Simone de Oliveira is considered to be one of the biggest Portuguese artists ever and one of the most cherished by the public. On February 25, Simone will celebrate her golden anniversary in the music scene with a concert in Lisbon.
Simone de Oilveira represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest back in 1965 with Sol de Inverno. In 1969, her song Desfolhada took Portugal by storm due to its strong lyrics and performance.Sheparticipated three times in the Portuguese national final in the sixties and won twice. When she arrived in Lisbon, back from Madrid in 1969, tens ofthousands of people were waitng for her and she had to be escorted by the police to the studios of RTP.
For the Portuguese people, Simone de Oliveira stands for not only a singer who twice sang for Portugal at the Eurovision stage but also a woman of strong beliefs and ideas. Throughout the years people have come to respect her as a singer, actress, TV-host and even journalist.
Since 1958, Simone has dedicated her life to show business in multiple areas. She started singing on the radio and on television on the first broadcasts by RTP, the Portuguese public broadcaster. During the late 1950’s and the 1960’s she was the biggest singer in Portugal. Due to an overload of work, in 1969 she lost her voice and was unable to perform until 1972. In those years she worked as a journalist in newspapers and magazines.
Then followed her stepping on stage in numerous musical plays and dramas on television and in the cinema. She also carried on recording albums. In 1987, RTP invites her to host a show, during the making of which she was diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2002, Simone wrote a book about the process of struggling with the disease. She wanted people to know that a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence.
Since 2005, she has been on stage with a show called “Intimidades”. On 25 February she will celebrate the 50th aniversary of her career in a concert at Coliseu de Lisboa, an important concert hall in Lisbon.
In 1965, Sol de Inverno ended up in 13th place and in 1965 Desfolhada ranked 15th in Madrid.
