10. Portugal
Artist: MARO
Title: longing, longing
Past wins: 2017
After The Black Mambas, MARO will be defending Portugal this year during the Eurovision Song Contest. The Portuguese Mariana Secca is a musical centipede. She writes her own songs, plays guitar, electric bass and classical piano. For Saudade, Saudade, though, she keeps it pretty simple. The serene song gently ripples along while MARO and her backing vocals clap along to the beat at a compelling pace. The word Saudade cannot be literally translated from Portuguese, but it clearly has to do with feelings of loss, lack, distance and love. According to the bookmakers, she will not take the profit, but she does have a chance of a place in the top 10.
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