Portugal Begins their Eurovision Selection!

Last night, the first show of Festival da Canção took place, which is the national final format which Portugal have decided to use to choose their next Eurovision participant. The show was held in the capital Lisbon, and featured 8 artists of which 4 qualified to the final.

Here are the eight participants:

1. Márcia – Agora

2. Golden Slumbers – Para Perto

3. Fernando Daniel – Poema a Dois

4. Deolinda Kinzimba – O que Eu Vi nos Meus Sonhos

5. Rui Drumond  – O Teu Melhor

6. Lisa Garden – Without You

7. Salvador Sobral – Amar pelos Dois

8. Viva La Diva – Nova Glória

The qualifiers were decided upon by the Portuguese public and the jury. The combination of these points gave a total score, and the top 4 will continue to the final. The jury gave their top points to Salvador Sobral, with Viva La Diva coming in 2^nd spot with the jury. The top 4 songs as rated by the juries made it into the final. The same cannot be said about the televote, which gave different results. The 12 points went to Viva La Diva, which put them into the top spot overall. Deolinda, who received a spot in the final received 8 points from the jury, but only 4 with the public, however the overall vote put them into 4^th place and into the final.

Here are the 4 qualifiers:

• Fernando Daniel – Poema a Dois (3rd)

• Deolinda Kinzimba – O que Eu Vi nos Meus Sonhos (4th)

• Salvador Sobral – Amar pelos Dois (2^nd)

• Viva La Diva – Nova Glória (1st)

Next week the second semi-final will take place with another 8 acts fighting for the last 4 places in the final!