Following her first rehearsal at Eurovision 2024, our Rory got a chance to catch up with iolanda to discuss her Malmö experience so far.
Watch our interview with iolanda right here:
During their interview, Rory and iolanda talked about how her first rehearsal went, as well as her upcoming plans for after Eurovision. The two also chat about Portugal’s return to Eurovision in Sweden and what she wanted to elevate in her staging for her song “Grito”. Rory also surprises iolanda with a momento of home and she gives her thanks to the fans everything they have given her during her Eurovision experience.
iolanda’s Eurovision Journey so far
iolanda was selected to represent Portugal with “Grito” after winning the Portuguese national final Festival da Canção. At the end of March, it was determined that iolanda will perform fourteenth in the first Eurovision semi-final in Malmö on May 7th.
She performed at Pre-Party ES in Madrid on March 30th. That was her only pre-party performance.
On Sunday, she performed on the Eurovision stage for her first rehearsal. You can find out more about her first rehearsal, and our thoughts on that here.
Who is iolanda?
iolanda, whose name is Iolanda Costa, was born in 1994 in Figueira da Foz, on the west coast of Portugal. She took an interest in music as a young child, going on to study at the British and Irish Insitute of Modern Music at the University of Sussex in the UK. She was a co-writer for “Mar no fim”, which competed at Festival da Canção in 2022.
Outside of Eurovision-related events, iolanda took part in The Voice Portugal in 2014, though failed to advance past the blind audition rounds. She released her first and to date only EP in 2023 called “Cura”. It was written during the COVID-19 pandemic. The EP features 7 songs, including the title track “Cura”.
“Grito” was written by Iolanda Costa and Alberto “Luar” Hernández. Costa also composed the song.
Portugal’s Eurovision Journey
Portugal debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest with António Calvário’s “Oração” in 1964. Since then, Portugal has participated in the competition 54 times – appearing the final 45 times. Their only win in the competition came in 2017 with Salvador Sobral, performing his heart-wrenching song “Amar Pelos Dois”.
Portugal’s most recent participation was with Mimicat with the song “Ai, coração”. Mimicat managed to qualify for the Grand Final and once there, she finished in 23rd place. She received a total of 59 points, of which 43 points came from the jury and 16 points came the televote.
What do you think of our interview with iolanda? Do you think she will qualify for the final this year? Where would you like Portugal to finish this year? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky as we cover the rehearsals of Eurovision 2024!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
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