Finland's victory in the 2006 Eurovision Song
Contest in Athens, has had an unfortunate side effect for Portugal,
as they now have sole posesssion of the record for most Eurovision
entries without a victory. Indeed it's even worse than that,
because with 40 previous entries, the Portuguese are still waiting
for their first Top 5 result. Since the semi-final process was
introduced to Eurovision in 2004, Portugal hasn't made it through
to the final.
Undeterred by the lack of success in recent
years, Portuguese broadcaster RTP decided to use a modified version
of the selection process wheich they used in 2006. Ten well known
music producers were asked to find songs and performers that they
thought could represent Portugal in Helsinki, and in the only
minopr change to last year, the public alone, without any help from
a jury, selected their favourite.
The Portuguese Final was held on March 10th at
Pavilhão Atlantico in Lisbon and was part of RTP's 50th
anniversary celebrations. All previous Portuguese Eurovision
performers were invited and almost uniquely in this year's national
selections, none of the songs were in English. There were several
establish acts taking part in the final, however the winner of the
Portuguese ticket to Helsinki was newcomer Sabrina and the latin
flavoured pop song "Dança Comigo (Vem Sser Feliz)" or in
English "Dance With Me (Come And Be Happy)"
Sabrina is the stage name of 23 year old Teresa
Villa-Lobos, who hails from Setúbal the costal town south of
Lisbon. Sabrina started singing at school and family parties and,
at the age of 16, she already had won some karaoke competitions.
Her major hobby was playing futsal at the Grupo Desportivo e
Recreativo do Bairro do Liceu, achieving a championship runner-up
place for local club Vitória de Setúbal.
Professionally, she was part of the third and
last line-up of Portuguese girlband Teenagers, from 2003 to 2006,
after which she planned to start her solo career. Her producer, the
popular artist Emanuel, suggested to her to perform under the name
of Sabrina. She made her solo debut under that alias at the
Portuguese Eurovision selection, gaining almost twice as many votes
as her nearest rival.
Sabrina is currently married to Nandinho, a
football player of Vitória de Setúbal. Along with the Eurovision
Song Contest preparations, she is also working on her debut album,
which will be produced by Emanuel.
Emanuel is the man behind this year's Portuguese
Eurovision entry. Even before he became a man, he fell in love with
music. He soon learned and taught the art of arranging sounds. From
simple essays with bands and small orchestras, he soon started
composing for nationally renowned artists. He was responsible for
one of the most successful ever music projects in popular music.
Alongside a recognised career, he still has time to create melodies
for other singers, institutions and TV.
Since winning the Portuguese selection the entry
has gone through a number of changes, being given a more
contemporary dance sound and arrangement. The lyrics have also been
changed and the song will now be multi-lingual in Helsinki,
featuring Portuguese, English, French & Spanish titles.
Sabrina has done little or no international
promotion for her entry, and the song has not been helped by a
rather awkward position in the running order, only two positions
away from the similar Norwegian entry. Portugal is rated as the
rated as the rank outsider by bookmakers and hasn't done
esprecially well in internet polls.
PORTUGAL @ EUROVISION