Sofia Vitória
Encyclopedia
Sofia Vitória is a Portuguese
singer, best known for her participation in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest
.
Sofia Vitória first came to public notice in late 2003 when she was a contestant in the second series of Portuguese TV reality talent show Operaçao Triunfo, which was designed to pick three contestants to compete for the chance to represent Portugal at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest. On 11 January 2004, Sofia Vitória was selected as one of the three, along with fellow contestants Gonçalo and Francisco. On 18 January, the three competed in that year's Festival da Canção with a televote to decide the winner, who would be announced the following week. On 25 January it was confirmed that Sofia Vitória's song "Foi magia
" ("It Was Magic") had been voted the winner, earning her the right to represent Portugal at the 49th Eurovision Song Contest
, to be held in Istanbul
.
Because of the increasing number of countries wishing to participate in Eurovision, the decision had been taken to introduce a semi-final qualifier for the first time in 2004. Portugal's low placing the previous year meant that they would be one of the countries who would have to take part in the semi-final, which took place on 12 May. Gonçalo and Francisco joined Sofia Vitória on stage as backing singers, but at the end of voting "Foi magia" had placed 15th of the 22 entries meaning that, with only the top 10 songs qualifying for the final, Portugal was one of those which missed out.
Sofia Vitória has largely maintained a low profile since 2004. In 2007, she collaborated with traditional musician Júlio Pereira on his album Geografias, and continues to perform at small-scale venues.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
singer, best known for her participation in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
.
Sofia Vitória first came to public notice in late 2003 when she was a contestant in the second series of Portuguese TV reality talent show Operaçao Triunfo, which was designed to pick three contestants to compete for the chance to represent Portugal at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest. On 11 January 2004, Sofia Vitória was selected as one of the three, along with fellow contestants Gonçalo and Francisco. On 18 January, the three competed in that year's Festival da Canção with a televote to decide the winner, who would be announced the following week. On 25 January it was confirmed that Sofia Vitória's song "Foi magia
Foi Magia
"Foi magia" was the Portuguese entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, performed in Portuguese by Sofia Vitória.The song is an up-tempo number, with Vitória singing about how she felt when she first saw her lover, a feeling she describes as "magic" and otherwise impossible to explain.As...
" ("It Was Magic") had been voted the winner, earning her the right to represent Portugal at the 49th Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2004
The Eurovision Song Contest 2004, was the 49th Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing "Everyway That I Can"...
, to be held in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
Because of the increasing number of countries wishing to participate in Eurovision, the decision had been taken to introduce a semi-final qualifier for the first time in 2004. Portugal's low placing the previous year meant that they would be one of the countries who would have to take part in the semi-final, which took place on 12 May. Gonçalo and Francisco joined Sofia Vitória on stage as backing singers, but at the end of voting "Foi magia" had placed 15th of the 22 entries meaning that, with only the top 10 songs qualifying for the final, Portugal was one of those which missed out.
Sofia Vitória has largely maintained a low profile since 2004. In 2007, she collaborated with traditional musician Júlio Pereira on his album Geografias, and continues to perform at small-scale venues.
External links
- MySpace page
- Festival da Canção 2004 (Portuguese - contains audio)