Nonstop

Nonstop was a Portuguese pop girl group formed through the TV contest Popstars in 2001. Over 1,200 girls auditioned across Portugal for a new five-member group. The winners were Andrea Soares, Ana Rita (Rita) Reis, Fátima Sousa, Kátia Moreira, and Liliana Almeida. Liliana was almost too young to compete (only 17 at first), but she turned 18 just in time to join the band. The group was named Nonstop, and they quickly gained fame with their first single “Ao Limite Eu Vou” (meaning “To the Limit I Go”), which became a huge summer hit in 2001. Their self-titled debut album Nonstop was released in July 2001 and sold over 30,000 copies, earning a gold certification. This made Nonstop very popular in Portugal, especially among young fans.

With their early success, Nonstop appeared frequently on TV and even had a song featured in a soap opera soundtrack. However, in January 2002, member Fátima Sousa announced she was leaving the group. The remaining four members decided to continue as a quartet. They continued to promote their music, releasing more singles from the first album. In 2003, Nonstop recorded new material, including a Portuguese cover of the song “Lady Marmalade”, showing their versatility. 

Nonstop released their second album, Tudo Vai Mudar (which means “Everything Will Change”), in May 2004. The title track “E Tudo Vai Mudar” was released as a single and became popular, receiving regular play on MTV Portugal. The group also released a cover of Carlos Paião‘s 1981 Eurovision song “Play-back” in 2004. Nonstop toured to promote the new album and even performed outside Portugal, in countries like Canada and France. They were the opening act for Irish pop singer Ronan Keating at his concert in Portugal. In 2005, Nonstop took more creative control of their music. They put out a ballad titled “Assim Como És” (“The Way You Are”) and an English version of their song “Tudo Vai Mudar” called “Sooner or Later”. These efforts kept them in the public eye and prepared them for the next big step in their career.

In early 2006, Nonstop entered Festival da Canção, Portugal’s national song contest, with a dance-pop song called “Coisas de Nada”. They won the competition, which meant they would represent Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece. At Eurovision, Nonstop performed “Coisas de Nada” in a mix of Portuguese and English. Unfortunately, their performance did not advance to the final; Nonstop finished 19th in the semi-final and earned 26 points. Despite this result, participating in Eurovision was one of the highlights of Nonstop’s career.

After Eurovision, Nonstop hoped to continue with new music. The members started working on new songs, but they had trouble agreeing on the group’s musical direction. In April 2007, Kátia Moreira decided to leave the group, which was a heavy blow to Nonstop’s future. The remaining three members (Rita, Andrea, and Liliana) promised to honor any scheduled appearances, and there were plans to keep making music, but no new album ever came out. The group never officially announced a breakup, but by the end of 2006 their activity had essentially stopped. After 2007, Nonstop went into a long hiatus, and the members each moved on to other projects. Fans consider this the end of the group’s active years.

All the former Nonstop members remained active in music after the group’s end. They have occasionally reunited for special events. For example, in 2018 the four members of Nonstop came together to perform at a Pride festival in Lisbon, delighting fans with their hit “Ao Limite Eu Vou” once again.