Portugal's Eurovision 2008 Entry

Vânia Fernandes' "Senhora do Mar" is a decent little fado number. Well, I think it's fado, since it's in a minor key and is entitled "Lady of the Sea." That sounds like fado to me. Anyway, its staging reminded me a bit of Marija Šerifović's "Molitva," with the singer standing up front and the back-up performers doing minimal choreography. Also, at one point, like in "Molitva," the back-up singers reach out and touch Fernandes. Anyway, overall, I liked it, although I fear it'll get lost in the shuffle during a semi-final featuring more bombastic entries like Ukraine, Bulgaria, Belarus and, of course, Latvia.

Portugal

This reminds me of a bunch of kids putting on a show right here in the barn. It's a wisp of a performance. Portugal's drought continues.

Portugal (Eurovision 2007 Preview)

Sabrina - "Danca Conmigo"

This is harmless enough. Portuguese is a pretty language. I would have liked it if they had orchestrated it on something that wasn't a toy keyboard synthesizer though. The adagio tempo really does suggest though that I should be napping rather than doing the cha cha.

Portugal (Eurovision 2007 Preview)

Sabrina: "Dança Comigo"

Quintessential Eurovision track. I'm listening to it right now and I've already forgotten about it.

19. Portugal - Nonstop: "Coisas de Nada"

For some reason, the Portuguese entry decided to go with an ABBA-sounding song. Usually only the Swedes do that. Imagine the Spice Girls singing ABBA in Portuguese (except for the chorus). This is ridiculously lame. And it makes Katrina and the Waves sound like Slayer.