The pressure is on, since RTP, host broadcaster of this years Eurovision Song Contest, has just recently revealed who will take part in the Portuguese national final, Festival da Canção!
[AdSense-B]Festival da Canção 2018 will consist of 2 semi-finals and 1 grand final, with the winner getting the honor of representing Portugal on home soil.
After months of waiting, the speculations is over and we have all the details on the participants.
It was already back on 27th of September 2017, when RTP revealed the songwriters that would compose songs for the national final, and today it was revealed who would be singing in the competition.
Semi-Final 1
The first semi-final will take place on the 18th of February, and these are the competitors of the first semi-final: (Singer – Song Title – Composer)
- Peu Madureira – “Só Por Ela” – Diogo Clemente
- Anabela – “Para Te Dar Abrigo” – Fernando Tordo
- Joana Barra Vaz – “Anda Estragar-me Os Planos” – Minta
- Janeiro – “?” – Janeiro
- Rui David – “Sem Medo” – Jorge Palma
- José Cid & Gonçalo Tavares – “O Som Da Guitarra É A Alma De Um Povo” – JoséCid
- JP Simões – “Alvoroço” – JP Simões
- Emmy Curl – “Para Sorrir Não Preciso De Nada” – Júlio Resende
- Joana Espasinha – “Zero A Zero” – Benjamim
- Beatriz Pessoa – “Eu Te Amo” – Mallu Magalhães
- Bruno Vasconcelos – “Austrália” – Nuno Rafael
- Rita Dias – “Com Gosto Amigo” – Rita Dias
From this semi-final, we find 2 former Eurovision singers who represented Portugal in the past. José Cid represented Portugal in both 1980 & 1998, while Anabela represented Portugal in 1993. Notice as well that Janeiro‘s song title has still not been revealed at the time of writing. However, an interesting fact would also be that Janeiro was the one composer specially invited by Salvador Sobral to take part in this years selection. This semi-final will be hosted by Jorge Gabriel & José Carlos.
Semi-Final 2
The second semi-final will take place on the 25th of February, and these are the competitors of the second semi-final: (Singer – Song Title – Composer)
- Susana Travassos – “A Mensageira” – Aline Frazão
- Lili – “O Vôo Das Cegonhas” – Armando Teixeira
- Sequin – “All Over Again” – Bruno Cardoso
- Tamin – “Sobre Nós” – Capicua
- Daniela Onís – “Para Lá Do Rio” – Daniela Onís
- Diogo Piçarra – “Canção Do Fim” – Diogo Piçarra
- David Pessoa – “Amor Veloz” – Francisco Rebelo
- Cláudia Pascoal – “O Jardim” – Isaura
- Rita Ruivo – “Anda Daí” – João Afonso
- Dora Fidalgo – “Arco-Íris” – Miguel Ângelo
- Minni & Rhayra – “Patati Patata” – Paulo Flores
- Peter Serrado – “Sunset” – Peter Serrado
- Maria Inês Paris – “Bandeira Azul” – Tito Paris
This semi-final will be hosted by Sónia Araújo & Tânia Ribas.
Each semi-final will consist of 13 songs, making it a total of 26 participating songs, from each semi-final seven songs will then advance to the grand final, which then will consist of 14 songs.
The finalists will be chosen by a 50% Jury and by 50% Televote. The winner of the grand final will be chosen the same way, however the professional jury will be replaced by a regional jury.
The Grand Final of Festival da Canção 2018 will take place on the 4th of March 2018 and will be hosted by Pedro Fernandes & Filomena Cautela. This will give international viewers a chance to get to know Filomena, as she will be 1 of the 4 hostess for the Eurovision Song Contest in May!
What do #YOU think of the participants in Portugal’s national selection? Will there be a shock double victory? Share your thoughts with us on our forum HERE, or join the discussion below and on social media!
