Yesterday the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals — travelled to the Portuguese city of Porto and took a pleasure cruise on the scenic River Douro. While on board we gathered in the captain’s quarters and reviewed Portugal’s Eurovision 2015 singer Leonor Andrade and her song “Há um mar que nos separa” (“There is a sea that separates us”). Were we happy to be separated by the sea? Or did we throw Leonor a life saver? Read on to find out…
Portugal’s Eurovision 2015 song
Reviews: Leonor Andrade with ‘Há um mar que nos separa’
Bogdan: Kudos to Portugal for keeping it in their native tongue, but this is perhaps one instance when English language lyrics could have helped. That is because the song by itself is very repetitive and unengaging. It also sounds like typical ’90s era album fodder. It has all the wrong things going for it and not even a revamp could save it. Speaking of a revamp, Leonor needs a new stylist, because she is so pretty, yet they managed to make her look as bland as her song!
Score: 2/10
Angus: Book me a ticket to a yoga retreat stat. This song is perfect summer Zen. Leonor sounds at one with nature and shimmers over flirty guitar riffs, and dreamy beautiful Portuguese lyrics. A light and sweet touch shouldn’t be looked down upon – amongst the ballads this is a breath of fresh air.
Score: 6/10
Chris: Extremely dated pop-rock that really doesn’t go anywhere. I appreciate the fact that Portugal have gone for something away from fado once again – because they certainly could have gone down that tired old route – but unfortunately Leonor’s song sounds tired before it even gets to the chorus. There’s a complete lack of urgency and passion throughout the song which means it falls flat. Perhaps there’s a good song trapped in there, but it’s all just not working right at this time.
Score: 4/10
Deban: Portugal has lost it! Yes, many decent efforts have struggled to make the cut. However, “Há um mar que nos separa” isn’t the best way to respond to those failures. Plus, Leonor’s batshit cray hairdo needs to go! I’m all in favour of pop-rock entries in the contest, but if it hasn’t been beautifully crafted like a Roxette hit, then one needs to revisit the drawing board.
Score: 3/10
William: For the first 38 seconds of this song, I am feeling it, I’m loving it and I’m waiting for a killer chorus. It never arrives, leaving us instead with a wet cracker that’s both bland and disappointing. Following the bright light that was Suzy’s “Quero ser tua” in 2014, this feels decidedly mute. Leonor has a lovely voice. It’s a shame it was wasted on this.
Score: 3/10
Josh: Come on, Portugal! Suzy was a pretty great comeback after your year off in 2013. 2015 is not the year to slack off! I’ll admit, the new studio version is definitely more pleasant than the live version. But Leonor needs to polish her look. Her hair is giving me Crazy Cat Lady from The Simpsons. Her rocker dance moves need to go as it doesn’t suit the melody or the style of the song. Definitely the bottom of the scoreboard in the semi-final.
Score: 2.5/10
Robyn: The revamped studio version of this song seems a bit overworked, with synths and a Lion King chorus thrown in to disguise the dated rock sound lurking beneath. I like Leonor as a performer, though, as well as the rock chick style and attitude she brings to the stage. I don’t think the song will go far in the competition, but it has the potential to bring a wild moment to the stage.
Score: 4/10
Our first reaction (8 March)
Mike: I really like this year’s Portuguese entry, especially when you look back to what they have brought us since 2011. Leonor has a beautiful rough voice and she really knows how to use it. I am a big fan of Eurovision in the 20th century and it seems Portugal is with me. If they had sent this song to Eurovision ten or 15 years ago, Portugal would have done quite well. Sadly I think this song has no chance to qualify nowadays.
Score: 7/10
Padraig: There’s nothing inherently wrong with this – it’s a credible entry competently performed. I’m reminded of France’s 2013 effort, only without the sass and attitude. In fact there’s no sense of immediacy at all. It leaves little impact, and will almost certainly get lost amidst the brashness of the other entries, even if many are of an inferior quality. Needs a miracle to qualify.
Score: 4/10
Sopon: Yes, Leonor, there is a sea that separates us. And I don’t really care to make the swim across and be on your team. This pop-rock number is nothing special or memorable, but it was the best of a bad bunch during Festival da Canção, so that’s something, right? After mourning Suzy’s disqualification with her super fun song last year, this is no consolation. This is fighting with Cyprus for last place in the semi-final, no doubt, but at least it’s somewhat tolerable.
Score: 4.5/10
Our jury consists of 29 people, but we only have room for 10 written reviews. Here are the remaining 19 scores.
Anthony: 7/10
Denise: 4.5/10
Francheska: 4/10
Judit: 2/10
Kristin: 3/10
Liam: 3.5/10
Luis: 7.5/10
Marek: 7/10
Mario: 1/10
Max: 1.5/10
Mikhail: 3/10
Patrick: 5.5/10
Ramadan: 5.5/10
Renske: 4/10
Rezo: 5/10
Sami: 3/10
Sinan: 6.5/10
William C: 3/10
Zach: 7/10
To reduce potential bias, we drop the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. We removed a low of 1 and a high of 7.5.
I don’t get it why so many care about how Leonor’s hair looks, but so little notice that María Ólafsdóttir go on stage in her night gown and loses her shoes (after all, Loreen and Emmelie de Forest won barefoot 😉 )
Really curious to see how Portugal’s song will do in the end. Don’t know about being “dated”, but I like this song. She has a nice calming voice. And in this crazy world, calming songs are gold to me 😀
Pleasant but not a real winner. Apart from the home crowd, I can’t see many thousands singing or even humming to it – just an average ditty. 4/10
One of the best entrys this year in Eurovision, this jury gave 5 points… i think that is a top 10.
Oh dear
Song just drags on and on
And speaking of dragging did someone pull her through a hedge backwards? is that what happened to the hair!?
Sorry Portugal see you next year
@Alex: They can’t and they won’t because many portuguese singer and songwriters have no genuine interest in Eurovision. Like in the UK, the Eurovision is regarded at pathetic … Portugal sees no musical soul in the competition so their best gems and talents dismiss it every time. It makes you wonder, why would they think something like that? Oh yes .. the first 10 years of 21st ESC kind of prove them right, whereas fans couldn’t care less … any piece of music rubbish is their sea of joy and fun … and Portugal seems to look at that sea… Read more »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0erxDiq76bQ Leonor Andrade
*haters
Portugal is always underrated. I can’t understand! I love the portuguese language and Leonor’s song is like a song pop very catchy, Is better than Suzy’s song quero ser tua. Portugal will never win because have a lot of hackers. I see Island’s song like Portuguese’s song. Is the same style. Congrats Portugal from germany
For”YE ALL” that need an ENGLISH VERSION of this song: http://cdn-ondemand.rtp.pt/nas2.share/mcm/mp3/d1a/d1ac618c85eb50c131254838f5629c461.mp3
Greetings!
I actually like it a lot. It’s so sweet and it’s in Portuguese, which is a big plus. I think it would be great if this could be performed in the final, which would make the show even more interesting, as it would depict different cultures. I will vote for Portugal.
I actually like this song.
Yes it’s a little underwhelming/ dull but still an all right tune; especially for Eurovision. Plus, the first few seconds remind me of Sheryl Crow’s “Soak Up The Sun”.
But I’d be pleasantly surprised if it makes it through though.
I don’t dislike it. I think the lyrics use interesting imagery and the tune is catchy. Her voice is actually quite good, I don’t know why some of you say that it is drowned by the music, it sounds loud and clear to me. I don’t think it will win but that is because of the internal politicism of the Eurosivision.
I like the Portugal’s song, but tastes in music are something personal and I can understand that others don’t feel the same about it. However, I do have a problem with those using words such as “dated” and “not Eurovisionish” as they make music look more like a science and less like an art. Music is art, it addresses to our souls and resonate differently for every single one of us. @Pedro: There’s no reason for you to be sad. People commenting on the internet are just a small part of those who will vote in the contest, so it’s… Read more »
I didn’t like the song much at first but now I adore it. Absolutely love Leonor and I hope she gets Portugal back to the final.
Who cares about the hair?
It’s Eurovision, not Miss Universe;
Definitely amongst the worst entries this year. As most have already said, it is really dated and bland. It is a long three minutes listening to this. Hopefully on the night, she will be informed of that key change towards the end that when she misses, is like a scratch on a chalkboard.
This is my bathroom break during this semi.
2/10
This is soo good after a few listens ….. I want Portugal to qualify since I always love to see them in one of those envelopes ….. Such a joy …. Last year Suzy was soo good !!!!!!!
Fatima: I’ve heard it too, and I have to agree – her voice is just completely lost, thus I only listen to the live version. You’d think the Portuguese would show some more effort and at least do a proper mix of the studio version, as it’s their Eurovision entry…
Again, no music video from Portugal; just a live performance. Same for Germany this time around. Fortunately Lithuania came around. 🙂
Sadly, I don’t expect Leonor’s team to make a video; but I expect Germany and Ann Sophie to release one before the end of this month.
HEY!! MÅNS! Hurry up with that replacement video! 😛
this is in my top 10, actually
I don’t get why no one likes it
you know what’s boring
sweden and estonia
it’s really just because it’s portugal
massively underrated every year
Has anyone heard the version which is on the official CD (which I got this week) ? It’s awful, her voice is drowned in the production.
I think the intervention of the Lord himself will not be anywhere near enough to save Portugal from failure this year.
Worst song of the year, sorry… it’s just plain boring. I feel like it won the national final because it was the only song that had even a hint of modernity. Portugal needs to put forth a way better effort than this. I just started listening to some of the songs on Portugal’s top 50 chart (Diogo Piçarra – Tu E Eu, D.A.M.A. – Às Vezes) and I’m wondering why they can’t send something more interesting like these songs.
I like it. 7/10. Portugal will not qualify this year though.
The song builds very well, and Lenor’s voice is very suited to it. But then the chorus hits, and I’m left disappointed. It just doesn’t match the verse. 5.5/10
6/10
The worst thing is that the Portuguese people think that they really can do well with this song. I like it but it doesn’t stand out and it won’t come very far. And when the don’t go to the final, they blame eurovision. I think they should learn how to make a Portuguese powerhouse song.
There is no describing the dissappointment I felt when I heard the chorus of this song after the great build up. It’s like the composers gave up halfway writing it. It is truly worrying that this was really the best song in the selection. Her voice is perfectly average too.
The lyrics, specially the first verse, are good, I have to admit.
@ Allen Portugal never gave up because of our bad results! But you have to understand how we might feel when we see people talking too much bad about our songs.. we are still dreaming with a victory day….
if you don’t care for others’ opinions, how can you expect from people to vote for portugal…
i really don’t care about your opinions because you don’t even know the meaning of this song in portuguese, so f*ck off! because leonor will kill it in vienna! LISBON 2’16! #TEAMPORTUGAL #TEAMLEONOR
@ Pedro, Portugal obviously wants to be involved in the ESC since it has been participating even results have been poor all the time. So, bad results are not something new for Portugal. I just don’t unerstand when countries give up because of bad results. I understand when countries cannot participate if there is a financial problem or if there is a low interest, but just to give up because you score poorly? That’s such a shame. I mean, Portugal is not even the worst case – the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia and even Finland can be examples of not so… Read more »
Music video, please!
10/10
The revamped version is pretty good, it greatly improved the chorus which felt flat in the original one. Definite qualifier for me but I’m not feeling too good about their chances to make it, unfortunately.
Thank you for your anwsers! But do you know how HARD was for us, Portuguese people, seeing Portugal missing last year’s final because of one little point!? Do you know how HARD is for us seeing all the comments talking bad of this year’s song?? Seeing everybody underrated it!?? We are really SAD with all this!! :'( Trust me, one day, Portugal will be sick of seeing Europe underrating us and we are going to say goodbye for ever (like Luxembourg did..) and when YOU, EUROPE, will miss us.. will be TOO LATE.. wait for it…
Well…the positives…Leonor is a beautiful young woman with a pretty voice…right thats my positives, my negatives….the song is just terrible! I think it is safe to say that it a certain non-qualifier. which is sad, because every year that Portugal participates, I always want them to do well, but this year they didnt even try. They should have qualified last year with Suzy, I loved that upbeat summer tune. I think it is great respect that they still refuse to sing in English but at this stage, I think they need to come to ESC with an uptempo zumba-esque song… Read more »
4 / 10
It sounds very average to me. When the singer has to shake like she did midway through the live performance, you know that the song itself is missing something.
The revamped studio version is a lot better and not promoting this song is deadly. I agree with william, the verses are great (especially the first one) but I want more in the chorus. I have no clue how it will end up.
6/10
mee: 1,5/10
Really bad song. I agree with the mark! … I think it is the third last in my list (only “Adio” and the finnish one are worse than this).
@ Pedro, nobody is rude here, people just have different opinions and tastes and you have to respect that.
@Pedro, i don’t think so either, but i may hope right. Malta and Portugal for me along sweden
@Rayman, well Cyprus i think it is sweet but quite boring for Eurovision, Czech is too much Rise like a Phoenix james bond vibe.
please just listen to Malta, and listen to the lyrics.
Do you guys have a brain inside of your head!??? You were so rude and stupid!! F*ck all your comments because you guys don’t know the meaning of music!!!! Portugal may not qualifie (well, Who knows) but if it qualifie, I will be the first person here to clap a lot for your comments!! -.- go to sleep!!!!
Nicky1991: I just listened to Cyprus! 😀 It’s a sweet song, and I really like the Norwegian entry. The Polish is alright, the Czech is pretty dull and San Marino is pretty darn bad in my book. :/
@Rayman well i hope this qualifies as well , better than that boring Norway song.
definite exits: Cyprus, San Marino, Poland, Czech Republic for me also Norway
Gosh, I don’t mean to sound so negative! :O I do like the song, and I wish it to have a decent placing in the final. 🙂
And yea, I kinda believe Portugal will better placed by the juries this year than televote.
Last year they came 7th by televote and last by the juries.
@Olga, thank you i love this song as well 10/10 best song from second semi final,
Portugal to win please please please
@Rayman, why do you underrate this song, Portugal is really cool and i like this girl. this will qualify i’m sure of that.
Portugal for the final and winners please
Lisbon 2016 , please please please
@Jordan, don’t underrate this please a very pretty girl who can sing really superb. 10/10
greeting from Holland.
I Like every country this year except Norway, Finland, Cyprus, San Marino.
Hope Portugal qualifies.