The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues to rate and review the 41 competing entries of Eurovision 2019. Next we turned to last year’s host Portugal, where Conan Osíris has “Telemóveis”. Did we want to pick up his call? Read on to find out!
Conan Osíris – “Telemóveis”
“Telemóveis” reviews
Bernardo: Dark, mysterious, engaging, otherworldly and unmistakably Portuguese. Hints of Fado, Kuduro, dancehall, pop and a mix of other styles. “Telemóveis” is a hybrid that dares to question the normal conventions of music production. Unpredictable from the first second, the track is supported by Conan’s unique vocal and out-of-the-box image. The reality is that no one will be indifferent to this entry. Ones will love it, others will hate it, but at the end of the day, hate doesn’t take votes away from you.
Score: 9.5/10
Chris: The revival of Portugal at Eurovision has been a wonder to behold — and “Telemóveis” keeps the momentum going. Conan serves up something completely different, from look, to performance, to the track itself. It’s certainly a risk, and there’ll probably be quite a few people who won’t get “Telemóveis”. But like Salvador in 2017, it’s all about making the right people fall in love with you and your song. This could still very much be the dark horse of the contest.
Score: 8.5/10
Florian: Sending a dark entry can be a big risk. This breaks with stereotypes of typical fado music and could as well be one of the most experimental tracks we’ve ever seen in Eurovision. But it could work it in Portugal’s favour. Bringing together current sounds with Portuguese language creates a unique atmosphere. Overall, it could be one of the performances everyone will be talking about after the show. And that’s a good thing!
Score: 8/10
Jack: The Southeast Asian gamelan-style instrumentation and the eccentric beats of the track transport the listener to a distant universe where you can’t help but dance along. What really makes “Telemóveis” unique, however, is Conan Osíris. He not only performs the song, but is also the lyricist, composer, choreographer, and overall artistic force behind the entry. In an age where manufactured and imported Eurovision entries are becoming increasingly commonplace, it’s tracks like Conan Osiris’ “Telemóveis” that stand out for all the right reasons. Could Portugal be looking at their second win in just three years? I certainly wouldn’t rule it out.
Score: 9.5/10
Renske: Netta would definitely thank Portugal for choosing different again, because “Telemóveis” is by far one of the most original entries of the year. To burst the bubble, it doesn’t utter the same heartfelt emotion that “O jardim” and “Amar pelos dois” had, despite it having a heartfelt yet cryptic meaning. It stays rather flat throughout and it is difficult to get a connection with the inner meaning of the song, without reading the lyrics.
Score: 5.5/10
William: Talk about getting lost in a performance! Conan is a Portuguese witchdoctor — you don’t know what the hell he’s doing, but you believe his every word, thrust and stunning death drop (because of course his dancer includes one). Influenced by everything from indigenous sounds to hip-hop, and serving choreography that nods to kabuki, butoh and street, this crosses borders, genres and time. Some will read it as pretentious. But many will simply dive in and be mesmerised. I fall into the latter camp.
Score: 9/10
In the Wiwi Jury we have 29 jurors but only have room for six reviews. The remaining scores are below:
| Angus: 5/10
Anthony: 6.5/10 Antony: 7/10 Antranig: 9.5/10 Barnabas: 2.5/10 Calvin: 6.5/10 Deban: 9.5/10 Essi: 3/10 Izhar: 8.5/10 Jonathan: 4.5/10 Josh: 4/10 Julian: 4.5/10 |
Kristin: 7.5/10
Lucy: 6.5/10 Luis: 9.5/10 Lukas: 6/10 Mikhail: 6.5/10 Oliver: 3/10 Pablo: 9.5/10 Robyn: 7.5/10 Ron: 4.5/10 Sebastian: 8/10 Tobias: 4/10 |
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 2.5 and a high of 9.5.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 6.72/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
Even if Conan does not qualify, he is a winner!! Conan had everything against him: a poor social background, being very different from his surroundings and no access to musical education or social connections (much unlike Salvador). He learned to compose music all by himself and not only embraced the melting pot of the Lisbon poor suburbs but also delved into musical territory much beyond the confines of his surroundings. The end result is this masterpiece of a cultural mix, that never before dared to enter in the ESC, full of different musical layers, meanings and feelings. And on top… Read more »
I honestly can’t stand this song. I think it’s getting attention from the performance, because them spazzing out on stage is somehow seen as artistic. All it is, at the end of the day, is an okay melody over out-of-tune accompaniment.
Armenia and Russia over Portugal? Like, seriously?
Conan is a real artist and his song is so good and really deserves to be recognized for it. A risky choice but such a good one! Thank you Portugal for sending such an art and offering us the honor of discovering it !
Conan music is just iconic. This is so good and I felt surprised myself because at first time I just didn’t know what to think but now I know : it’ s a masterpiece a true one! It is definitely in my top 3 and wouldn’t be surprised if it wins because it can really wins!
Bravo for your words! Conan is such an artist!
Bravo Portugal for bringing this jewel to the contest! I hope you´ll do the right thing with the staging though, it needs an improvement and a new wow factor. Good luck Conan!
You’re absolutely right! With an great staging and an amazing Conan (I’m sure he always is) Portugal performance will be the big surprise!
Love Conan’s song! It’s so unique and really really good! It has grown on me and I thank Portugal for sending such an art to ESC who sould value it. Bored by pop songs musics always the same productions!
Portugal one of my top 3 of all music’s this year!
Portugal song is uniqueness and not a today’s song but a tomorrow’s song!
After being called a tacky or old game song contest, ESC should definitly enjoy and benefit this kind of music to refresh his image and not accepting just radio’s songs…
The juries shoud and must HONOR PORTUGAL ENTRY because if not so my question is : what is your FUNCTION??? Please radio songs that have no challenges but production issues? Come on!!
I agree with you the juries should do the right thing to do with this song : appreciate it and honor it!
Mahmood and Conan, whatever it happens on Esc, are the winners for me: they have a project, they have a vision, they are unique, the most interesting artist among all of the other contestants…..
Hope they have the opportunity to know each other and collaborate!
PORTUGAL – One of the most unique and mesmerizing songs that have been sent to ESC in a long time. Both in lyrics and construction, it doesn’t follow any usual formula, letting us slowly emerge in it’s rich world. At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but I was intrigued. It’s like a mysterious puzzle box which reveals it’s layers in time. Considering even the native Portuguese speakers say some of the lyrics have double meaning or that they cannot be translated properly, it’s not easy to figure out what does it exactly mean. I see it… Read more »
Actually, all it took was two times listening to it last night (once with audio and once with a lyric video) and a whole lot of trusting my instinct. I slept it over and now I’m sure to do this leap of faith. 🙂
Welcome to the light, Colin! 😛 The thing is that we’ll keep finding new things about this song even after the contest.
Do listen to some of Conan’s other songs, specially from his last CD. I feel you will appreciate him as an artist even more.
Omg how he is ugly
Whaaat? He is so hoooot!
Agreed with those twigging on that this score probably puts them stronger than, say, Wiwi’s scoring of Russia – even if Sergey’s more generally strong, he’s only got 3 Scores at 9/10 or above, whilst Portugal has 7. Not brilliant for the jury vote (though I can’t see them putting him in last that often…), but the televote needs people to pick up the phone and vote – that’s what those high scores are. Does remind me of Portugal 2017 from Wiwi’s jury vote, which placed them 23rd (/43), with a mix of lots of highs and some very big… Read more »
True. Still, an average could give some suggestion to what a jury vote might look like as they do have to rank the songs from first to last.
Averages mean nothing when it comes to Eurovision. Out of all the songs reviewed at the moment, Sergey’s has the highest average but, when it comes to individual jury scores, only four members rated Sergey’s song over 8.5 while Conan had nine jurors rating him higher than that. When it comes to Eurovision this is way better than a better average. Those that love you, vote for you. Those that don’t you love, don’t take any votes away from you. Furthermore, does anyone actually think that most of the contest juries will not rate it in the top 10 of… Read more »
8.0/10
Great song, maybe the best lyrics of the year.
Great lyrics indeed and what a show man
Conan music is in the first place in this momment to win the Eurovision Best Lyrics Award 2019!
Well deserved. He is a great lyricist
I don’t get the hype, to me this is a 0/10. And hear me, I think Portugal was underrated several times (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015…), but this year’s entry……
Telemoveis is the new Horehronie
Please, don’t compare this gem with Kristína, whose live performance was absolutely terrible.
I have been in love with this song since the first time i heard it, i was so happy when it chosen to go to eurovision, i was sure that the public would chose Matay to represent Portugal and although it was a lovely ballad it would have got lost in this years other ballads for sure. Atleast with Conan, love him or hate him, you are not going to forget the performance and hes definately going to put on a show and he most certainly should be in the final. When asked how he would feel if he came… Read more »
6.72???? Are you like… deaf? Wtf
Ya… so low :/
My flat mates who hate everything Eurovision overheard me listening to it and asked for the song name and said they loved it! This will do very well. 9.5/10 from me.
6.72 seems a bit low for me
This guy got a huge European audience since he has released “Telemoveis”. If we taking regarding “people love it or just hate it”- can’t we say the same things about almost all songs of present year? Yes, we can. He deserve to be accepted. Don’t vote if he will not impress you in May or just pick up your phone & make it “broken” with your votes.
I thought I heard he was going to have a new stage performance, something different from the Festival da Cancao stage setup.
I hope they don’t screw it up. I don’t want my top-10 ranking of him go to waste!
Conan is always a surprise, he always does what we don’t expect, but i trust him!He will be great!
My winner 10/10! Go Conan!
Sadly, my comment got filtered, right in the post of one of my dear favorites. Robyn? Anyone? Thank you in advance for the help on saving it. Spoiler: 9.5/10.
“Telemóveis” is so unique that it seems written by someone who came from a future that may not even happen. The instrumental is diverse like an utopical world without borders. The lyrics are layered and thought-provoking. And Conan is charismatic and affectuous. It’s artsy, so it can even crash in the semi, but if Portugal nails the presentation (there was a total lack of attention to camera work in FdC) and Conan keeps things simple (for his standards) I can see it getting a great result, because it can appeal for those who like novelty acts, those who search for… Read more »
I hope so, Tibor. I guess if they play the right aesthetic cards, it will sail smoothly to the final. But I’m always worried about most of my favorites. I’ll hold my breath until they say the names “Portugal” and “Slovenia” in the first semi.
Word!
I do like it, but the song just scares me.
Portugal’s song is like a cryptic puzzle box I am still figuring out. Alongside Georgia, it’s the only one I haven’t rated yet, so I’m quite on the edge on already having to review this. I have mostly positive feelings towards it and find it mesmerizing. Still, as there is no immediate understanding, I am still discovering it. So far, Portugal remains UNRATED, but I hope I’ll come-up with something soon.
one of the best songs in esc this year. Top 3
I’m Portuguese and personally like more “Telemóveis” than “Amar pelos Dois”, I consider Conan Osiris as a genius … he did everything: he sings, composes, did the lyrics, treated the instrumental part. Conan is the incredible one.
I note that music is better accepted in southern Europe than in the North. As a Portuguese, accustomed to the disappointments of Eurovision (except Salvador), I would be satisfied with a TOP 15.
My score for this music is…9,5/10.
Listen, just the instrumental part of “Telemóveis” … it’s amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY6IXw7kq8U
Salvador is a (good) singer/interpreter. Conan is an artist with a vision. Totally different league.
Yes, I agree with you
Salvador has a solid musical education and creates original music (he co-composes his songs, besides being an outstanding singer). Conan never studied music and confines himself to remixing samples.
Totally different league indeed.
This beautiful song really deserves a place on the left side of the table. Boa sorte, Portugal!
My winner 10/10 i like Italy and iceland……
It’s the sort of song that makes you happy to be an ESC fan. The more times you listen to it, the more you get from it. It is just such a clever piece of music and everything is completely deliberate and there for a reason. I do not, however, consider this to be a dark horse. It is just not a song that a casual viewer listens to once and falls in love with. I feel in terms of result, it is going to disappoint but it is going to be one of the songs we (as fans) look… Read more »
Remember when WiwiJury gave “Amar Pelos Dois” 6.56 in 2017? And it ended up winning the whole thing? So, yeah, right…
That song was basic and derivative. It only won because of the hype train that was building for weeks before the competition which meant everyone, especially the national commentators had heard about the song and story before the show and felt pity. Without the drama over whether he could perform or not it would have been mid table at best. No one listens to that song anymore and Salvatore is back to being a local act as he seems to want to be. Down vote me but it’s true. Most average winning song since Dima Bilan.
What drama? Here in DK nobody knew he was sick and still acknowledged him as a rightful winner. Easy on that.
Do you have any evidence that people voted for it for reasons other than loving the song and performance?
@Jose
Nobody knew about Salvador’s health issues except for a small percentage of enthusiastic Eurovision fans at the time of the competition.
Keep your mouth shut unless you have clear evidence that shows the public voted for Salvador solely for his sickness!
I was a fan of the song since festival da cancao. There’s a plethora of artists with special abilities, who ‘ve participated in eurovission over the years, but I can’t reacall any of them winning
Habla por ti porque Salvador sigue llenando auditorios y teatros (de los que tu no sueles ir) yo particularmente lo ye visto tres veces . en los jardines del palacio real de Barcelona y en el palau de la musica (en ambos.sitios jamas podría verte a ti ni a tus artistas favoritos) no es mejor ninñeor. Solo constato las limitaciones obvias de tu mundo
He is not a local act anymore. He has been giving concerts all over Europe, published his album under Warner Bros Spain, and interviewed recently in SVT where he performed a song. So shut up
Salvador has a successful international career, he ‘s invited to perform in some of the most prestigious jazz festivals and has sold out concerts in many European countries (even went to China, recently). His new album is not only no. 1 in Portuguese charts but is selling well in other countries (it’s top 10 in Spain for example).
But of course, you don’t know that, because you are narrow-minded and only listen to Eurovision trash pop.
Salvador has a successful international career, he ‘s invited to perform in some of the most prestigious jazz festivals and has sold out concerts in many European countries (even went to China, recently). His new album is not only no. 1 in Portuguese charts but is selling well in other countries (it’s top 10 in Spain for example).
But of course, you don’t know that, because you are narrow-minded and only listen to Eurovision trash pop.
Love love love
10/10
Renske is right, and you’ve got to hand it to Portugal. Now four completely different entries in a row. From themselves and any from other song in the contest. Telemoveis is going to have an impact, even if it does’t qualify. We in the UK should take notice.
“Telemoveis” is probably the most out of the box song we have had lately, which is also successful by doing so (we have other examples, but they were rather irrelevant). At first, I doubted wheter I liked it or not, so I needed to listen to it a couple more times… I started to like it after the third listen and now I love it. Overall, it is a very interesting entry, but I feel it has yet to fullfill all of its potential. How? By improving the vocals and giving the song the staging it deserves. A Swedish team… Read more »
Swedish team is working in the staging ???? From where u took this ?
It was reported last week in Portugal, that RTP had hired a swedish team of melodiefestivalen, to prepare the portuguese staging.
Link please, can’t find anything about that…
It was noticed on festivaisdacancao.wordpress.com, but research on Google with keywords: equipa sueca staging Conan Osíris
What i found was something said from a Fan Club..
So maybe it’s true…but right now let’s say it is fake news xD
According to the Conan Osiris Fan Club on Instagram : Supposedly the staging of Portugal is being worked by a very experienced Swedish team – Information not yet confirmed by RTP. That’s all what is writing there. So basically rumors !!!
Yes, I agree…it seems unreliable
It’s a 9/10 for me. You either love it, hate it or you just don’t have any clue what’s going on in the song. I understand all parties. Personally, I belong to the first group of people: Love, love, love! 🙂
THE WINNER CONAN <3
screw the 3s, the 4s and the 5s. screw the fact that he is not going to be a contender for the win (who cares anyway?). conan osiris is the boss.
This song is in my TOP 3, along with Iceland and Italy. This deserved a higher score from Wiwibloggs but hands up to Debon, Antranig, Pablo, Luis, Jake, Bernardo and William for 9,5/10 !!
Wiwibloggs is giving me a tough day! First Lithuania and now Portugal… Getting ready for massive downvoting! This reminds me of the emperor’s new clothes: if you dare to say you don’t like it you get accused of having no taste or being unable to appreciate originality. But originality and universal appealing are not synonyms, and this is probably the most polarized entry this year, together with Iceland. I am standing on the dark side and after a wonderful “Amar pelos dois” and a very decent “O jardim”, this year Portugal has fallen to the very bottom of my personal… Read more »
Offering hugs on a tough day.
@Purple… 🙂 hug accepted
@Tibor… Nothing has, and that precisely is one of the wonderful things of music: everyone can enjoy a different song. I actually like that some people enjoy this song, as I can imaging them feeling the same I feel when I listen to the songs that connect with me
To answer , maybe Malta , Netherlands , Belgium 2017
We know why, she looked scared and trapped in a ugly dress.
Love or hate entry….personally I love!
8/10
Should’ve been higher than Russia. Russia’s score is mega overrated.
Wiwibloggs tend to have a bias towards Russia almost every single year, especially for Sergey
LOVE THIS ENTRY! Portugal for sure is in my top 10 this year! Right now Telemoveis is my number 5! 9/10
Didn’t expect such a low score. It deserves way more.
it’s not an immediate song, i can see it not qualifying easily bc ppl will have a hard time understanding it. it’s juss very pretentious n pompous, plus i found the fdc performance extremely off-putting – a first year art school rihject
This seems to not have a consistent melody and the stage performance seemed to be a bit amateur. I recognize that it’s trying to be novel but it’s not really appealing to me. It’s okayish.This will have a niche audience but how many are in the niche is anybody’s guess. I would give it a 6.5/10. The running order is ok , not a huge gain cause Greece follows it so only adding half a point. Lack of general public support reduces a point . I’d assess it to have 60% chance to qualify. This is directly competing with Australia… Read more »
i agree with u on the ‘losing the niche game’ thing. out of the freaky songs this year (australia, iceland, poland), i feel like this one will be the one left out, i juss can’t see it being appreciated through one performance.
I’d be mighty surprised if all of these songs made it through , but Eurovision has thrown up a few surprises in the past