Welcome back to ESCBubble’s coverage for Eurovision 2021! It’s been a busy few days, and today marks the final set of first rehearsals for our semi finalists, with the countries performing in the second half of the second semi final getting their chance to take to the big stage.

As always, you can check out our ongoing coverage through both our Live Rehearsal Blog and also rolling  daily updates on our Twitter Account.

If you are avoiding potential rehearsal spoilers then don’t read any further! Semi Final Two will take place at 21.00 CET on Thursday 20th May 2021 with sixteen countries competing for ten qualifying spots for the final.

Third up this morning is… Portugal!

First Rehearsal

Similar to their performance in the national final, we start in black and white, but also in a 4:3 video aspect ratio, like the old TV sets. As the chorus ends and the screen is filled with colours, the video ratio also spreads to widescreen. The performance features a really nice story on the screens, and Pedro (the lead singer) follows a girl on the screen all the way on the catwalk to the small satelite stage. He picks up his electric guitar and plays together with the rest of the band until the end of the song. They have some fantastic LED screen use too, including a cartoon-like city, golden hearts and a shadow orchestra which looks fantastic.

Vocally, this is as perfect as it can get, and they have improved the visuals massively from the national final as well. I would definitely not count Portugal out!

Before Eurovision

Portugal are another nation that did not invite their 2020 representative (in this case Elisa) back for 2021. Instead, they set up plans early on to host their annual music festival and national selection Festival da Canção. Earlier this year, we had all of the Portuguese hopefuls release their songs. One that went a little under the radar at the start was “Love Is On My Side” by The Black Mamba, however perhaps stood out for being one of the few songs performed in English. Portugal did something they’d never done before by voting for the band to win, sending their first ever song fully in English to the Eurovision stage!

The Black Mamba have a really cool, lounge vibe to their performances and have impressed with some strong performances in the pre-parties. Always accompanied by a hat and a cool outfit, you can check out the official video for the song here: