He won the second semi-final of Festival da Canção with the powerful ballad “Canção do Fim” (Song of the End), topping both the juries and televote. Hours later, Diogo Piçarra‘s performance was already trending in Portugal as one of the most viewed videos at #2. The hype was and is real going into Sunday’s grand final in Guimarães.
Today, in a shocking turn of events, Diogo Piçarra’s entry was accused of plagiarising “Abre os meus olhos” from clergyman Walter McCallister.
The situation surfaced on social media, as several accounts compared Diogo’s song to a religious anthem from 1986. The singer and composer of the track is also the founder of the New Life Christian Church.
Portuguese media platforms were quick to share the breaking news and the case is already making waves and generating a lot of opinions — some favourable to Diogo, some critical.
RTP – Radio e Televisão de Portugal – is yet to release a statement on the issue, but the phone lines are already open for the final and Piçarra’s song is among them.
DIOGO PIÇARRA – “CANÇÃO DO FIM”
WALTER MCCALLISTER – “ABRE OS MEUS OLHOS”
On the other side of the barricade, Mr. Piçarra was quick to release a statement on his Facebook page to address the issue.
Among other things, the Portuguese star made it clear that he had no knowledge on the existence of the 1986 evangelical song and that he will continue to defend his song as it was created without any second intentions.
Diogo also stressed that we would never take part in Festival da Canção with this song if he knew of the existing similarities. If that was the case, he would sit with his guitar and think of something else.
The star is receiving overwhelming support from his followers and supporters when addressing this delicate issue.
A simplicidade tem destas coisas e só quem não cria arte é que nunca estará nesta posição. Faz parte da vida de um…
Posted by Diogo Piçarra on Monday, February 26, 2018
Prior to this situation, RTP announced the running order for Sunday’s final of Festival da Canção and opened the voting lines.
FESTIVAL DA CANÇÃO 2018 FINAL RUNNING ORDER
- “Sem Medo” – Rui David
- “Canção do Fim” – Diogo Piçarra
- “Sunset” – Peter Serrado
- “Zero a Zero” – Joana Espadinha
- “Voo das Cegonhas” – Lili
- “Para Sorrir Eu Não Preciso de Nada” – Catarina Miranda
- “Anda Estragar-me os Planos” – Joana Barra Vaz
- “Amor Veloz” – David Pessoa
- “Patati Patata” – Minnie & Rhayra
- “(sem título)” – Janeiro
- “Bandeira Azul” – Maria Inês Paris
- “Para Te Dar Abrigo” – Anabela
- “O Jardim” – Cláudia Pascoal
- “Só Por Ela” – Peu Madureira
What do you think of Diogo’s statement? Do you consider “Canção do Fim” to be plagiarism? Or do you stand by his words? Tell us in the comment section below!
The original song is “Open Our Eyes”, composed in 1976 by Bob Cull. (Walter McCallister and the New Life Christian Church only recorded a Portuguese version in 1979).
Claims of plagiarism are sometimes difficult to prove, but in this case, quoting Maestro Vitorino de Almeida “it is not plagiarism, it is equal!”
I am glad the situation was detected earlier. It would be really embarrassing for Portugal, the song being disqualified for plagiarism by the Eurovision.
NOT ALL ABBORD! I was not a Diogo Piçarra’s fan until this day… RTP attitude was horrible. Either investigate or stand until the end with our artist (Diogo or anyone else, doesn’t matter)
I stand with Diogo and don’t feel like voting anymore…
I dare to Say: Boicote total! I’m angry!
What I find annoying is that Sweden bring year in year out the same flavourless tunes (whithout counting the unoriginal exports for those that don’t dare to do something local) and nobody complains about unorignality. This kind of talk was repeated endlessly last year after Salvador won the NF and look what happened…
Diogo’s song has one of the most uninteresting melodies I’ve ever heard. Even before listening to the ecclesiastical song, I already felt I’d listened to it (or something very similar) before. Of course, you’d have to be pretty desperate to plagiarize a religious song from the ’80s, and not even a good one at that, so most likely just a coincidence born out of uninspired composition.
But y’all can be sure that if he wins FdC the EBU will welcome him with open arms. If Alekseev can evade the 1st September deadline by just translating his song…
Dás pena. E sim, eu sei q es tuga.
This is not the first case this year. Czech Republic song is a copy of Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty” and even the videoclip has similarities, but no one seems to be talking about that.
indeed!!!!
The elephant in the room is that he needs a haircut.
I second that.
and a better song, lets be honest
Ou talvez, um país em que haja educação e respeito, senhor thrust.
tu deves te achar descendente do franco de espanha nao? mesmo atitude de português recalcado, egoico, que não consegue lidar com nenhuma opinião que não a sua pois fica logo todo afectado e tenta desvalorizar as opiniões dos outros tentando os inferiorizar por supostamente não serem patrióticos. Rapaz, enxerga-te! A musica do Diogo e’ uma M-E-R-D-A! Capice?! Desinteressante a todos os níveis,desde a musica ate ‘a letra, e reflectindo a atitude derrotista portuguesa de nostalgia, coisas perdidas, Fados e afins, de tempos passados… Portugal ja se deixou disso; ve-se te deixas também. So’ porque e’ português não significa que seja… Read more »
I think you might listen the 2nd movement of the 5th sinfony from Tchaikovsky…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2JBT0HC98I, 17’30 !!!
I could put a ike on your comment!
If this song has to face disqualification, then I’ll pick Janeiro.
This is unfortunate. Because both are my favorites.
I like it how a lot of people here defend him, yet ‘uh na na na’ is a reason to scream ‘copy!’, ‘plagiarism!’ ?
A SIGN FROM THE GODS THAT HE MUST REVAMP THE SONG AND ADD SOME BEAT LOL
The way of singing is similar but the instrumental isn’t. I like the song anyway 🙂
BUT…. MAYBE THIS IS A HUGE CHANCE OF DOING SOMETHING MORE POP? ADD SOME BIT AND REVAMP THE SONG. Like song that the pink hair girl sings.
David assumed that there are many similarities in the songs and denied even knowing the other song. I once thought I wrote a hit, and it was really a hit, but it was not mine. It was a melodic part of Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. Last week when they released the 40-second video I was able to predict exactly where the song would go, and this was because of the simplicity of the melody and because there is a melodic logic, the chord sequence will “lead” you there intuitively. In this case, I do not believe in any intention to copy.… Read more »
why everyone suddenly become “music expert” with no strong argument of why does it called “plagiarism” without knowing what it’s all about? I just can conclude that most of people here saying when the song sounds similar it called plagiarism.
https://www.google.com.sg/amp/s/www.buzzfeed.com/amphtml/reggieugwu/what-the-law-says-about-music-plagiarism
Not everyone. Some of us here have qualifications in music. But as I stated below, plaigiarism has to be proven by investigation. It can’t just be an accusation, because so much music uses the same melodies, harmonies and rhythms. There is such a thing as “coincidence”.
I don’t understand the concept of plagiarism, in a national final where all songs sound like one single lullaby. FdC is the last place to accuse somebody of plagiarism. It’s just Portuguese music, all songs are supposed to sound the same.
You said all songs sound the same. It’s best if you stay in your own bubble and not comment anymore about things you dont understand.
You must bring another health problem in order to do well in 2018. Marketing works.
This is probably the all-time best Festival da Canção ever. Globally the songs are good. And yet out of the 26 there isn’t a single one that completely rocks my socks. I just don’t like RTP’s approach and choices most of the times. Then, some members of the juri already said Peu Madureira was going to win, even before the 2nd semifinal had taken place. Now there’s this plagiarism accusation… Pff, I’m beginning to lose interest in this NF.
For sure that Diogo didn’t copy the song. However, he, as a musician, should have known better and used his sixth sense when he was creating the song. I’m a musician as well and, sometimes, I also come up with simple melodies, but I’m quick to see the danger in it. When a song is not complex in its structure and you, or a friend, can humming it all at the first listening, it’s a sign that more than probably other human being in another corner of the world already had the same idea and did the same melody. Last… Read more »
It’s nice to read a musician’s perspective on this. I always wondered how hard it is to compose music without being too influenced by other things you have listened to before.
I dont find it strange. Diogo just followed his heart, i guess, many musicians are super emotional human beings. Not every musician is like you, so your perspective as a ‘supposedly’ musician (im saying this because you’re just a random anonymous on the internet, no one can be sure if you really are being real here ) is just your perspective. It doesnt mean that other artists might do or feel the same as you do, everyone writes songs and creates music in different ways, every musician has its own method and process and singularity. We dont know him so… Read more »
Ah, my comment was for you, Episode.
Sabrina, do keep it in mind that it’s just his perspective, not musicians perspective, so he’s talking for himself (IF he really is a musician…)
His opinion has no influence or similarity to Diogo, different artists with different techniques.
I know that. That’s a musician’s perspective, of course not all musicians would think the same. I just think it’s interesting when people use their own experiences to help we figure out about what possibly happened there. But only Diogo knows what really happened. And that’s why it’s so difficult to come with a fair solution to this case.
The fair solution to this case is the jury not awarding him any points and saving the national broadcaster (and Diogo) a lot of hassle. As for different musicians using different approaches, I obviously second that motion, but there should be a baseline, a bare minimum of originality and complexity in an event as serious as FdC (and, later on, the ESC), especially considering the big shoes whatever contestant we pick will have to fill. And Diogo doesn’t seem to fit the bill, IMHO. My two €2.
I tend to agree with everything you said, I just don’t think the jury shouldn’t necessarily award him any points, because this would be just like disqualifying him without being official about that. I believe each member of the jury has to find their own way of dealing with it. Some would give him no points like you suggested, some would still score it very high if they believe it was unintentional. As a jury member, I would still give it some points, but I would favor the other songs that I liked and that proved to be more complex… Read more »
Yes, I agree. When composing, the process is a combination of instinct, experience and feedback. Whenever I have written something simple, my experience tells me to be careful. Once I even got to the demo stage of a song and one of my close friends told me quietly that the song sounded exactly like a big hit at the time. I checked the chord sequences and sure enough they were exactly the same! I had to destroy that song. That was devastating, and I was very fortunate a friend picked up on that quickly. Originality in music is very tough.… Read more »
That was very interesting to read, Purple (I don’t know if I should call you Purple or Mask, but you got it). By the way, it’s not just in music that this things can be tricky. Guillermo del Toro is being accused of using the idea of a 60’s play to write “The Shape of Water” but he stated that he never heard about it. Since he always have been very outspoken about his influences, I believe him. Anyway, it’s an awkward situation for everybody involved. Not just Diogo and RTP, but also the other contestants, the jury and the… Read more »
*these things
Episode, that’s a very good coment, it is indeed a fault of his not to “know better” (oops that rings some 80’s song bells too, lol). Today’s music industrie is hard in all sorts of aspects, not just the making money bit. Anyone can make music nowadays, really!
His statment was fair but I think he should withdraw the competition, the song is just to similar.
My reply from the other article, I posted it after my stupid comment
“Now I felt bad for him! I just was pissed because his fandom are saying than the others songs are “bad” and plagiarism but when someone started to say his song has similiar melody than this. I just post it here to piss his fans. My attitude was wrong, I wasn’t fair with him. I’m sorry. I know I’m anonymous here but I will feel better to apologize him anyway”
Honestly, I don’t believe he copied that song. He’s super successful in his country, why would he put himself in that situation? Whatever happens I wish him all the best! He’s a great artist
Actually, coincidence can’t be excluded because the song it’s based in a sequence of only six notes which is repeated a little bit higher and little bit lower in the musical scale, so it would be impossible that both Walter McCallister and Diogo Piçarra used the exact same sequence, inasmuch as it’s really short. But it proves that, in fact, this song is really simple melodically
I don’t think most people believe he did that on purpose but I think that showed that the simplicity of this song is somehow a strenght and a weakness at the same time. It makes everybody gets really fast on its mood, but also leaves this feeling that it’s not a very original piece of music.
Meh. The song has a few guitar chords and notes, might not get disqualified.
wowwww they really are quite similar
i would disqualify, those melodies are bar-for-bar the same
Oh, c’mon, everybody knows that it’s the
EUROVISION COPY-SONG CONTEST
Why are you even surprised? There’s hardly anything new and fresh among the participants, every effing year.
Just saw in RTP that they Analyzing the situation. Expect the song to be desqualified.
Don’t make things up. It won’t be.
Portugal now has all the more reasons to send the beat song in their selection ‘O jardim’
Yes!!! That would be great!
My comment keeps being filtered for no apparent reason, so I’ll assume that somehow I’m being accused of copying an 80’s comment on a religious blog. I feel you, Diogo.
I don’t like it, I prefer “O Jardim”.
In english
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eerjElgk4Dg
The similarity is indeed striking. But it doesn’t show necessarily that it is plagiarism. For me it shows that the music is indeed simple, maybe too simple and a bit poor melodically… The whole thing is based on his performance which is excellent, and not on the brilliance of the song
I don’t think he copied a religious song from the 80′.
But the fact is that both two songs sound exactly the same. I wounder what will be decided in this situation….
I am no lawyer so i have no idea.
I don’t like the song so i don’t care. My clear winner would be Lili <3
They sing literally the same song, but you don’t think he copied it. Well then, someone else did. Coincidence can be excluded, that’s for sure.
Actually, coincidence can’t be excluded because the song it’s based in a sequence of only six notes which is repeated a little bit higher and little bit lower in the musical scale, so it would be impossible that both Walter McCallister and Diogo Piçarra used the exact same sequence, inasmuch as it’s really short. But it proves that, in fact, this song is really simple melodically
Blanche was also a copy and everyone praised it…
Of which song was it a copy?
Alexe – Éclat : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbTdwCQMH18
Oh dear me yes. That is rather similar…
I still don’t hear the similarity at all(not for more than 3 seconds anyway)! Anyway similar is miles away from same
Which portions other than the first 3 seconds did you find rather similar?
There are some similar notes in how it opens and some during the chorus. Songs overall have different personalities. I’m with Kris about this, same and similar are two different things.
It’s all the same sh*t in the end. Plagiarism. Nice try tho.
Similar, yes. Inspired? Quite likely. Plagiarism, no. “Plagiarism” is one of ESC fans’ favorite words to yell at a song they don’t like, and everyone wants their favorite songs to do better than other people’s songs. Is anyone telling Janelle Monae she’s plagiarized Prince because her new song is so clearly inspired by Prince? No, they’re thrilled!
Definitely similar. Then again, diogos song is also similar. You can use different words but they’re all in the same dirty wall.
These songs are just similar, it doesn’t mean Blanche copied it, please.. The same can be said about “Canção do Fim”. Those are just similar songs, that’s not the plagiarism.
Get rid of it. Anyone writing this song would have known full well that it must have been written before. It reeks of unoriginality.
I don’t think he intentionally copied the other song but the similarity is striking. If he wins FdC, this will look bad. It’s just sad!
This song is too beautiful and I need this in Eurovision no matter what. Come on Portugal, don’t mess it up!!!
I don’t usually pay attention to plagiarism accusations in ESC, but this time… well, the songs really are very similar. I hope it still wins though, because it’s such a beautiful song and they could easily make top 5 again!
In defense of Diogo I do believe i didn’t did it on porpuse, the song is very simple and this is the proof:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwrYuL6evlQ
But yes, it isn’t an original song, it will never be able to participate on the eurovision song contest
A sad case of a non-original song. What a pity.
Just like 80% of ESC songs. Sounds like he will fit just right in.
The songs are exactly the same. Period.
Faced with this evidence, if a decision is not made, or the singer does not remove the song, everyone looks bad in the picture: tv channel in Portugal, the singer, EBU, juries, the ESC itself. It’s a blatant case.
Um, nope. Plagiarisms have happened before, nothing was done. Stfu already.
lets talk about “lie to me” of Czech Republic…..
Whatever. I don’t believe it. This is his to lose.
You have a song to win again. Be smart in your choice. The beauty of So Por Ela is unquestionable.
Boring and he doesnt have stage presence.
What do you think about Peter Serrado situation?
Does Peter Serrado have a situation?
LOL
Yes. Does Peter Serrado have a situation? His song isn’t really exciting, but he actually is. So, does he have a…situation? As in: is he single, married, in a couple? Is he gay, straight, bi-, try-sexual?
‘So por ela’ pleazzzzeee
Is being accused of plagiarism the new way of getting votes? We saw it in Italy. Let´s see what happens in Portugal.
My favorites are Janeiro and Lili. The rest sounds like they were to hyped up by Salvador´s win. I’m not too fond of this NF.
Sanreno is diferent, isn’t a national final, is an national song contest were the winner receives an invitation to represent Italy in the eurovision, invitation the winner can refuse (as it happened in 2016).
By the eurovision rules italy will have to change the melody in the chorus, because the one that won isn’t an original
That wasn’t my point. My point was exclusively about winning the specific national contest.
lulz, janeiro’s song in the beginning sounds exactly like sting- shape of my heart and he has been accused of plagiarism by some people too. Janeiro has definetly been hyped up by salvadors win and I bet he’s gonna get some votes thanks to his presence, but the banana and his ‘friends’ wont be enough, thankfully.
Yeah, forgot to mention it. Another way to get votes is by trying to act irreverent by eating a banana. So it wasnt genuine, even Janeiro said in an interview it was just an ‘irreverent’ act, at least he was honest about it.
Literally trying to be salvador 2. Too bad.