The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 40 competing songs in Eurovision 2022. Next we review Portugal, who have chosen MARO with “saudade, saudade”.
Were we feeling the melancholic nostalgia? Read on to find out!
MARO – “saudade, saudade” (Portugal Eurovision 2022)
Review: MARO – “saudade, saudade”
Deban: “saudade, saudade” is in its own lane. A rare gem that helps you draw new meaning with each listen. It is meditative, impactful, and touches on deep feelings of love, loss, space and time. In three minutes, MARO unpacks her family story with harmony, and by doing so, she inspires you to become more human. And despite the song’s fragility, this unmistakably bold choice remains one of Portugal’s strongest entries to date.
Score: 9.5
Natalie: This song is soul-crushingly beautiful. It could fit right in as the opening theme to the best indie game in the world. The production is delicate, simple and perfect, and all the performers are amazing. It’s a slow, gentle song but has me hooked from start to finish. I know this doesn’t have the epic push needed to be a winner, but I really hope this one gets the appreciation it deserves.
Score: 7
Pablo: It’s sad to see a country that has shown they could bring really interesting, creative stuff just kind of choosing to pelter out and be so… boring. I get what “saudade, saudade” tries to do, but it feels like three minutes of dead air delivered in an uninterested, bland, “on stage, off stage, collect my cheque, bye” way. I’m not sure if this could standout in a big line up of high-impact entries, not even with the virtue of being a slower song. Portugal can, and should, aspire for more. But if this is the way they’ll go, then I’ll have to take a detour far away, and I feel Europe is going to as well.
Score: 1
Angus: Some songs stay on the Eurovision stage and some transport you to a spiritual plane of deeper meaning. “saudade, saudade” is in the latter category. The whole thing is pure magic, expertly helmed by MARO. The hand clap chorus is infectious, the blend of Portuguese and English breezy, and at Festival da Canção this song latched onto my soul.
Score: 9.5
Antranig: Portugal has delivered a solid entry this year. “saudade, saudade” is unassuming at first, but when you unwrap its many layers, there is a decent song hidden within. Portugal has given us some great variety in recent years and that continues in 2022. My only concern is that this could be easily forgotten after performing in the middle of its semi-final, particularly when some similar acts perform later on. My score for Portugal is just above average but this has potential to be a real grower.
Score: 5.5
Portugal Eurovision 2022 ranking
In the Eurovision 2022 Wiwi Jury, we have 18 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
|
Cinan: 8.5 Jonathan: 6 Josh: 7.5 Lucy: 9 Luis: 9 Oliver: 9.5 Renske: 8.5 |
Robyn: 8 Ron: 7 Sebastian: 9 Suzanne: 3 Tom: 8.5 William: 7 |
We have removed the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 1 and a high of 9.5.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 7.66/10
What do you think of Portugal’s Eurovision 2022 entry? Share your own score and review for MARO’s “saudade, saudade” below!
This is my favourite among with Sweden, Greece and the Netherlands (yes, I’m a big fan of female ballads apparently..).
For some reason, if I had to choose my absolute favourite, this would be Portugal for the fact that it is not “trying too hard”
It’s simplicity at its finest, in all aspects, the melody, the lyrics, the instrumentation, her vocals, the staging etc..
This is my favourite song of this year by far!
Why do some Spaniards feel so threatened by the Portuguese song, is it envy, fear that it will steal votes from Spain? I would vote for the song of spain, but since I see these attacks for no reason, spain doesn’t deserve the vote of the portuguese.
Who said this guy is Spanish? Besides even if he is, don’t judge all because of one.
How can someone be called juror and give this song 1 point? I was so shocked that I went out of my way to try to find out who he is… LinkedIn helped a lot, really. I find it hard that someone who describes himself as a “creator of jingles, lyrics and short scripts” wouldn’t at least recognise the merit of the lyrics and how the bilingual approach works so well in this song. But then he is “specialising in comedy”, so he must be just trying to be funny… Pablo, I will choose to ignore your scores from now… Read more »
Portugal being Portugal again. The song has identity and taste, and even though it’s not the kind of song I would put on my playlist I think this can do well, above all among the juries. I’m giving it a 6/10.
The guy who gave her 1 point… Pablo, ubícate, haz el favor
21.Portugal – Could be a really haunting vibe. And there are parts in Portuguese.
Can someone help me out, right now how is it the ranking from wiwijury???
there is a link at the bottom of the article >> https://wiwibloggs.com/2022/03/14/eurovision-2022-reviews-and-rankings-by-the-wiwi-jury/271566/
Pablo made this score about himself. He got to be the center of attention and even showed up in the comments to gloat about it. He knew what he was doing.
Didn’t know that was the purpose of the wiwi juri, but alas.
You got your 5 minutes in the spotlight, go celebrate.
Giving an absurdly low score to an entry with a dedicated following shall forever be known as “pulling a Pablo” from now on.
don’t forget about our lovely swedish wiwijury member last year, you know who i mean
I actually don’t know, this season is the first time I’ve been following this site since about 2016.
There are people who dislike songs, and there there are people who dislike countries. I think it’s quite obvious into which category Pablo falls. Him showing in the comment section speaks volumes about his ethics as a “juror”.
The fact that he came into the comments section to laugh at the fact he had p****d off alot of people with that 1 score was just so childish. I know these guys are only volunteers writing for this blog but surely there should be atleast a little bit of professionalism about their work and making fun of people you annoyed certainly doesnt seem very appropriate to me.
This was a deserved higher ranking for Portugal. Such a magical song. It feels authentic, genuine to Maro as it truely honors her fallen grandfather. Yet, at the same time, the way the song is written, ANYONE can relate to it, even if noone significant in your life has died. Musically you remember it and it feels like THIS is music. Maro has the spirit of Salvador Sobral in her. I don’t understand why Pablo ranked this so low though.
I usually dislike songs from Portugal. I HATED Salvador Sobral, and I think he competes with Estonia, Ukraine (both times), and Russia for the worst-ever winner crown. That’s why when I wasn’t excited before listening to this one. But then… wow! The voice, the softness, the intelligence. I know who I’m voting for in the first semi; 15 out of my 20 votes will go to Portugal.
Iceland >>>> Portugal
To all Portuguese fans: you can downvote all the comments, you can overhype your entry, but ESC is less than a month away. You will understand why this song is a big flop soon.
The more you overhype your entry, the bigger will be the disappointment and shock on may. We warned you…
Iceland is much worse and much more boring. Iceland has more flop potential.
100%. Iceland >>> Portugal. And I do like the Portuguese song, but Iceland is just better.
Bad for you. I love both! ?????
How do you know? You have a crystal ball that tells you what happens in may?She may flop, she may even win… It belongs in the future as it should.
It’s not only”portuguse fans” that like this, almost every wiwi juror does and only one is from Portugal…
Who is “we”…this won’t age well…but I do agree that Iceland can qualify…real musicians “playing” instruments on stage can always do well with juries. Doesn’t take away from Portugal.
I love Iceland. I listen to it on repeat. It is great. However, Portugal is otherworldly. Pure magic. I think Iceland will be liked by many, but Portugul is surely superior in almost every way.
It does not have to be one or other. I like both, for different reasons. And there is a world out there (even ignoring the wiwi jury), to disprove you that only Portuguese like our song and that we are hyping it. As far as I know, the Portuguese can’t even bet so, not the odds, not the wiwi jury, certainly not the dozens or hundreds of positive reviewers out there
Yeah, can’t we like both? They have nothing in common besides being quieter than most Eurovision entries.
ups! top9, where’s iceland?
A song which I liked immediately. Warm, sensitive and deep.
I am deeply sorry but this Pablo “jury” should not be allowed to participate on this. A score of 1 reflects no respect whatsoever to the artist. He is totally free to think what he wants, and express that he does not like the song, but scoring it a 1 goes against everything ESC stands for. This is not a silly song, it has a deeper meaning, there are harmonies between the main singer and the backup singers, and most of anything, there is an expression of the portuguese language with the sharing of the concept of saudade, that is… Read more »
That dude really gave Portugal 1 point and 6 do Germany, undoubtedly one of the worst songs of this year’s edition. That’s laughable and plain silly.
“Saudade” is a beloved word for native Portuguese speakers and I can’t think of a better way to introduce its meaning to the world than this song. Which by the way, sounds extremely natural for a bilingual one. Sure, it may be too low-key to a large audience, but I believe there’s a music signature here that can make it stand out, with Maro’s gorgeous tone, the harmonies brought by the choir and sophisticated instrumentation. Now it’s up to Portugal to give it a visual signature too to avoid any risk of going unnoticed. 8,75/10
Just out of curiosity i decided to read what Pablo wrote in the past two years in relation to Portuguese songs and I have to agree with the ones that are putting in cause his score of Maro song. I add that he used the same text, just changing word in the three songs. Even the adjectives to the 3 songs are the same, sentences pratically equal. He was in fact only incompetent and mean. Pablo: For an entry that claims quite an origin story, “Love Is on My Side” is one of the blandest competitors of the year. Musically,… Read more »
Pablo is devoid of any humanity.
That’s Putin.
Thanks for that. Tbf “medo de sentir” was quite underwhelming but clearly Pablo has some problems with the country rather than with the songs…
Beautiful beautiful song from Portugal. Southern europe has the 4 best entries of this year’s competition: 3 amazing songs from Italy, Portugal and Greece, and one amazing performer from Spain. Wow! Would love to see one of this countries winning!
Masterpiece
Her vocal tone , the song , the mixing of thr languages are all magical. It sounds very current to me. The staging confuses me a little bit though. I have no doubt personally that this should and would qualify. I wouldn’t mind it winning either.
After 2018 , this is my favourite portuguese entry. A 8.5/10.
All you butthurt people Pablo gave Portugal a 1 lmao
Get over it!
Pablo can be ashamed of his own attitude with zero respect!!!!!!!
No u
5/10 I understand why a lot of people like this. If you connect with this song, it’s simplicity and beauty will win you over. If you don’t connect with it, it’s simplicity will strike you as boring. Unfortunately, I am in the latter category
Don’t lie to me
Pablo gave Portugal a score of 1 two years in a row…
Funny right?! It’s kinda sad that wiwiblogs has someone like this that in their team…
I’m glad there are people like Pablo on the Wiwibloggs team who do not conform to the echo chamber and are not afraid of freely giving their opinion and grade on a song. And I say this as someone who likes the Portuguese entry.
I agree that its good someone is not afraid to freely give their opinion, but I would honestly like to know what criteria he used to make his evaluation. Did he not find any merit in terms of melody, lyrics, production, voice, performance,etc?Because, I personally think that a 1 should be reserved to a song that its awful in all these areas.
If what Ancr said it’s true, than it smells more of bias against the country and less of someone freely giving his opinion…
Meanwhile, I feel the opposite of Pablo. I feel like Portugal consistantly deserve an 8-10/10 every time…
I’m really sorry but THE FACT that people consider this better and more magical than Iceland….
My 32nd place, with a 6/10 grading. It isn’t bad but for me, it IS kind of boring. (Please, don’t hate me, lol)
I respect your opinion, at least you didn’t give 1 out of 10 like some.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion and personal tastes, but ranking a song 1 out of 10 is just lazy.
I think you’re comparing to very good and intimate entries, yet criticize the more unique one.
But if those said entries truly are very good and intimate, won’t they then also have something unique that draws the crowds into the song? Now, judging only for ballads, the ones that truly seem unique to me for 2022 (completely subjective, as you may have understood) are Iceland, The Netherlands and Portugal (might I add Greece here too but I may be a bit biased with my country). Three of those mentioned have something unique about them (Iceland as a whole, 100% Nordic folk with magical atmosphere and harmonies, Netherlands with the Dutch language and Portugal with the fusion… Read more »
They really be roasting that juror in the comments, boy.
I honestly respect your thoughts on it, it DOES sound kind of dissapointing. It’s simple but unfortunately, boring and not effective for me either. Although, the fact that you only gave the song 1/10 is rather too harsh, lol.
Since you are an editor you have more responsibilities here than a casual commenter. See that in your appreciation you recognize merit to the song (I get what it is trying to do) and yet you give 1? Doesn’t even make sense. We sent WAAAY worse songs than this, you would have to go in negative points for those. One piece of advice, try to balance your personal taste with less subjectivity. You can dislike a song and still recognize some merits, that’s why the scale of 1 to 10 allows you enough range to have that balance. Being boring… Read more »
We are all disappointed because we thought that you liked things slo-mo. Oh the irony… (eyes rolling 360º)
Eheheh
Juror of what? Posting stupid opinions on the web? Lol no self respecting juror would grade a professional musician of this level with 1, no matter if the song isn’t to their personal taste.
The Juror is you… lolol
I respect your opinion, I just don’t like the way you perceived Maro’s attitude toward performing. There’s a difference of opinions and then there’s just straight misinterpreting it. I hold no ill will toward you for this opinion, nor do I approve of people slagging you off relentlessly for this difference of opinion, but I do wish you’d learn more about Maro, the story behind the song, and her usual musical/performance style to better inform your criticisms.
Pablo doesn’t care for sure. He used the same arguments for Maro’s song and The Black Mambas’s song – two very different songs and the same score – 1. If you go backwards he used again the same comments about Elisa’s song but in that case he gave 3.5. He only liked from Portugal Conan Osiris.
Giving a 1 to Maro’s “Saudade, Saudade” is an offence to the portuguese televoters and the music experts of Portugal that gave (both) 12 points to this gem song…
If you had given this a 4/10 and made the same comments, you might’ve gotten a little bit of a kickback but the fact that you gave it a 1/10 kinda suggests you don’t really know how such a scale works. A 1/10 from a Eurovision reviewer implies that this should be considered amongst one of the worst songs to ever compete at the contest. I just don’t know if that’s something that any sane person could possibly argue when any sort of musical merits are taken into consideration. Honestly, I’ve followed these reviews for a number of years and… Read more »
Pablo, I normally tend to avoid indivualizing scores or reviews by the WiwiJury, because everybody is entitled to their opinions and it doesn’t please me when I see multiple readers cornering a single person, even if I agree they have a reason for doing that. But since you decided to treat their criticism as a joke, let’s go… As advertised every single year, WiwiJury is not made by professionals. The same way me and the vast majority of the commenters aren’t music professionals either. Though when you join a jury in the name of the site, which is a privilege,… Read more »
Your name sounds Spanish/Portugese, yet you don’t even like this song which very clearly has elements from those countries?
luckily your score was removed and, like your opinion, it is irrelevant
To give a such a beautiful song a 1 is absolutely bizarre im not sure how bad something I would have to find a song to warrant giving it a one, even my number 40 this year I could not give any less than a 4 Pablo really needs to get their hearing checked
I’m loving the entries chosen today. Okey… “Saudade, saudade”, a song that grabbed me since the first notes were played. It kind of lo-fi vibe creates such a comfy and calm atmosphere. Because of the lo-fi vibe, it isn’t the most layered and produced song in the field, though it doesn’t need any fireworks to outstand. In fact, its simplicity helps to drag the listeners, while the main riff is played in a loop. It’s almost hypnotic. I found myself mulling over life unknowningly during the several times I’ve listened to it. I get it might be seen as too… Read more »
People seem to either think this song is boring or beautiful. I am one of those who think it is beautiful. Listening to it makes me feel calm and content, I love it.
I’d rather see a song this beautiful be strongly polarizing than generally liked. Liked can get left behind. Polarizing can win.
2017 and 2018 are prime examples. The amount of hate Salvador got before the contest and yet he swept both televote and jury lol
A good winner polarizes a bit. The stretch between 2016-2018 was so healthy for Eurovision because seeing divisive songs win (and big, especially for Portugal) has clearly encouraged more artists to give Eurovision a try and push back against the idea that there has to be a certain “sound” at Eurovision. Real talk: I don’t think we’d be seeing acts like Maro, S10, Circus Mircus, or Kalush even consider Eurovision if it weren’t for the examples Jamala, Salvador, and Netta set.
Excellent point. Even 2019 and 2021 are not “typical” eurovision winners, so in a sense things will never be the same again…
Agreed. Certainly I know enough people who can’t stand Arcade to say that one wasn’t quite the “100% approval” kind of winner I thought it’d be. (I am not one of those people, obviously. I was saying it would win the moment it was released and rode that to the moon.)
In fact, I think the most important quality that’s connected winners since at least 2016 is a strong identity. They’ve come into the contest with their own specific artistic vision and instead of bowing to the expectations of what a Eurovision song should be, they went on stage as themselves. Not everyone is going to respond positively, but it is also a choice to respect. Thankfully, recent winners have shown that risks, or what would be considered risky in Eurovision, can pay off.
PORTUGAL – As it often is, Portugal brings quality with a special atmosphere. The idea is so simple, yet so complex. When someone is gone, there are a million things you want to say or do, but only one thing comes to mind – saudade. The English language doesn’t seem to have a direct translation of this feeling of melancholic longing, but I can sense it even without translating it. This song pulls the right heartstrings once you let yourself in. Maro’s voice is calm, rich, and beautiful. The melody is somewhat linear, but the instrumentation brings it so much… Read more »
Totally correct!
Just love this song. It gets better with every listen and has such meaningful emotional lyrics.
Let’s focus that so far, “Saudade Saudade” is the favorite song for wiwi panel! Congrats Maro.
Even if you personally don’t like it, you can still recognize that objectively (production, songwriting, vocals) there’s nothing wrong with this song. That alone should be worth more than a 1/10, which I would reserve for a song I both don’t like and that has little to no objective qualities to redeem it.
Unpopular opinion, but it’s not that good.
Good is subjective, I think. I think there’s a difference between saying something is definitively “not good” and saying you don’t like it.
I also would like to add that this song can easily be discovered. I think focus, mood and expectations when you see it the first time will influence how you perceive it, so the way they stage this in Turin, the song right before etc, will have a big impact on its chances. That was the case for me. When I later went back afresh I was mesmerized and hooked, listened more intensely and so on. Then it just kept getting better and better. Magical.
I agree. I heard the song in audio form prior to FdC and didn’t feel all that much, but watching her perform it in the final, I was spellbound and knew that this absolutely had to represent Portugal. I was actually at work and was able to watch up through the very very long interval. I got one brief moment to sneak a peek at the voting and winner reveal, and when I saw Maro holding the trophy I almost jumped for joy before I remembered I was still on the clock.
Guys, who pissed in Pablo’s cereal again?
If he’s Italian, maybe he’s just salty that Portugal made it to the World Cup and they didn’t. I’d hate to see his mark for North Macedonia…
Pablo — Spanish
Paulo — Portuguese
Paolo — Italian
I doubt he’s Italian. People don’t have to have ulterior motives to rank a song they way they do, you know?
I was making a joke
But is he Spanish? He can be Argentinian or Mexican or from somewhere else lol
I was talking about the language. Pablo is a Spanish-language name.
Maro, apparently.
“Pablo: I get what “saudade, saudade” tries to do…”
No honey, you don’t get it, otherwise you wouldn’t have given it a 1.
I agree totally with what Pablo said. You expect this song to take you somewhere instead it leaves you where you have started. Ok the harmonies are great but that is where it stops. It could have been a great ballad composition but it gives you the sensation of driving along a flat unending road which you want to get off as soon as possible. If this were sung at my funeral, I would rise up screaming, “Bl..dy hell. Will you now stop it. You are boring me to death!”
How could they be boring you to death if you were already dead?
Just being logical here. “Boring you to death” would imply that the boredom is killing you, but if you were at a funeral, you’d already be dead.
Also, why censor the word “bloody”? Maybe this is me being an American moron but that word isn’t so bad is it?
Some British people consider bloody to be rude as also f.ck. I was taking note of such people.
Wow, really? Bl..dy is as bad as f.ck in the UK?
I know Aussies (and I think Brits too) throw around the word c.nt like it’s nothing. But in the US it’s a very strong word, almost as bad as f.ck.
Didn’t say it was as bad as f.ck. Just said some people find it to be as rude as f.ck. And some means some as opposite to everybody.
Sorry but I guess you didn’t get it!
Ah I see so many butthurt people around who cannot digest someone else criticism and dislike of a song.
I think you got the reaction you were looking for. You weren’t just stating an opinion to state an opinion, you were stating it in a way that you KNEW (and don’t pretend you didn’t) would annoy people and make them respond. I just thought to take the mickey out of what you were saying. You didn’t even get as many responses as Pablo did. Up your game or stop trolling.
I got no patience for half-assed trolling. Go all the way or don’t bother.
Maruv is a very talented artist!
What does she have to do with anything?
she is, but she was also caught spreading russian propaganda on telegram
Proof or it didn’t happen. It’s so easy to spread falsehoods about people on the internet.
proof: https://globalhappenings.com/entertainment/125034.html?amp=1
Yeah she really did.
Seriously Pablo. 1? You can dislike a song and still find its merits. 1 would be something unlistenable.
Oh Pablo…why?? This honestly might be the first time I ever judged a specific person for its taste in the Wiwi juries but it’s just shocking to see that. I can’t even understand how anyone would rate them with less than a 6 but that’s another story. I really don’t have much to say about this. The rawness ad simplicity of the lyrics, the incredible atmosphere it creates, the beautiful harmonies and a very effective staging make up one of my favorite songs to ever compete in Eurovision. Simply perfect. Nothing more that i can say, says it in a… Read more »
I see much quality this year, and like a bunch of songs a lot, but with Saudade Saudade I slowly traveled to another realm, a completely unique and very surprising experience. Pure magic.
I understand your POV too. This is a slow and sentimental song, and it’s not everyone’s style. It builds its emotion based on subtle instrumental variety, not a classical build-up, so it can appear linear. It’s a legit criticism. I still think that it’s a good song, but I respect your opinion.
I want to like this song. It has a nice low key wibe. But it is just too repetitive and not rememberable enough for Eurovision. So I think it might be a flop not even reaching the final. Let’s hope I am wrong.
It’s for songs like that that Portugal is one of my favorite Eurovision countries: they couldn’t care less about the final result and they just send whatever they like, they stay true to their culture and their language, … and that’s how you get gems like this one.
Spot on! Thanks for your review.
Before sending my review, may I just give my brief 2 cents about the rating several people have noticed. First off – Every Wiwi jury member must be able to give any rating to any song without being under pressure for that. Ratings must be unfiltered and honest, otherwise they don’t have the same weight. Still, *I personally* struggle to see how can Saudade, saudade be a 1 on any scale of measure? It was previously said for Lithuania, and I think it can apply to Portugal too: This song is musically sophisticated and lyrically deep. Even if this is… Read more »
I respect not liking the song. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and music is subjective. Every year, you’ll have the same songs be called overrated AND underrated. But I do take exception to saying Maro is just tossing off her performance and doesn’t seem invested. She is VERY invested, the song just maybe isn’t as intense as your typical Eurovision performance. And his tone was too dismissive.
I can only show respect for a review if the reviewer shows respect for the song and performer they are reviewing.
I agree that it’s a two-way stream, but there are still ways to heavily criticize a song without making it personal to the performer. One has to be able to address stuff like percieved poor vocals, poor styling choices, unpleasant melody or instruments, or bad lyrics. I mean, there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed, but again, it’s not convincing seeing a review which gives a 1 or a 2, with the only criticism being ”not for me”.
That is completely understandable, Aria. Exactly why I said what I said at the beginning and the ending of my statement. Reviews have to be honest and without pressure. I personally do find this to be of quality, but a well elaborated review giving it a 1 or a 0 would be something I’d also respect. I just, in this case, find the song to be too well produced, and too emotional for the performer not to include that in an overall rating. Still, I will read a different opinion too.
That just feels overly harsh more than anything. You know what the song’s about, right? “Lazy” feels harsh in that context – just might be her way of expressing herself is different from yours.
I get that, I just don’t like a word like “lazy” since it denotes a lack of effort
I could understand 5 or 4 if you really dislike it, but 1? It’s just mean and unreasonable
I mean, to be fair, I did give some 1s during the course of years, but those songs were something I honestly find musically unlistenable, poorly executed, and lyrically questionable, all in one. For example, songs like Estonia 2008, Netherlands 2009 or Georgia 2011. But, then again, there are people who absolutely LOVE these songs too, so I kinda get it. Personally, I find too many good aspects in Saudade saudade, but honestly, it is individual in the end.
Aw, I like One More Day. Then again, I also sincerely gave Aina mun pitää 9/10 so don’t trust my opinions on anything.
I am SORRY. I meant Georgia 2012 (I’m a Joker). I actually like Georgia 2011. It’s a 7 for me, and due to the poor quality of 2011, it’s in my top 15.
Not a huge fan of Aina mun pitaa, but it’s not my last. That honor now and probably forever belongs to Polina.
Now THAT I get. I like a lot more of 2011’s songs than people give it credit for, even a bunch I would go so far as to call all-time faves (Bosnia, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland all come to mind), but it’s not a year for everyone. AMP is definitely not for everyone (although it shares initials with a much more beloved song), but I love ‘80s punk a la Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Anti-Nowhere League, etc. so sonically it’s right up my alley. Plus I’m on the autism spectrum myself so I find it very empowering… Read more »
All the 2011 songs you mentioned are at least in the middle tier for me, and I understand why you love them. As I have 15 songs rated as under average in 2011, I have a necessity to defend everyone else there. 😉
Honestly, while it’s not a song I’d personally listen to, AMP is something I up my rating for each time I re-rank 2015. There is an authentic quality and an inspirational factor.
The best part is that Finland knew what they were getting into when they picked them and so didn’t care. The message and impact mattered the most. It went down with Eurofans exactly as well as you’d expect but I couldn’t care less.
The fact that you have enough empathy to recognize why some people like the songs you hate means that you are still able to find merit to it. Which is the right approach we should all have.
I rate very few songs lower than 3. I have exactly one 0 and that’s just for one song I find irredeemable (Switzerland 2004)
I also rarely rate songs with under a 3 (2019 and 2021 don’t have any songs under a 3 for me.) I agree, though, that Switzerland 2004 is a zero. So is Israel 2000, but for the iconic factor, I understand people giving it more.
I give Sameach a gentleman’s 1 for at least trying something. Didn’t work, but they tried. I think.
No song should have 1 in 10 unless it is just nonsense and noise, or it’s hate speech or the singer-band is a complete asshole. This year, between the 40 songs, none falls under this.
I keep saying balance your likes and dislikes with some reasonable objectivity.
My scale is: 0/10 – irredeemably bad (ex: Switzerland 2004) 1/10 – deeply unpleasant, just barely saved by some modicum of effort in the performance or concept (ex: UK 1990) 2/10 – not my cup of tea, one or more elements just really put me off (ex: Croatia 2019) 3/10 – more annoying than anything else. Not awful, just irritating (ex: Slovenia 2010) 4/10 – bad side of meh. Wouldn’t say I hate it, and there might even be elements I really like, but the overall package doesn’t do much for me (ex: San Marino 2017) 5/10 – pure meh.… Read more »
Will Nocturne still be your favourite on 15th May?
Time will tell…
Easily one of my top 10 right now.
7.5/10 I appreciated this at first listen, but the performances at FDC made me really like this entry. For me the best part about this is Maro’s voice, so beautiful! I definitely want to see different staging in Turin though…
I was rooting for Pongo and Tristany, but when I saw the final performance and it getting maximum points from both the jury and televote, I understood that Maro had something special. I enjoyed the song since the first time I listened to the lyrics video. But with the five friends it reaches another level. The truth is that this song is the highest mark of the Wiwjury for any Portuguese entry and bar some outlayers (like Pablo, sorry dude) it seems to be very consensual entry, for once… I am not sure it will qualify, though… The placing in… Read more »
Tristany vocals killed that song. It was my favorite too but live version was painful
I’ve read some people saying this running order isn’t bad because of the contrast (Moldova just before and 2 songs that aren’t fan favorites right after) and though I respect this point of view I agree that’s a tricky one for a slow song. I hope the delegation find a way to translate it vibe in visuals, so it will stay in televoters minds. The juries should recognize it, but it’s true that there are many entries in this semi that deserve the same love from them, so someone will end up being neglected.
That is exactly my thinking Sabrina… The problem is that RTP relies heavily on the creative team of producers of the shows, because it does not have the budget to come up with its own concept. So, it will be a matter of luck how the creatives in Turin will address this entry. For example in 2009 or last year it was spectacular and made a huge difference. 2017 was also great. But 2019 was a disaster. So it will be a matter of luck how this song will translate visually on stage.
The good news is that it seems the producing team of 2021 (both the people from Eurovision itself and from the Portuguese delegation) are supposed to be very similar and they nailed everything with The Black Mamba. But I don’t even know if the problem is the lack of budget or a tendency to “avoid fireworks”. Italy had this problem too and last year they noticed how putting more attention to presentation can pay off. But it’s also true that Portugal has been represented by a lot of intimate acts and those are indeed the most difficult to stage.
Wonderful song! and Maro is a beautiful and likeable young woman. I will vote for Portugal in Semi Final 1. It’s one of my favourites this year!
I’m glad I’m getting an Italian SIM card when I go to Turin – means (hypothetically) I can vote for Portugal in SF1! (Sadly doesn’t do anything to help San Marino since Italy doesn’t vote in their semi – I have a layover in Frankfurt so hypothetically I could also pony up for a German SIM card, but that seems like a big to-do. Just gotta depend on the kindness of strangers…again).
a masterpiece, and potential jury’s winner
That’s what I think too- it may not score high with the public- but I suspect the judges will really like this.
I’ll be fine if this gets the same kind of finish as last year. Good jury showing, mediocre televote showing, still averages out to a left-hand side finish.