PORTUGAL: Our thoughts on how Leonor Andrade should stage her Eurovision Entry ‘Há Um Mar Que Nos Separa’.

So here are some more first thoughts on ‘How Should They Stage their song at Eurovision 2015’?

How do you think Leonor should perform in Vienna?

Olá Áustria, aqui é Portugal! Last year Portugal’s colourful calypso inspired ‘Quero Ser Tua’ missed out on qualifying for the final by just a single point! Can Leonor Andrade’s staging of ‘Há Um Mar Que Nos Separa’ bring Portugal back to the final?

Leonor’s performance at the final of Festival da Canção this year got a lot of things right. Her clothes and general style suited the mood of the song, and her movements harmonised well with the music. The one thing that I think Leonor could improve on is relaxing her body language. Maybe it was just nerves, or emotions running high after being crowned winner, but Leonor looked quite tense and agitated on stage. While it’s a sultry song and you’re desperate to be reunited with your lover across the sea, relax your shoulders and smile more – you’re singing at Eurovision! What better reason is there to smile?!

While Leonor’s performance suited the stage of Festival da Canção perfectly, transferring it to the much larger Viennese stage means that a lot of its intensity and intimacy will be lost. To combat this, use the sea that separates you! While an actual wave machine would be a Eurovision first and quite frankly spectacular, mixing water and electricity is probably not a good idea…

So instead, I’m thinking huge LCD storm clouds and raging waves crashing across the back of the stage. This will give the piece some stunning visuals, while Leonor and a handful of backing singers (to support her with those “eeh-oh” chants in the chorus) rock out. As a nice touch, for the finale sunlight should break through the storm clouds as the song builds towards the end, before Leonor’s last notes see the beautiful sunlit sea return to calm. And don’t forget to smile!

Poor Portugal have never taken home the Eurovision trophy since debuting in 1964 – is 2015 their time at last to bring home the gold?

Let us know what you think!

Author : James Scanlan

Source : Eurovision Ireland