Portugal finally has its moment in Eurovision after 53 years (their highest finish was sixth place), and the country gets a chance to host the contest next year. Parabéns! Thank you to all the countries’ panels and the public for voting decisively, and not making a liar out of me for predicting this win ;)
The video is the Sobral siblings performing the winning song as a duet (Lúisa is the songwriter), post-win.
https://www.facebook.com/salvadorsobralmusic/ (Salvador’s website is here, but the win has overwhelmed it and shut it down)
http://luisasobral.com/en/
The Portuguese half at Casa Aguiar was completely in denial until the very end, which makes the win even sweeter (except he didn’t take me up on my offer to make bets, oh well). The fact that it’s a sentimental jazz song that is sung in Portuguese and absolutely nothing like any other in the contest hopefully means that music — rather than showmanship — is finally being recognized at Eurovision. (But I’m not holding my breath.) I went from being someone who didn’t give two hoots about the ESC, ever, to actually watching the numbers go up on the board. It will be an extra-exciting year for tourism, too, as the country prepares for Eurovision 2018.
Congratulations to Família Sobral, this is a win for Portuguese artists everywhere!
Photo: musicians in Arcos de Valdevez, Portugal
July 3, 2016
Album: Minho, Portugal
