Last month, the nation of Portugal celebrated 60 years of their Festival da Canção by handing a deciding victory to iolanda and her single “Grito.” While the song was a runaway victor in Portugal, we’ll take a closer look at how that success can translate to a big week at Eurovision – starting Tuesday, May 7 when they take to the stage in the Second Half of the First Semi-Final – for the rising star.
“Something more than just love.”
Our team’s Alesia Michelle was able to sit down with iolanda to talk about Festival da Canção, the artist’s path to this moment, and the story behind the music of her powerful Eurovision entrant, “Grito.”
Recording the original piece at the home of her grandparents, not only was the ambience and emotion of the space displayed in this song, but it provided iolanda the inspiration and freedom to make the song a marriage of modern electronics and contemporary music elements.
The “why” behind creating “Grito” – save for putting together a winning song for Festival da Canção – was to talk about, in the artist’s words, “something more than just love.” It not only represents iolanda’s own mental health story and journey of self-discovery, but finding one’s own strength through trying moments. The word “Grito” itself, while it translates to “shout,” is used in the song more to mean a fire that not only brings a light within, but also one that sheds a light on a path to true meaning and a brighter destiny for everyone.
While the song culminates in what feels like a scream (in iolanda’s words), it represents the energy being released into the world; the good, the bad, and all elements that empower individuals to be in their best minds, bodies, and souls: their true selves.
Love, Longing, Heartache, Heartbreak…and Success: Portugal’s Recent Eurovision Entrants and Victory
iolanda not only brings a powerful song into this year’s contest in Malmo, but also carries with her all the momentum of Portugal’s more recent Eurovision success.
Since the pandemic, the country has not missed a single Grand Final, starting with the memorable Black Mamba’s “Love is on my Side” finishing at #12. On a more personal note, visiting Lisbon for the first time last year, my heart and ears were flooded with the melodies of this song as I walked the streets with my family and sought to explore the people, places, and soul of the city.
The following year, Maro’s “Saudade, saudade” captured the hearts of Eurovision fans – and juries – across the world, earning a 9th place finish. What makes this performance and result even more heartwarming is the artist’s decision to involve other Festival da Canção participants from that year (Diana Castro and Milhanas) to join her in the Eurovision performance as backing vocalists.
In 2023, in a performance not to be forgotten (even if finishing in 23rd place at the Grand Final), the eccentric, energetic, and delightfully talented Mimicat dazzled audiences with “Ai coração,” a song, despite its on-stage pizzazz, spoke of heartache and desperation.
And of course, we would be remiss in not shouting out and recognizing Salvador Sobral’s 2017 Eurovision victory with “Amar Pelos Dois,” a song that won both the jury vote and televote, ending a 53 year draught and capturing Portugal’s first (and only, to date) Eurovision championship. If there are any patterns we can see between this song and Portugal’s 2024 Eurovision entrant, both the deeply personal nature of the songs themselves AND the fact that both will be performed in Portuguese may be good omens for this year.
Liars, Towers, Electric Fields, and Fighters: The Competition
“Grito” will be performed during the second half of semi-final 1, 7 May 2024, with high hopes for climbing their way to the Grand Final, but it is not an easy path. A returning Luxembourg will follow iolanda and close out the day, in an attempt to steal the spotlight with Tali’s “Fighter.” Australia’s Electric Fields will also be performing right before Portugal, bringing a synthpop celebration of Aboriginal Australian culture in “One Mikali (One Blood).”
Other countries and participants of note include Eurovision fans’ favorite wild card, Finland (represented by Windows95man and “No Rules!”); an Iceland entrant bent on a comeback to the Grand Final (Hera Björk’s “Scared of Heights”); and Eurovision 2024 oddsmakers’ top tier picks of Ukraine (“Teresa & Maria” by Alyona Alyona and Jerri Heil) and Croatia (“Rim Tim Tagi Dim” by Baby Lasagna).
While it may feel like the odds are stacked against iolanda, we cannot discount the artist’s creativity, resilience, originality, and authenticity, and send her our very best wishes for a memorable, wonderful, and successful experience in Malmo this May.
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