Re: PORTUGAL 2019
The level of artistry in this NF is quite astonishing. Other selections could only dream. At the same time though, whilst I appreciated almost everything here, only one song truly titillated me on the first listen. I liked the songs from Madrepaz and Ela Limão (not far away at all from stuff I'd listen to outside of ESC) but I wasn't like "wow" or moved. For me Telemóveis is the clear stand out. I'm shocked by how good it is actually. A lot of the rest of these songs sound like growers to me, which is not really the way to do this Eurovision thang, cause we saw what happened last year to your beautiful entry. Conan has got something that could hook people from the very first listen, so I think he's the clear choice to make. There is some risk involved of course but it could pay off big time. Shake Eurovision up!
Love
Conan Osíris - Telemóveis Strong potential to be my number 1 of the year if you pick him.
Like
Madrepaz - Mundo A Mudar Predictably I really like this one. For some reason parts of it remind me of the theme to Old Bear (brownie points to anyone who ever watched this darling little show).
Ela Limão - Mais Brilhante Que Mil Sóis I'm always up for a bit of psych.. well, whatever! Psych-pop or rock, I'll take it.
Marlon - O Jantar Charming production and hard for me to dislike.
Mila Dores - Debaixo Do Luar Bit of a slow-burner but it's lovely.
João Campos - É O Que É Very sweet and with a powerful climax. I wasn't sure at first (actually went back to this one three times) but I do like it. One to watch out for I think when performed live. Could be a big threat for the crown.
Ana Cláudia - Inércia Strange piece of music. It feels like multiple songs thrown together. It's intriguing but I'm unsure if it works. Weirdest song in the selection. Potentially could be a big grower for me if I gave it a few more listens. At the moment I'm trying to work it out cause I am confusion.
Enjoyed but need some more time with
Matay - Perfeito Beautiful composition but so extravagantly OTT and dangerously close to being hammy that I think I need to put myself in a different frame of mind first before trying to decide how much I actually like this. I think the song is possibly too much. The fluttering harp takes it into schmaltzy territory. This would probably be the safest choice here and has a good chance of winning this selection I imagine.
Surma - Pugna Would be interesting to have a song with such a lo-fi production at Eurovision, but unsure I care enough about the composition, and I'm often all over this kind of stuff outside of ESC. Will be interesting to see how she'll tackle this one live anyway, and how the audience will react.
Soraia Tavares - O Meu Sonho Strange. I don't know what to think about this. It's extremely stripped back.
Mariana Bragada - Mar Doce Nice. I appreciate it but I can't say I'm really being grabbed at this point. Maybe live it will sway me?
Filipe Keil - Hoje Of the three or so poppier songs in this selection, this is the one I find tolerable. Chorus is quite good.
No feelings for either way
NBC - Igual a ti Too run-of-the-mill and floaty for my tastes.
Dan Riverman - Lava Nice verses but the chorus ruins it. Too plain.
Don't like
Lara Laquiz - O Lugar Remove the "Oooh oooh" hook and actually it's a fine composition, but I was annoyed by the time this one finished, which is a shame cause I think the composition is promising.
Calema - A Dois I'm not opposed to you sending pop but this is weak sauce and so generic. You can do better.
So Conan and his hoop earrings at Eurovision please or I will sue you. I think the selection this year is good but not "wow" which actually in hindsight has left me feeling a bit disappointed. I mean, if you had to place me in a room playing songs from this NF for 24 hours vs [insert name of other random ESC NF here], I'd obviously pick this one, but nothing really moves me or touches my heart this year (at this point). Never mind though cause still some very nice songs on offer, even if I fear you'd struggle with most of them at Eurovision. Pick Conan.
sounds promising after reading the forum!
Everytime you listen to it, you seem to find something else that was unnoticed so far. Absolutely brilliant. The other songs I also liked yesterday, didn't change: 
