Yesterday, Portuguese broadcaster RTP revealed the running orders for the semi-finals of this year’s Festival da Canção, which will begin next Saturday.
Last month, RTP released the 16 entries contesting for Portugal’s ticket to Rotterdam. 320 songs were submitted to compete in this year’s Portuguese selection. Out of the 320 songs, one entry was chosen to join 14 other entries selected by RTP. The final entry was chosen as the winner of Antena 1’s “MasterClass”. Open call winners, Dubio feat. +351, will open the second semi-final on 29th February.
The running orders are…
Semi-final 1 (22nd February)
| 1 | MEERA | “Copo de Gin” |
| 2 | Filipe Sambado | “Gerbera Amarela do Sul” |
| 3 | Ian Mucznik | “O Dia de Amanhã” |
| 4 | Bárbara Tinoco | “Passe-Partout” |
| 5 | Blasted Mechanism | “Rebellion” |
| 6 | Elisa | “Medo de Sentir” |
| 7 | JJaZZ | “Agora” |
| 8 | Throes + The Shine | “Movimento” |
Semi-final 2 (29th February)
| 1 | Dubio feat. +351 | “Cegueira” |
| 2 | Luiz Caracol & Gus Libedade | “Dói-me o País” |
| 3 | Judas | “Cubismo |
| 4 | Kady | “Diz Só” |
| 5 | Elisa Rodrigues | “Não Voltes Mais” |
| 6 | Cláudio Frank | “Quero-te Abraçar” |
| 7 | Tomás Luzia | “Mais Real Que O Amar” |
| 8 | Jimmy P | “Abensonhado” |
From each semi-final, four entries will be chosen to progress to the final, which will take place on 7th March in Elvas. You can listen to all the entries below:
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). Portugal had their first, and only win to date, 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”. In Tel Aviv, Conan didn’t qualify for the Grand Final. He finished 15th with 51 points.
Are you excited for Festival da Canção 2020? Who do you think will qualify from each semi-final?
Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA.
