The first semi-final of Festival da Canção 2020 took place tonight. Eight acts competed for four places at the Grand Final. The professional jury and the Portuguese public decided the first four finalists based on a 50/50 system. The last set of finalists will be chosen next Saturday, and will join tonight’s qualifiers on the Grand Final to take place in Elvas on March 7th. Let’s take a look at the results from tonight’s show!
Tonight’s show was took place in RTP Studios in Lisbon and was hosted by Tânia Ribas de Oliveira & Jorge Gabriel. The night saw RTP continue to showcase Portuguese talent alongside charismatic presenters and guests, excellent visuals and efficient sequencing of the artists. The show also featured a shake-up in the voting, with the full voting details not being televised.
The results
Just like in the previous three years, the power was equally divided between the expert jury and the public at home. In case of a tie, the choice of the jury prevails over the choice of the televote. The jury and the televote awarded to the songs points from three to twelve. The four acts with the highest total votes advanced to the Grand Final, where they will be joined by the four finalists of the second semi final. You can read more about this year’s jury here.
HOWEVER, in a shake-up of the format, RTP will not reveal the jury or televote points until the final! We’ll be able to see how exactly the acts faired once the full results are revealed after March 7th.
Here was tonight’s running order, with the four qualifiers in BOLD:
- MEERA – “Copo de Gin”
- Filipe Sambado – “Gerbera Amarela do Sul”
- Ian Mucznik – “O Dia de Amanhã”
- Bárbara Tinoco – “Passe-Partout”
- Blasted Mechanism – “Rebellion”
- Elisa – “Medo de Sentir”
- JJaZZ – “Agora”
- Throes + The Shine – “Movimento”
This means that Bárbara, Elisa, Filipe and Throes + The Shine are still in contention to win the Portuguese ticket to Rotterdam! Shockingly for some, this meant the loss of Blasted Mechanism, whose song had been gaining momentum with international fans. MEERA, Ian and JJaZZ are also out of the running.
The Second Semi-Final
The second semi final will take place on February 29th, again at RTP Studios in Lisbon. However, next week’s show will be hosted by José Carlos Malato and Sônia Araujo. Once again, eight acts will compete for the last four places avaible in the Grand Final. The running order is as follows:
- Dubio feat. +351 – “Cegueira”
- Luiz Caracol & Gus Liberdade – “Dói-me o país”
- Judas – “Cubismo enviesado”
- Kady – “Diz só”
- Elisa Rodrigues – “Não voltes mais”
- Cláudio Frank – “Quero-te abraçar”
- Tomás Luzia – “Mais real que o amor”
- Jimmy P – “Abensonhado”
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.
Did the right acts make it through? Who are you looking forward to seeing next week? 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!
