss, but cunningly put in the premise of cell phones, which non-speakers probably won't get at first. But what really makes this performance is the visuals. With Conan wearing striking face jewelry and a hand apparatus (that's the only way I can describe them) and accompanied by a dancer that seems to be having an epileptic episode, falling to the ground and convusling at times, and my eyes were transfixed where my ears already have been...

This, along with Iceland's industrial escapade, will definitely be seen as the left-field entry in the contest this year. And that's a great thing. If it were spitting out cultural appropriation for the hell of it, this could've been an art-school-type disaster. But Conan's emotional investment in this song (hell, and the dancer guy's too) guarantee that "Telemoveis" will leave a mark. I see no reason why this wouldn't qualify this year - they've got a prime running-order position in the weak first semi-final, and will have Spain, France, and Cyprus from the Mediterranean who should throw some votes over. It will be a stretch for winning it all, but I wouldn't count it out totally. I predict a respectable left-side finish. (Rating: 8.5/10)

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Portugal has been taking part in Eurovision since way back in 1964, and though they hadn't won the trophy until 2017, they had reached the top ten nine previous times (five of those between 1971 and 1980). But Salvador's win changed the country's attitude towards the contest, and sparked a renewed drive. For me, I soured on Sobral pretty quickly, and although "Amar Pelos Dois" isn't the worst they could provide (see my post on Estonia yesterday), I never felt the song was more than microwaved Serge Gainsbourg...

As for my personal favorite from the country up until now, I would go back to 2008 with Vânia Fernandes from the Portuguese island region of Madeira with her song "Senhora do mar (Negras águas)" ("Lady Of The Sea (Dark Waters)"). It came in second in its semi-final, and 13th in the finals...

And finally, it's worthy to note that actress Lúcia Moniz, who played the Portuguese waitress that charms Colin Firth's heart in the movie Love Actually in 2003, was the country's representative in 1996 with the song "O meu coração não tem cor" "My Heart Has No Color", which ended up sixth place for that year (until Salvador Portugal's best showing)...