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“I remember watching Eurovision for the very first time in 2005 when Greece won. I was just mesmerized. And I never thought that if I could go back to 2005 and say, ‘By the way, you might be in this in like 20 years- you might be performing at this very on the very same stage.’” HENKA – a name meaning ‘change’ in Japanese – is the first heavy music act to potentially represent Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest. As a country with a proud love of its language, tradition, and emotive ballads, I Wanna Destroy You is the fan favourite to win Lisbon’s Festival De Cancao, the competition responsible for sending the winner to the Eurovision Song Contest held in Switzerland this May.
HENKA is fierce – the new music project of Cat Pereira (ex-DERANGE) – who sent her entry into the Portuguese broadcasters during the Heavy Music Awards after a few drinks. She had seen the remarkable rise of BAMBIE THUG, the alternative-music superstar who became Ireland’s most successful entrant in twenty years. “I felt like, once I saw and supported BAMBIE throughout all the Eurovision process, that’s when people started saying, you should try it as well. But I was thinking like, like Portugal is a different kind of breed, but it gave me the courage, and I feel that it would give the alternative music community, the outcasts and the queers, someone to back.”
In October, she received a call out of the blue, inviting her to Lisbon to compete in the contest. “And I just remember being in a bit in a state of shock, because I just asked, I’m, I’m sorry, did did you listen to the song from the beginning to end?”
I Wanna Destroy You was never written for Eurovision, but came naturally when HENKA was recording the song, asking her producer AS EVERYTHING UNFOLDS’ Jon Cass to create an edit under three minutes long to comply with the rules of the contest. HENKA flew herself out to Denmark to work with SIAMESE’s Mirza Radonjica. Whilst she does not describe herself as a ‘metal’ artist, also working with London post-hardcore outfit EXIST IMMORTAL on the track, she has infused heavy guitars and her iconic piercing screams into her sound, crafting damaging breaks of emotive sound against her whispered, BJORK-inspired verses. Naturally, electronica inspired by THE PRODIGY and PENDULUM also speaks to HENKA, her music becomes almost cinematic aligning with masterpieces such as Kill Bill. Whilst her sound been previously described as “anime music”, it can never be taken as an insult. Writing an opening is on the ever-growing list of things to do.
HENKA is a high-energy intense project, that encapsulates all of her art and her striking edgy style. With a background in – what she calls – “Special Action” art, working as a body double on film and TV for blockbusters including Fast X and Deadpool Vs Wolverine, she is no stranger to creating spectacular performances. Whilst we have been guaranteed that there will be no flamethrowers, swords or judo-routines at her Eurovision performance, she has been working extremely hard with her team to create a phenomenal routine that showcases to a global audience who exactly HENKA is.
I Wanna Destroy You was released with the other songs at the end of January as part of the launch of the Portuguese competition. “I honestly like I felt like my heart was really full that day. The polls started coming out. The reaction itself has been very good, which I’m very grateful and super happy about it, but at the same time, I am breaking it because it means that there’s high expectations.” Now the song will be contending in the Portuguese television competition, with one of six spots up for grabs in one of two semi-finals. Five of those will be chosen by a panel of judges, whilst there will be one extra ‘wildcard’ slot chosen by the public. If HENKA makes it through to the finals, she will be competing to win, in a 50-50 vote between the judges and the tele-vote, similar to how Eurovision judges its own contest.
After her inaugural performance in London at Haggerston’s Signature Brew, HENKA is flying off to Lisbon to get ready for one of the Festival De Cancao’s semi-finals, which she will be performing on March 1st. Hiring out a studio and making sure she is as prepared as possible, HENKA is ready to fight for her spot at Eurovision. “At the moment I’m in a fight or flight situation. So I’m just trying to take it easy. Just enjoy it. Enjoy what I can.”
Regardless of the outcome of the competition, 2025 is the year of HENKA. Building upon the foundations of last year’s singles, I’m A God and Hold The Knife, I Wanna Destroy You is the first step in her exciting journey of Eurovision domination. Wherever she ends up, she will be inspiring a new generation of Portuguese talent to take risks and create from the heart. The heavy music community will always back HENKA and her raw talent to become a true Eurovision trailblazer.
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The post INTRODUCING: Henka appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
