Olá, Boa noite! The first semi-final of Festival da Canção 2018 has come to an end, and we know now the first finalists of the Portuguese national final. Tonight 13 acts were competing for seven places in the Grand Final of the competition, to take place on March 4th. Did you watch the show? Let’s check who is still in the running to represent the home team in Lisbon.
The first semi-final
Tonight the Portuguese jury and televote have decided the first seven finalists of Festival da Canção 2018. 13 acts performed, but there was only place in the Grand Final for seven songs, so we had to say goodbye to some of them. The power was divided equally between the jury and the televote, and therefore we had a 50/50 system. Among the jury you could spot some familiar faces such as Luísa Sobral and Sara Tavares. If you need me to remind you who this two women are, Luísa Sobral composed “Amar pelos dois”, and Sara Tavares represented Portugal in Eurovision 1994 with her song “Chamar a música.
Who advanced to the Grand Final?
Seven songs qualified for the final. Televoting and juries had different winners. Janeiro topped the jury voting, with Peu Madureira winning the televote. The overall winner was Peu’s “Só Por Ela”, who also scored ten points from the juries.
Former Eurovision entrant Anabela qualified. The other Eurovision veteran, José Cid, didn’t make it through. Below, you can find tonight’s result. The top seven, in bold, have qualified for the final. The tie-break between Joana Espadinha, Rui David and José Cid was solved by the juries. They chose Joana Espadinha as their qualifiers.
- Peu Madureira – Só Por Ela: 22 points
- Janeiro – (sem titulo): 16 points
- Catarina Miranda – Para Sorrir Eu Não Preciso De Nada: 16 points
- Anabela – Pra Te Dar Abrigo: 13 points
- Beatriz Pessoa – Eu Te Amo: 11 points
- Joana Barra Vaz – Anda Estragar-Me Os Planos: 8 points
- Joana Espadinha – Zero A Zero: 7 points
- Rui David – Sem Medo: 7 points
- José Cid – O Som Da Guitarra É A Alma De Um Povo: 7 points
- JP Simoes – Alvoroço: 6 points
- Rita Dias – Com Gosto Amigo: 3 points
- Bruno Vasconcelos – Austrália: 0 points
- Maria Amaral – A Mesma Canção: 0 points
Portugal’s journey at the Eurovision Song Contest
Portugal’s debut at Eurovision goes back to 1964. We can’t say that it was a very successful debut, as António Calvário placed last with the famous null point. Over the years Portugal has sent some of their biggest national stars, but the results were always below average. The sixth place achieved by Lúcia Moniz in 1996 was the best result for the Iberian nation until the victory of Salvador Sobral in the last edition of the competition. With 49 attemps at Eurovision, Portugal is one of the oldest countries in the competition. They have started tonight the search for their representative at Eurovision 2018. Will they get another top score? Will they keep singing in Portuguese? We are now closer to discover. Stay tunned!
What do you think of the first seven qualifiers? Who was your favourite?
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