For the first time in over 60 years, Portugal has broken with tradition and sent a song in English…and I’m not massively impressed with the result. This ballad is dreamy and has some lovely instrumental moments, but the cliched lyrics and failure to go anywhere with the song brings the whole thing right down, unfortunately. The verses are quite nice: the instrumental is understated and gentle, and I really like the lightness of the strings, especially the subtle chromatic moments. However, the chorus is as dull as dishwater. The lyrics are repetitive and lack any real impact, and it just feels really slow and bland. Pedro has a nice voice, but it’s not enough to make the song memorable or meaningful. Then the bridge brings an electric guitar into the mix, and it feels massively out of place among the more classical instruments (which create a subdued atmosphere) and the rest of the song just feels like filler: nothing new is brought to the table, just repetitions of already overused ideas. It’s also a huge shame that the song isn’t in Portuguese. Still, it’s easy on the ears and the instrumental is dreamy, but this song is too cheesy, cliched and bland to really stand out at all.
Prediction: I can’t see this qualifying this year, what with the overall song quality. Semi Final Two has so many catchy songs, and Bulgaria, which is in the running for best ballad of 2021, will perform immediately after it. It’s going to get lost in the semi, I think.
Photo credit: Arlindo Camacho
The Euro-Vine 