Tonight, the annual Portuguese national selection Festival da Canção kicked off at RTP studios, with the first ten semi-finalists vying for a spot in the Grand Final on March 9th.
The semi-final was hosted by Tânia Ribas de Oliveira and José Carlos Malato, while the green room host was Inês Lopes Gonçalves. To celebrate Festival da Canção’s 60th anniversary, several figures related to the event were invited to present the competing songs, including Ana Paula Reis, António Calvário (winner of Festival da Canção 1964), Elisa (winner of Festival da Canção 2020), Filipa Sousa (winner of Festival da Canção 2012), Inês Santos (winner of Festival da Canção 1998, being apart of Alma Lusa), Isabel Angelino, Margarida Mercês de Mello, Mimicat (winner of Festival da Canção 2023), Pedro Fernandes, Pedro Granger, Sílvia Alberto (Eurovision Song Contest 2018 host), Suzy (winner of Festival da Canção 2014) and Tozé Brito.
The running order was announced prior to the show and would see Nena open the semi-final and Bispo closing it. The full running order was as follows:
- 1. Nena – “Teorias Da Conspiração” (lyrics & music by Nena)
- 2. Perpétua – “Bem Longe Daqui” (lyrics & music by Perpétua)
- 3. MELA – “Água” (lyrics & music by MELA)
- 4. Mila Dores – “Afia A Língua” (lyrics by Mila Dores | music by Mila Dores & Filipe Sambado)
- 5. LEFT. – “Volto A Ti” (lyrics & music by LEFT.)
- 6. Rita Rocha – “Pontos Finais” (lyrics & music by Rita Rocha)
- 7. NOBLE – “Memory” (lyrics by NOBLE | music by NOBLE & Rui Saraiva)
- 8. João Borsch – “…Pelas Costuras” (lyrics & music by João Borsch)
- 9. iolanda – “Grito” (lyrics by iolanda | music by iolanda & Luar)
- 10. Bispo – “Casa Portuguesa” (lyrics & music by Bispo)
Before the performances, Selma Uamusse paid a tribute to Sara Tavares, winner of Festival da Canção 1994, who passed away a few months ago. After the performances, the main interval act was given by Delfins, while the televoting lines were still open.
Results
The first 5 qualifiers were based on the results of the public and jury votes (consisting of personalities linked to the world of music, entertainment and media), in a 50/50 proportion, with both voting pools assigning 12, 10 and 8-1 points to all ten competing songs. In the event of a tie for 5th place, the song with the highest score in the jury’s vote will qualify to the Grand Final. The first five artists that advanced directly to the final were iolanda, João Borsch, Perpétua, Nena and Rita Rocha.
The lines then re-opened one more time to decide the sixth televote only qualifier for the Grand Final.
Then, it was announced after a short interview that NOBLE had won the last spot in the Grand Final.
The current line-up of the Grand Final is thus:
- iolanda – “Grito” (lyrics by iolanda | music by iolanda & Luar)
- João Borsch – “…Pelas Costuras” (lyrics & music by João Borsch)
- Nena – “Teorias Da Conspiração” (lyrics & music by Nena)
- NOBLE – “Memory” (lyrics by NOBLE | music by NOBLE & Rui Saraiva)
- Perpétua – “Bem Longe Daqui” (lyrics & music by Perpétua)
- Rita Rocha – “Pontos Finais” (lyrics & music by Rita Rocha)
The second semi-final will take place on March 2nd and feature another ten artists and entries. The Grand Final final of Festival da Canção will take place on March 9th and will select the country’s act for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö.
What do #YOU think about the results in Portugal tonight? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!
