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| Salvador Sobral in Eurovision (2017) |
Today, The Grandma has been in contact with The Watsons. They continued closed at Grandma's home in Barcelona following the WHO instructions about the pandemic. It is raining in the Catalan capital and the weather predictions indicate rain during all the week.
Rainy days are sad and introspective and because of this, The Grandma has wanted to explain them the story of Salvador Sobral, the Portuguese singer, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 for Portugal with the song Amar pelos dois.
The Grandma met Salvador during his staying in Barcelona where he arrived in 2014 to finish his studies with Taller de Músics, an amazing music school very popular in the city and one of the most acclaimed in Europe.
The Grandma loves Portuguese music. Madredeus, Mísia, Salvador Sobral, Dulce Pontes, Mariza, Cristina Branco, Rui Veloso, Ana Moura... this is an endless list. It is very curious the great relationship between Catalan and Portuguese musicians. Salvador Sobral, Dulce Pontes and Mísia (whose mother was Catalan) are great examples of this.
Rainy days are sad and introspective and because of this, The Grandma has wanted to explain them the story of Salvador Sobral, the Portuguese singer, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 for Portugal with the song Amar pelos dois.
The Grandma met Salvador during his staying in Barcelona where he arrived in 2014 to finish his studies with Taller de Músics, an amazing music school very popular in the city and one of the most acclaimed in Europe.
The Grandma loves Portuguese music. Madredeus, Mísia, Salvador Sobral, Dulce Pontes, Mariza, Cristina Branco, Rui Veloso, Ana Moura... this is an endless list. It is very curious the great relationship between Catalan and Portuguese musicians. Salvador Sobral, Dulce Pontes and Mísia (whose mother was Catalan) are great examples of this.
It is a great honour and pleasure for The Grandma to talk about Salvador Sobral whose wonderful lyrics and extreme sensitivity could be a good leader to follow and an excellent mirror to learn. Rennette Watson knows it and she is working hard and learning fast.
Before talking about Salvador Sobral, The Grandma has offered The Watsons a new Cambridge Key English Test A2 Example.
Salvador Vilar Braamcamp Sobral (born 28 December 1989) is a Portuguese singer, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 for Portugal with the song Amar pelos dois, written and composed by his sister Luísa Sobral.
In doing so, he gave Portugal its first ever win in the contest since its debut in 1964, ending the longest winless run by a country in Eurovision history, 53 years.
In doing so, he gave Portugal its first ever win in the contest since its debut in 1964, ending the longest winless run by a country in Eurovision history, 53 years.
Sobral and his entry hold the Eurovision record for the highest-scoring winner, having earned a total of 758 points under the current voting system, after winning both the jury vote and televote.
Sobral was born in Lisbon and has lived there most of his life. He was born into a formerly noble family, the son of Salvador Luís Cabral Braamcamp Sobral and Luísa Maria Cabral Posser Vilar. His paternal grandparents are Salvador José de Almeida Braamcamp Sobral and Maria Elisa Perestrelo de Matos de Figueiredo Cabral; and his maternal grandparents are João Luís Posser de Andrade Vilar and Luísa Maria de Melo Breyner Freire Cabral. The politician Hermano José Braamcamp de Almeida Castelo Branco is his great-great-great-great-grandfather.
At the age of ten, he
participated in the TV programme Bravo Bravíssimo, and at 20 he was one
of the ten finalists of Ídolos, the Portuguese version of the Idols
franchise. As a finalist, he sang music by Stevie Wonder, Leonard Cohen
and Rui Veloso.
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| Salvador Sobral in Eurovision (2017) |
In 2009, he competed on season three of Ídolos, Portugal's version of the Idols franchise. He finished seventh in the competition. His sister, Luísa Sobral, is also a singer who previously placed third on season one of Ídolos.
After he left the Psychology program, he applied to the Taller de Músics, a music school in Barcelona, where he finished his studies in 2014.
In 2015, he participated in the Vodafone Mexefest and EDP Cool Jazz festivals. During this time, Sobral traveled through several cities and among them, Tenerife, where he performed at a private party of a wealthy couple.
On 2 August 2016, Sobral released his debut single Excuse Me as the lead single from his debut studio album. On the same day he released his debut studio album Excuse Me. The album peaked at number 10 on the Portuguese Album Chart. Nem Eu was released as the second single from the album on 27 October 2016.
In 2017, Sobral was
confirmed to be taking part in Festival da Canção 2017, with the song Amar pelos dois. He went on to win the competition on 5 March 2017,
and represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.
Sobral
could not perform in the first rehearsals because of a heart condition
and an operation that forced him to rest ahead of the performance in the
semi. His sister took over the role of singer during the first
rehearsals. He won the final with 758 points, which under the current
voting system represents the highest scoring winner in the history of
the contest.
More information: Eurovision TV
In July 2017, he participated in the Super Bock Super Rock festival in Lisbon, fronting rock group Alexander Search, a project he shares with pianist Júlio Resende and other musicians -the band plays music inspired by the work by Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa.
In 23 April 2018 he received -along with his sister, Luísa Sobral- the Portuguese Order of Merit, both receiving the medals of Commanders. This honorific award was given by the Portuguese president himself, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
In May 2018 Sobral performed in the Grand Final of the 2018 Eurovision Song alongside Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso.
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| Salvador Sobral in Eurovision (2017) |
Salvador Sobral is a fan of Chet Baker and Música popular brasileira singers including Caetano Veloso and Chico Buarque.
He speaks six languages: Portuguese, Spanish,
English, Catalan, French and some Italian. In 2019, he started to learn
Swedish, as he is a fan of film-maker Ingmar Bergman.
Sobral married Belgian actress Jenna Thiam in a small ceremony in Lisbon on 29 December 2018.
On 5 September 2017, Sobral announced via Facebook that he would interrupt his career temporarily due to health concerns, following a last concert on 8 September, in the gardens of Casino Estoril, in Cascais.
It is not a secret that I have a fragile health; I have a problem. It is, unfortunately, time to hand over my body to science and to abandon my life of concerts and music; time to leave for a while from this civilian world and go to another where, certainly, my problem will be fixed. Unfortunately, I do not know how long this will take.
On 8 December 2017, Sobral underwent a successful heart transplant. He left hospital in January 2018, with doctors telling him to take life quietly and keep away from crowds.
More information: BBC
Sobral drew attention to the European migrant crisis by attending the first semi-final winners' press conference in an S.O.S. Refugees shirt.
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| Salvador Sobral in Eurovision (2017) |
If I'm here and I have European exposure, the least thing I can do is a humanitarian message, he said. People come to Europe in plastic boats and are being asked to show their birth certificates in order to enter a country. These people are not immigrants, they're refugees running from death. Make no mistake. There is so much bureaucratic stuff happening in the refugee camps in Greece, Turkey and Italy and we should help create legal and safe pathways from these countries to their destiny countries, he added, earning a round of applause.
The EBU banned him from wearing the shirt for the remainder of the contest. The EBU argued that Sobral's shirt was being used as a political message, violating the rules of the contest.
The EBU banned him from wearing the shirt for the remainder of the contest. The EBU argued that Sobral's shirt was being used as a political message, violating the rules of the contest.
Sobral argued at his winners' press conference, however, that it held a humanitarian message, not political one.
During a concert in Ourém, Sobral announced on 19 June 2017 that he would donate all the profits from the sales of his CDs sold, to the people of Pedrógão Grande and the relief efforts in the town after it was severely damaged by wildfires the previous day.
More information: Facebook-Salvador Sobral
Amar pelos dois is a song performed by Portuguese singer Salvador Sobral.
The track was written and produced by Luísa Sobral. It premiered on 19 February 2017, when it was performed during the first semi-final of Festival da Canção 2017, Portugal's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, and was released as a digital download on 10 March 2017 by Sons em Trânsito.
Amar pelos dois is a jazz waltz with a lyrical theme of heartbreak after a breakup. The track received praise from music critics -some reviewers considered it Portugal's all-time best Eurovision entry.
The song earned the Sobral siblings various awards, including two Marcel Bezençon Awards. It was included in the European Union Songbook as the all-time top Portuguese love song, and was covered by several artists. The song achieved commercial success, particularly in Europe.
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| Salvador Sobral in Eurovision (2017) |
Amar pelos dois represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kiev, Ukraine.
The song gave Portugal its first ever win since their debut in 1964.
It amassed 758 points, setting the record for the highest number of points in the history of the competition, and is the only entry to top both the televoting and jury voting in the second half of the 2010s.
Salvador Sobral performed alone on stage B, close to the audience, while the background LED screens displayed an enchanted forest.
The song gave Portugal its first ever win since their debut in 1964.
It amassed 758 points, setting the record for the highest number of points in the history of the competition, and is the only entry to top both the televoting and jury voting in the second half of the 2010s.
Salvador Sobral performed alone on stage B, close to the audience, while the background LED screens displayed an enchanted forest.
Amar pelos dois was one of sixteen songs commissioned by RTP for Festival da Canção 2017, Portugal's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. The composers both created the song and selected the performer for their entry.
Luísa Sobral composed Amar pelos dois specifically for her brother, Salvador Sobral: I never thought about singing this song myself because when I wrote it I already had my brother's voice in mind. I was very fond of seeing him playing my song, because I think he is an extraordinary singer and because it gives me great joy to see him at the song contest and also that it turned out to be a family thing.
Salvador Sobral stated that even though Amar pelos dois was created by his sister Luísa Sobra, she gave him freedom to perform the song according to his artistic personality.
More information: Instagram-Salvador Sobral
Amar pelos dois premiered on 19 February 2017, when it was performed in Festival da Canção 2017, Portugal's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.
The song became available through digital retailers and streaming services on 10 March 2017 via Sons em Trânsito. On 16 June 2017, it was released on physical format via Sony Music.
Amar pelos dois is a jazz waltz with a length of three minutes and five seconds that moves at a tempo of 92 beats per minute.
The song is composed in the key of F major and is written in triple metre, with Sobral's vocals spanning from D4 to G5. Without background vocals, it has an instrumentation consisting of strings and piano.
Salvador Sobral stated that Amar pelos dois is influenced by those old songs from the Great American Songbook, and it also has a touch of the beautiful bossa nova melodies.
The song's lyrical theme is heartbreak after a breakup: Meu bem / Ouve as minhas preces / Peço que regresses / Que me voltes a querer.
Sobral described it as a love song. A sad one.
The song's lyrical theme is heartbreak after a breakup: Meu bem / Ouve as minhas preces / Peço que regresses / Que me voltes a querer.
Sobral described it as a love song. A sad one.
More information: Twitter-Salvador Sobral
Se um dia alguém, perguntar por mim
Diz que vivi para te amar
Antes de ti, só existi
Cansado e sem nada para dar.
If one day someone asks about me
Tell them I lived to love you
Before you, I only existed
Tired and with nothing to give.
Diz que vivi para te amar
Antes de ti, só existi
Cansado e sem nada para dar.
If one day someone asks about me
Tell them I lived to love you
Before you, I only existed
Tired and with nothing to give.
Salvador Sobral
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