Salvador Vilar Braamcamp SobralComM (European Portuguese:[salvɐˈðoɾviˈlaɾβɾɐ̃ˈkɐ̃psuˈβɾal]; born 28 December 1989) is a Portuguese singer, who won theEurovision Song Contest 2017 forPortugal with the song "Amar pelos dois", written and composed by his sister,Luísa Sobral.[1] In doing so, he gavePortugal its first ever win in the contest since its debut in1964, ending the longest winless run by a country in Eurovision history (53 years). Sobral and his entry hold the Eurovision record for thehighest-scoring winner as of 2017, having earned a total of 758 points under the current voting system, after winning both the jury vote and televote.[1][2]
Sobral was born inLisbon and has lived there most of his life. He was born into a formerlynoble family,[3][4] the son of Salvador Luís Cabral Braamcamp Sobral and Luísa Maria Cabral Posser Vilar. His paternal grandparents are Salvador José de Almeida Braamcamp Sobral and Maria Elisa Perestrelo de Matos de Figueiredo Cabral.
At the age of ten, he participated in the TV programmeBravo Bravíssimo, and at 20 he was one of the ten finalists ofÍdolos, the Portuguese version of theIdols franchise. As a finalist, he sang music byStevie Wonder,Leonard Cohen andRui Veloso.[5]
In 2009, he competed onseason three ofÍdolos, Portugal's version of theIdols franchise.[7] He finished seventh in the competition. His sister,Luísa Sobral, is also a singer who previously placed third on season one ofÍdolos.[8]
Salvador Sobral, accompanied by pianist Júlio Resende, in the FOLIO festival inÓbidos, singing poems by Alexander Search (one ofFernando Pessoa's pseudonyms).
After he left the Psychology program, he applied to theTaller de Músics, a music school inBarcelona, where he finished his studies in 2014.[6] In 2015, he participated in the Vodafone Mexefest and EDP Cool Jazz festivals.[9][10] During this time, Sobral traveled through several cities inSpain and among them,Tenerife, where he performed at a private party of a wealthy couple.[11]
2016–2018:Excuse Me, Eurovision Song Contest and health issues
On 2 August 2016, Sobral released his debut single "Excuse Me" as the lead single from his debut studio album. On the same day he released his debut studio albumExcuse Me.[6] The album peaked at number 10 on thePortuguese Album Chart. "Nem Eu" was released as the second single from the album on 27 October 2016. In 2017, Sobral was confirmed to be taking part inFestival da Canção 2017, with the song "Amar pelos dois".[12] He went on to win the competition on 5 March 2017, and represented Portugal in theEurovision Song Contest 2017.[13]
Sobral could not perform in the first rehearsals because of a heart condition and an operation that forced him to rest ahead of the performance in the semi.[14][15] His sister took over the role of singer during the first rehearsals.[14] He won the final with 758 points, which under the current voting system represents thehighest scoring winner in the history of the contest.[1][2]
In 23 April 2018 he received – along with his sister,Luísa Sobral – the PortugueseOrder of Merit, both receiving the medals of Commanders (ComM). This honorific award was given by the Portuguese president himself,Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.[17]
On 29 March 2019, his second studio albumParis, Lisboa (Paris, Lisbon) was released in 13 countries; he sings in 4 languages on it.
On 28 May 2021, Sobral released his third solo albumBPM.[19] The album was later nominated for Best Engineered Album at the22nd Latin Grammy Awards.[20]
On 5 September 2017, Sobral announced that he would go on a temporary hiatus due to health concerns, following a last concert on 8 September, in the gardens ofCasino Estoril, inCascais. "It is not a secret that I have a fragile health; I have a problem. It is, unfortunately, time to hand over my body to science and to abandon my life of concerts and music; time to leave for a while from this civilian world and go to another where, certainly, my problem will be fixed. Unfortunately, I do not know how long this will take."[28] On 8 December 2017, Sobral underwent a successfulheart transplant.[29] He left hospital in January 2018, with doctors telling him to "take life quietly" and "keep away from crowds."[30]
In October 2020, Sobral was diagnosed withCOVID-19 after attending one of his sister's concerts but, by his own account, made an easy recovery havingself-isolated for 20 days.[31]
Sobral drew attention to theEuropean migrant crisis by attending the first semi-final winners' press conference in an 'S.O.S. Refugees' shirt.[32] "If I'm here and I have European exposure, the least thing I can do is a humanitarian message," he said. "People come to Europe in plastic boats and are being asked to show theirbirth certificates in order to enter a country. These people are not immigrants, they're refugees running from death. Make no mistake. There is so much bureaucratic stuff happening in therefugee camps in Greece, Turkey and Italy and we should help create legal and safe pathways from these countries to their destiny countries," he added, earning a round of applause.[33]
TheEBU banned him from wearing the shirt for the remainder of the contest.[34] The EBU argued that Sobral's shirt was being used as a "political message," violating the rules of the contest.[34] Sobral argued at his winners' press conference, however, that it held a humanitarian message, not a political one.[35]
Due to the continuingGaza war, more than 70 former Eurovision contestants, including Sobral, signed a letter calling forIsrael to be excluded from the Eurovision Song Contest.[37]
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