XTRA DECIDES sees the team here at ESCXTRA score the Eurovision national final songs, reviewing our winner. Follow us from here through to March 2023 as we make our choices for Eurovision 2023.
It’s the last national final weekend of 2023! In Portugal, Festival da Canção concludes tonight. The team here have scored Mimicat with “Ai Coração” as the choice to win the national final. Only two songs received 12 points and were the favourites from the team.
The Scores
| 1 | Mimicat – “Ai Coração” 🏆 | 104 | 6 |
| 2 | Cláudia Pascoal – “Nasci Maria” | 97 | 4 |
| 3 | Edmundo Inácio – “A Festa” | 66 | 0 |
| 4 | Bárbara Tinoco – “Goodnight” | 56 | 0 |
| 5 | NEON SOHO – “Endless World” | 48 | 0 |
| 6 | Inês Apenas – “Fim do Mundo” | 41 | 0 |
| 7 | Esse Povo – “Sapatos de Cimento” | 35 | 0 |
| 8 | You Can’t Win Charlie Brown – “Contraste Mudo” | 33 | 0 |
| 9 | Voodoo Marmalade – “Tormento” | 28 | 0 |
| 10 | Dapunksportif – “World Needs Therapy” | 27 | 0 |
| 11 | SAL – “Viver” | 21 | 0 |
| 12 | Churky – “Encruzilhada” | 12 | 0 |
| 12 | Ivandro – “Povo” | 12 | 0 |
The Reviews
| Isaac |
| I feel like since Portugal won, they’ve consciously or unconsciously tended towards songs that have been typecasting them as a more serious, sensible nation with well-reviewed midtempos and ballads not out of place on alternative playlists. And I don’t wish to disregard that approach, I feel it’s done wonders for a country that struggled in the past. But any strategy where a nation’s entries follow a similar sound year after year can always do with a shakeup, and if they wanted to do that, Portugal have a great option in Mimicat’s “Ai Coração”. A very cheery pop song with rhythmic dancing from Mimicat, I think this would be a great breath of fresh air to have in Liverpool, and the use of instrumentation throughout the backing adds a lot of oomph to a traditionally great party song. |
What do you think of our decision? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram, @escxtra on TikTok and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify for the latest music from your favourite Eurovision acts.
