Introduction

Portugal is back! Last year there has been a withdrawn from the ESC, but that was quite unusual as Portugal has been participating on a regular basis. The Portuguese pre selection is called “Festival da Canção” and has been celebrating its 50th anniversary. Out of ten finalists there was one clear winner Susy with the song “Quero Ser Tua” which means “I wanna be yours”. 

Susy was born in Figueira da Foz – a popular holiday destination at Atlantic Ocean – in 1980. In an age of five she gained her first stage experiences with the children’s band “Onda Choc”. Later she was singing in musical productions with various bands. In 1999 she released the song “Nesta Noite Branca” which was a real hit in Portugal and is still played by radios stations. Susy toured through the USA and she even became queen of “Carneval de Buarcos 2014” in her hometown Figueira da Foz.

Due the Financial crisis Susy left Portugal and immigrated to Dubai, where she is now working as a flight attendant for Emirates. 

The song “Quero Ser Tua“ is a mid-tempo salsa song with a Latino rhythm. The title “Quero Ser Tua” means “I wanna be yours” is sung by Susy with an easiness in an almost insignificant way. Due to the fact that there were a lot of great songs in the Portuguese history in Eurovision a lot of people had higher expectations from the comeback. With this kind of almost old-fashioned melody, arrangement and presentation a win is light years away. Portugal you could do better!

History

Participations: 47

Debut: 1964

Biggest success: 1x 6th place 1996 “O Meu Coração Não Tem Cor “ by Lúcia Moniz, 2x7th place “A Festa Da Vida” in 1972 by Carlos Mendes, “Um Grande, Grande Amor” by José Cid in 1980, 2x 8th place “Lusitana Paixão” by Dulce Pontes in 1991, “Chamar A Música” by Sara Tavares in 1994, 1x 9th place “Sobe, Sobe, Balão Sobe” by Manuela Bravo in 1979, and 2x 10th place “Tourada” by Fernando Tordo in 1973 and “A Cidade Até Ser Dia” by Anabela in 1993.

Portugal takes part in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1964. Last year Portugal made a break due to the financial crisis. The debut song “Oração” by António Calvário came last with zero points. This year it will be the 47th time for Portugal in the ESC. Unfortunately, Portugal has never won the contest; the best place was the 6th with “O Meu Coração Não Tem Cor” by Lúcia Moniz in 1996. Neither the juries nor the televoters gave the full votes to the Portuguese entries in the past, but in many cases Portuguese entries were of high quality and had to suffer from underserved low points. Often there have been traditional songs with lots of emotion and drama, which are very typical for Portuguese music. Nevertheless Portugal had a top 10 position in the final for nine times! The best time for Portugal in the ESC was in the 80’s. There were also some other Portuguese songs which are worth to mention like “Bem-bom “ by Doce in 1982 (13th place), “Penso Em Ti, Eu Sei “ by Adelaïde in 1985 (18th place) and “Senhora Do Mar (Negras Águas) “ by Vânia Fernandes in 2008 (13th place).Portugal could at least reach the grand final three times.