Olá Portugal! Just like last week, Portuguese broadcaster RTP has brought us more old school instrumentation, more 90s fabulousness and four more acts qualified for the final in the Colosseum of Lisbon. Those four acts are Celina Da Piedade, Jorge Benvinda, Pedro Gonçalves and Lena D’Água.
After a year off, Portugal has said goodbye to the saudade and what we’ve seen in these two semifinals is a major step forward from the last editions of Festival da Canção. Those slick graphics and fancy postcards have brought Festival da Cançao into the 2010s (though which end of the decade is a matter for you to decide). But most of all, the contest is back in this decade thanks to our four qualifiers…
First to announce the points was the jury. They gave their 12 points to Celina da Piedade, 10 to Lena D’Água, 8 to Beea and 7 to Jorge Benvinda.
As for the public vote, the 7 points went to Celina da Piedade, the 8 points went to Helena Kendall, the 10 were for Jorge Benvinda and the 12 went to Pedro Gonçalves. Televote vs. jury drama!
So that means that the four finalists are Celina da Piedade, with “Primavera” (19 points); Jorge Benvinda, with “Gente Bestial” (17 points); Pedro Gonçalves, with “Don’t walk away” (16 points) and Lena D’Água, with “Nunca me fui embora” (14 points).
1. Celina da Piedade with “Primavera”
2. Jorge Benvinda with “Gente bestial”
3. Pedro Gonçalves with “Don’t walk away”
4. Lena D’Água with “Nunca me fui embora”
Festival da Canção – Finalists
After tonight’s show, the line up for the grand final of Festival da Canção is completed. The show will take place at Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon next Sunday.
- Fernando Daniel – “Poema à dois”
- Deolinda Kinzimba – “O que eu vi nos meus sonhos”
- Salvador Sobral – “Amar pelos dois”
- Viva La Diva – “Nova Glória”
- Lena D’Água – “Nunca me fui embora”
- Pedro Gonçalves – “Don’t walk away”
- Celina da Piedade – “Primavera”
- Jorge Benvinda – “Gente bestial”
Festival da Canção – Second Semi-final running order
- David Gomes (Toli César Machado) – “My Paradise”
- Lena D’Água (Pedro Silva Martins) – “Nunca me fui embora”
- Beatriz Felício (Jorge Fernando) – “Ao teu olhar”
- Pedro Gonçalves (João Pedro Coimbra) – “Don’t Walk Away”
- Helena Kendall (João Só) – “Andamos no Céu”
- Celina da Piedade (Celina da Piedade) – “Primavera”
- Jorge Benvinda (Nuno Figueiredo) – “Gente bestial”
- Inês Sousa (David Santos – Noiserv) – “Se o tempo não falasse”
Tonight’s four qualifiers will join the qualifiers from last week’s first semi-final in the grand final on March 5. The final will be held at Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon, and will be hosted by Sílvia Alberto and Catarina Furtado.
Who was your favourite tonight? Did you like the qualifiers? Who should have made it? Let us know in the comment section, and don’t forget to share your video reactions via our app!
I really WANT to see Portugal in the grand finals again, and even to win the whole thing eventually, but this is definitely not the year. It’s not the language or old-fashioned songs. It’s just that none of these are very good. Primavera and Gente Bestial are fun, but sound like background festival songs. Don’t Walk Away would be an innovation for Portugal, but not for the rest of Europe. It’s basically the type of song that gets eliminated in the Melfest semi. And Nunca me fui embora is just awful… it’s so one-note, almost has no ups and downs.
If we send fado, they say it’s boring. If we send a ballad, they say it’s old-fashioned. If we send a modern song, they say it’s trash. If we sing in Portuguese, they don’t vote because no one understands (while other countries do it and score high).. If we sing in English, they say we shouldn’t leave our roots. However, if we don’t, we are criticized ANYWAY. I don’t understand.. I think we’re not the problem, the problem is Europe who is forgetting the real meaning of diversity! I would rather spend 2/3 hours watching different kinds of music that… Read more »
Samba is from Brazil not Portugal!…
i cant believe how Portugal some day win eurovision with this way to do the thinks
WAKE UP GIVE SOME SAMBA TO EUROVISION.
VIVA LA DIVA are the best in Portugal.” Il Volo part 2″…Portugal need to chose them!
By the way that the jury and televoting went in both semis, it looks as if Viva La Diva might be going to Kyiv. And if not them, Salvador. But either way, Portugal is out of the final AGAIN.
It’s amazing that in such a lovely country there is not one single talented songwriter and so many horrible singers. I see you commenting about “this guy is the obvious choice,” blah blah blah, the last place in its semifinal has Portugal’s name on it.
Salvador Sobral with his song “Amar pelos dois” would be an obvious choice for Portugal.
It’s a sophisticated little number, simple but effective. With the right budget and staging to elevate his performance I am sure it would score high with the international juries.
Salvador for the win!
Let me tell u guys, in Portugal everybody is tired of this fossil judges who are so old fashioned who understand NOTHING about nowadays music! We are tired of being bad ranked in Eurovision because of them and because of Festival da Canção system. Like, someone who wants to be in Eurovision has to be picked by a songwriter who has been picked by RTP that’s RIDICULOUS! Nobody has a chance to send a song and be there! I hope that Pedro Gonçalves wins this, at least one year let’s bring a modern song with english lyrics to Eurovision! And… Read more »
It’s Salvador Sobral for me. The most special song and artist. That can stand out especially amongst jury members and could easily get Portugal back to the top.
@ Charles – Pedro trying to makes us pretend that this is some sort of Melodifestivalen
Believe it or not, Melodifestivalen is not the center of the world. Not everybody tries to copy that show.
Pedro Goncalves is the right choice for Portugal.
There’s no other option beside Salvador Sobral. He’s absolutely my no.1 if he win
Pedro trying to makes us pretend that this is some sort of Melodifestivalen .. while the juries are appalled by a commercial pop song that has no Portuguese included … so offensive they must have thought! This song represents everything the Portuguese musical culture hates … commercial pop sung in English! Still wondering why this got very little points from the juries? As for the song itself: when people believe that current music needs to sound like any leftover rejected Rihanna wannabe song, I go back to bed waiting to wake in some more sane and grown up world with… Read more »
Pedro, lose the glasses and maybe a change of costume.
In my opinion the song of Savador Sobral easily stands out. Deolinda in second.
AMAR PELOS DOIS Salvador Sobral is the best choice to WIN ! Wonderfull song full of atmosphere. There is not a 2nd choice in my opinion.
SALVADOR SOBRAL What a damn beautiful classy love song- a masterpiece
I can understand why the jury rated Pedro not so high. The lyrics in the song are pretty lame, and his vocals weren’t as good as the other finalists’. Celina’s song is cute, but I think Portugal should go with Salvador from the first heat.
Jorge’s song is completely unlistenable for me, though. I guess there are some people who enjoy this kind of song but I am surprised that the televoters put him in 2nd.
I miss the saudade. But don’t walk away is really catchy. The televoters are right. Hope the juries don’t ruin it. If Pedro wins they really need to style him differently. More edgy, maybe a more androgynous look. Best luck to Pedro Gonsalves
If Pedro wins next week, the question now is how will he able to stand out from the rest of the more current entries in his semifinal? Montenegro, Cyprus (based on the pedigree of their respective songs’ production team), Latvia and Moldova and most definitely Sweden will eat Portugal alive.
This song may be from this century, but it sounds like any other generic pop song, at least to me. I’m not sure with everyone else.
Amigos portugueses, por favor, mandem o Pedro Gonçalves! “Don’t Walk Away” is really good, this is the best option so far!
I really want Pedro to win! He is our best option! The juries in the final will be others, they will be regional juries, and i really hope they don’t screw things up as the juries from the semifinals almost did!
‘Amar pelos dois’ is the best song from this NF. Pedro is an unexperienced singer with a bland song; Viva La Diva must work to improve their messy performance.
He should change the staging though! That one is awful…
I think that Salvador can bring Portugal best placement in their Eurovision history to be in TOP 5 and wiht him Portugal 2017 be Iltay 2015.
Pedro Gonçalves seems the best option and the most current too, which is great for Portugal! The problem is the jury…they buried him, so I’m afraid he isn’t winning next week. They probably want some dated song in Portuguese.
This selection is a joke. Pedro Gonçalves is the only one with a song from this century.
The average age of the jury members was like 50+, what the hell RTP.
This is a mess. Unless they choose Pedro, Portugal will stay in the semis once again – deservingly so.
You know your national selection is bad when the best and most current song sounds like a Moldova or Belarus reject. Portugal won’t make the final with any of these songs, including Pedro’s. English may be a novelty for Portugal, but it’s not for anybody else: if he wins, he won’t stand out.
Only Salvador and Fernadno can make to Portugal go to final. Viva la Diva song is better without 2 male opera singer. If fenale singers sing alone she wili have chance to win and go for Portugual at Eurovison and bring them also final.
Wiht Pedro or any song from second semi Portugal wili stay in semi.
SALVADOR SOBRAL TO KIEV!!
MASTERPIECE
Pedro Gonçalves is the best option Portugal!
“Don´t walk away”-Pedro Gonçalves for Portugal!!
Pedro Gonçalves is the best option! GO PORTUGAL!
Celina da Piedad is bad copy of Portugal song from 2009 and if she wins and wear same dress at Eurovison stage Portugal have chance to win second time Barbara Dex awards after 2006.
Celina, Salvador, Jorge, Fernando and Deolinda to win.
Or at least any decent song not in English should win.
For me best song in this semi was song 7, then 5 than 8 and 3.
Ready to depression one more time
#PrayingforPedro
Better song was in I semi fnal, and winner wili be chossen between 4 song from first semi.
My favorite last week in evening of semi Viva la diva, then Fernando and Salvador
but I change my top and my favorite now is Salvador or Fernando. Salvador have best song, but he look so strange sometime with some movement on stage .
Now thats a bad national selection…
Song no. 8 was beautiful too!!
WhY 3 pts on televote?????
Viva la Diva to Kiev ???? ???? ????
Salvador is good, but Pedro is great!
the jury is a total joke…Lena D’Agua sounded like your drunk aunt at karaoke and the public recognized that with second-to-last place and yet the jury thought she was second-best…clearly something is seriously wrong…she was the back up singer for one of the judges from the 70s–she readily admitted that…how is that fair…I don’t expect any better from the regional jury that will be filled with older people too
@TheBoyFromRomania
i think we dont have the juri in the final, and we can vote the all week, so i will vote for pedro, and hopefully we can reach the final this year 🙂
Pedro is amazing, but Salvador has a masterpiece, a jewel. Please, Portugal, choose him.
Pedro has the best song for eurovision. Salvador has the best song overall though. Next week I would be happy if one of them wins it all.
Can someone explai better how the voting will be done in the final?
OMG Pedro must win! Really nice song
Wiwibloggs, I don’t care about your swearing rule, cause this is what needs to be said. F**k those old farts we are supposed to call an “expert jury”. Those senile dumbasses are so stuck in the past that they can’t accept any song that’s from the 21st century or that has the “audacity” to have english somewhere in it. It’s absolutely pathetic what the idiots at RTP are letting go on.
Salvador FTW please Portugal
Pedro Gonçalves!!!!