Not only does Portugal have the privilege of hosting this year’s contest, but they also have the pressure of producing another successful Eurovision entry. As the host nation, Portugal skip the semi-finals and go straight to the final, but despite skipping the line, Portugal are doing what they can to emulate the success of 2017 Eurovision winner Salvador Sobral.
The nation is continuing with their successful national final format of Festival da Canção, where the focus of the national selection is on the composers of the entries. We first learnt about the composers of the competition last year, and then late last month, we discovered who would be performing the entries.
This week marked the first of two semi-finals, with a total of 13 acts performing their competing entries. Here are the competing entries:
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Bruno Vasconcelos – Austrália
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Rui David – Sem Medo
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Beatriz Pessoa – Eu Te Amo
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Anabela – Pra Te Dar Abrigo
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Catarina Miranda – Para Sorrir Eu Não Preciso De Nada
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Joana Espadinha – Zero A Zero
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Janeiro – (sem titulo)
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José Cid – O Som Da Guitarra É A Alma De Um Povo
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Joana Barra Vaz – Anda Estragar-Me Os Planos
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Peu Madureira – Só Por Ela
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Rita Dias – Com Gosto Amigo
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JP Simoes – Alvoroço
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Maria Amaral – A Mesma Canção
A total of seven acts would go through to the final, and these were to be decided through a combination of jury and televote. During the show, the first seven qualifiers were announced, however the day after it was announced that there was an error in the voting, so originally qualified Beatriz Pessoa unfortunately was taken off the qualifying list.
Here are the list of qualifiers:
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Rui David – Sem Medo
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Anabela – Pra Te Dar Abrigo
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Catarina Miranda – Para Sorrir Eu Não Preciso De Nada
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Joana Espadinha – Zero A Zero
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Janeiro – (sem titulo)
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Joana Barra Vaz – Anda Estragar-Me Os Planos
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Peu Madureira – Só Por Ela