They’re here! The 16 entries of the best Portuguese national final (my personal favourite, at least) have been released! Much like last year’s line-up, the songs are wildly diverse and shows RTP continue to produce an eclectic and high-quality national final. In a press conference today, the broadcaster also revealed the host city for the final and the hosts.
Back in November, RTP revealed that a total of 320 songs were submitted for just this one spot in the selection. This is a 120 increase in submissions from last year’s edition. Notably, the number of public submissions peaked the edition following Portugal’s win in 2017. A total of 346 songs were submitted to select the host entry for 2018.
It’s notable that a number of the entries contain English lyrics. “Rebellion” by Blasted is the only song to be completely in English, and itself sports a very…not-Portugal-at-Eurovision sound. Meanwhile, “Agora” by JJaZZ and “Quero-te Abraçar” by Cláudio Frank contain English lyrics.
Here are the entries:
Unlike last year, RTP have announced that the entries will be uploaded to Spotify and Apple Music today! Other broadcasters should take note…
The draw
Like last year, Festival da Canção 2020 will take place over three nights:
- Semi-final 1 – February 22nd (RTP Studios, Lisbon), hosted by Tânia Ribas de Oliveira & Jorge Gabriel .
- Semi-final 2 – February 29th (RTP Studios, Lisbon), José Carlos Malato & Sônia Araujo
- Grand Final – March 7th (Elvas), hosted by Filomena Cautela & Vasco Palmeirim.
The draws for each semi are as follows:
Semi-final 1 (February 22nd)
- Blasted – Rebellion (Blasted, Stego, Guerra)
- Filipe Sambado – Gerbera Amarela do Sul (Filipe Sambado)
- Ian Mucznik – O Dia de Amanhã (João Cabrita – Ian Mucznik)
- Elisa – Medo de Sentir (Marta Carvalho)
- MEERA – Copo de Gin (MEERA – MEERA, Isaura, João Bota)
- JJaZZ – Agora (Rui Pregal da Cunha)
- Throes + The Shine – Movimento (Throes + The Shine)
- Bárbara Tinoco – Passe-Partout (Tiago Nacarato)
Semi-final 2 (February 29th)
- Luiz Caracol e Gus Liberdade – Dói-me o País (Luiz Caracol – António Avelar de Pinho)
- Cláudio Frank – Quero-te Abraçar (Cláudio Frank)
- Kady – Diz Só (Dino D’Santiago – Kalaf Epalanga)
- Dubio feat. +351 – Cegueira (Rui Azevedo, Pedro Azevedo – Hugo Azevedo)
- Elisa Rodrigues – Não Voltes Mais (Elisa Rodrigues)
- Judas – Cubismo Enviesado (Hélio Morais)
- Jimmy P – Abensonhado (Jimmy P)
- Tomás Luzia – Mais Real Que O Amor (Pedro Jóia – Tiago Torres da Silva)
Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest
Portugal was once seen as one of the most unlucky Eurovision countries, holding the record for the longest period of participation without a win (49 attempts). Of course, this ‘curse’ was broken in 2017 when Salvador Sobral won the contest with “Amar Pelos Dois”. Not only was this their first win, but it was also their first and only top 5 placing in the contest to date.
Unfortunately, since this victory, Portugal haven’t been able to replicate this success in the past two contests. In 2018, as the host nation, Portugal got its fourth last place finish with Cláudia Pascoal’s “O Jardim”. After performing 15th in semi final 1 in Tel Aviv this year, Conan controversially didn’t qualify for the Grand Final. He finished 15th with 51 points, but was the subject of a number of articles praising the song and performance after the semi.
Are you excited for Festival da Canção 2020? Who’s your early favourite? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our reactions to the news in the run up to Rotterdam!
