Every year, the Amália Prizes (Prémios Amália) are awarded to a selection of artists "in" or "out" of the fado. The jury is filled with some very good people. Below are the results from this year. Many of the names are recognizable from this blog, including Fábia Rebordão, Rodrigo, Rádio Amália, Carminho, and Ângelo Freire.
The categories are roughly as follows ("dentro"="in", "fora"="out"): (A) Revelation ("new discovery") within the fado (voice, Portuguese guitar, viola), then outside the fado; (B) Album in and out; (C) Composition; (D) Poetry; (E) Career in and out; (F) Scholarship; (G) Dissemination; (H) Singer in and out; (I) Musicians (as above); (J) Fusion; (L) Discographic production; (M) Prestige; (N) International dissemination; (O) Tribute to Amália.
There's alot of great talent on this list. I'm not sure I agree with all the choices (half of the album by Alvim is not fado), but others are spot-on. Cidália Moreira and Rodrigo do not necessarily get the attention they deserve (E); Sardinha's book is controversial but interesting (F); Rádio Amália (G) and Carminho (H) are both excellent choices, as are those for the musicians (I)--all of whom are fairly young. Mísia was a surprise, as she has wandered for many years out of the fado (and out of Portugal), but tours tirelessly (N). Gonçalo--I don't know what the prize is for, but the guy has a good voice (O).
