World Song Contest

THE WINNER

Country: Portugal
Artist(s): David Fonseca
Song: Our Hearts Will Beat As One

One of the most popular and revered voices in Portuguese rock, David Fonseca rose to fame as the singer/guitarist for the multi-platinum band Silence 4. From its 1998 debut, Silence Becomes It, to its 2001 tour, Silence 4 was a record-setting band, taking concert attendance and album sales figures to new levels in Portugal. It was a shock to the country's rock fans when the band "froze" activities in 2002, but it was a chance for Fonseca to branch out on his own, work with different musicians, and try new sounds. With longtime Silence 4 producer Mário Barreiros, Fonseca recorded his debut solo album, Sing Me Something New. Released in 2003, the album included the single "Someone That Cannot Love," which made its debut on Portuguese radio when 150 stations played the song at midnight on March 10 of that year. And it soon reached #2 on the National Sales Chart and was certified Gold. The tour of this first record was extensive; it included many big music venues and large festivals across Portugal. Our Hearts Will Beat As One is said, by David himself, to be “scarily personal” and was only released in the fall of 2005, because of the other projects that David was involved in between his two solo works. The second album includes Who Are U? as the first single, described by David as “the song I always wanted to write”. It reached #3 on the Portuguese airplay charts. Our Hearts Will Beat As One was critically acclaimed by the media and was considered pop album of the year in Portugal, even before the end of the year. The album went straight to #1 on the National Sales Chart and reached Gold status on its first week of sales. In October, 2007, his third original album, Dreams in Colour, was released and the first single was Superstars II, a song that obtained substantial airplay due to a cellphone campaign that adopted the single. His 4th album, Between Waves, followed in November 2009.