Portugal have had a brief history at Junior Eurovision, with two performances in the early years, and then they returned in 2017 and now once again in 2018. Their results at the contest haven’t been too great, with their best placing 14th from three participations. Despite that, we are glad to see the nation participate once again, and this year it will be up to Rita Laranjeira to represent Portugal with the song Gosto de Tudo (Já Não Gosto de Nada).
This is an entry that was severely underwhelming upon first listen, but as time goes by and I keep hearing snippets of the song, I’ve come to realise that it’s actually quite a catchy song. If Portugal really wanted to change their results and send a contender for the win, this certainly isn’t it, but in the context of Junior Eurovision, this is a fun, child-friendly song that will be an enjoyable three minutes for the audiences in the arena and at home.
This entry splits me in two, because on one hand, I can’t help but compare this entry to the other competitors this year, and in comparison this just doesn’t stand up. It’s not exactly the most contemporary entry, and I don’t know that her vocals actually match this song so perhaps the chosen entry could have worked around her vocals better. But on the other hand, this is just such an inoffensive, bubbly, cute song that I think viewers will appreciate even if they aren’t drawn to vote for it.
The big positive of this entry is Rita herself. She is definitely a fun, relatable personality and I think seeing a relatable personality on stage will connect with audiences, even just to see that she is having fun on stage. I don’t yet think we have heard this performance live, so that is another unknown but I think if they can create a fun staging, it will be enjoyable to watch.
This is definitely not in contention to win, nor do I think it will be able to achieve something much higher than 14th in a contest of 20 participants. In terms of the songs themselves, I do prefer Youtuber, but both tracks have a sense of fun which is always nice to see at Junior Eurovision. For me it’s 6/10.
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