Senhora do mar (negras águas)
| "Senhora do mar" | |
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| Song |
"Senhora do mar (Negras águas)" ("Lady of the sea (Dark waters)") is a song performed by Portuguese singer Vânia Fernandes, which was chosen to represent Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia. It was voted the winner of the 2008 edition of Festival da Canção, the national selection final, after receiving a total of 17,650 votes (35%), more than the double of votes received by the runner-up.
The song was composed by Andrej Babić, who also wrote Croatia's entry in 2003, "Više nisam tvoja" by Claudia Beni; Bosnia & Herzegovina's in 2005, "Call Me" by Feminnem, and Slovenia's in 2007, "Cvet z juga" by Alenka Gotar.
An English version of the song, called "Lady of the Sea", as well as the song's instrumental and an official remix by DJ Rui da Silva, were created and provided as part of the song's pre-contest promotion. A new version in Portuguese and Serbian languages, featuring Beauty Queens, the backing singers of Marija Šerifović at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, was also made just before the contest. Vânia Fernandes and the Beauty Queens also recorded new versions of "Molitva" and "Zavet", the song that the Serbian group entered in Beovizija 2008 and came third in the competition.
A music video promoting the Portuguese isle of Madeira featured Vânia in a studio recording the song along with promotional shots of the island.
Vânia and her backing group performed last (19th) in the contest's second semi-final, on May 22, 2008, and qualified to the final with a 2nd place (120 points), only behind Ukraine's Ani Lorak and "Shady Lady". In the final, "Senhora do Mar" was the 13th song to be performed and finish in 13th, as well, with 69 points, becoming Portugal's most successful Eurovision entry since 1998.
This song, along with Norway's "Hold On Be Strong", Sweden's "Hero", Ukraine's "Shady Lady" and Switzerland's "Era Stupendo" continually fare well in post-contest fan-based scoreboards.