Love Is on My Side

"Love Is on My Side" is a song by Portuguese soul band the Black Mamba that represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.^[1] It was written by the lead vocalist of the band, Pedro Tatanka, and is the first Portuguese entry in the contest to be performed entirely in English.

"Love Is on My Side"
Single by the Black Mamba
Released	7 March 2021
Length	2:55
Label	Self-released
Songwriter(s)	Tatanka
The Black Mamba singles chronology
"Beautiful Lie" (2020) "Love Is on My Side" (2021)
Music video
"Love Is on My Side" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2021 entry
Country	Portugal
Artist(s)	The Black Mamba
Language	English
Composer(s)	Pedro Tatanka Taborda
Lyricist(s)	Pedro Tatanka Taborda
Finals performance
Semi-final result	4th
Semi-final points	239
Final result	12th
Final points	153
Entry chronology
◄ "Medo de sentir" (2020)
"Saudade, saudade" (2022) ►

Background

The song is about a sex worker that the band met during a trip to Amsterdam in 2019. The song is sung from the woman's perspective. In the beginning, she is young and full of hope. But, things didn't turn out as planned and she would end up using drugs and going into prostitution. However, despite the hardships, she still retains some of her youth.^[2]

Eurovision Song Contest

Main article: Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021

The song was selected to represent Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, after winning Festival da Canção, the music competition that selects Portugal's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The semi-finals of the 2021 contest featured the same line-up of countries as determined by the draw for the 2020 contest's semi-finals. Portugal was placed into the second semi-final, held on 20 May 2021, from which they qualified in 4th place. In the grand final, held on 22 May 2021, the song was performed 7th in the running order and came 12th with 153 points.

Charts

Chart performance for "Love Is on My Side"

Chart (2021)	Peak position
Iceland (RÚV)[3]	17
Lithuania (AGATA)[4]	46
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[5]	70
Portugal (AFP)[6]	44
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[7]	5
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[8]	55

References

1. "The Black Mamba slides towards Rotterdam". Eurovision.tv. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
2. "The Black Mamba "Love Is On My Side" Lyrics — Portugal Eurovision 2021". wiwibloggs. 2021-04-08. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
3. "Vinsaeldalisti Rásar 2" (in Icelandic). RÚV. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
4. "2021 21-os SAVAITĖS (gegužės 21-27 d.) SINGLŲ TOP100" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 28 May 2021. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
5. "The Black Mamba – Love Is on My Side" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
6. "The Black Mamba – Love Is on My Side". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
7. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 21". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
8. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 May 2021.