#PORTUGAL: Live blog of Festival da Canção SF 1 from 22.00 CET

By John Stanton on February 25, 2023 • ( Leave a comment )

Portugal starts is quest for a second Eurovision victory tonight, with the first semi-final of the legendary Festival da Canção. Ten songs are competing for the first six berths in the Grand Final, which takes place on 11 March. Could we see a potential winner tonight?

You know what to do – click on refresh to see our latest thoughts on the songs. Tell us if you agree with us, or think we could be seeing a Lisbon Eurovision in 2024. All times below are GMT.

You can watch the action HERE.

00.13 – And that’s it from Festival da Canção Semi-Final One. Did the right songs qualify? I hope you enjoyed this blog. Thank you and good night!

00.10 – The final qualifier tonight, picked by televoters, is… Endless world by Neon Soho!

00.07 – The phone lines are closed – again. So we have another song chosen. Which one will it be?

00.05 – Naturally, we get an extended interview with her in Spanish.

00.01 – We see the final stages of Benidorm Fest 2023, which was won by Blanca Paloma. And she’s here!

23.57 – And with that, the phone lines are thrown open again to pick one more qualifier by 100% televoting. You didn’t think it would be that simple, did you?

23.55 – Congratulations to the six lucky songs.

23.54 – One more spot. Who will get it? The final qualifier is… Sapatos de cimento by Esse Povo!

23.53 – The fifth qualifier is… Viver by SAL!

23.53 – The fourth song through is… Contraste mudo by You can’t win, Charlie Brown!

23.52 – The third song through is… Ai coração by Mimicat!

23.51 – The second song through is… Nasci Maria by Cláudia Pascoal!

23.50 – The first song through to the Final in two weeks time is… Encruzilhada by Churky!

23.48 – And we’re back. Perhaps with some results.

23.37 – Tik Tok stuff happened. And then it’s time for another commercial break.

23.34 – We’re back in the Green Room after an extended interview with Fernando Tordo

23.23 – This heralds the arrival of Fernando Tordo (PT73), singing Tourada

23.22 – We go into the archive and see FdCs of old, in glorious black-and-white.

23.21 – The phone lines are closed. Hurrah!

23.19 – The recaps continue. Just in case you want to vote.

23.13 – …and back to the Green Room.

23.10 – Another quick chat with the jurors now takes place

23.07 – Another recap of the ten songs.

23.05 – We’re chatting the the four singers who sang the previous Eurovision songs listed below

22.59 – Moving further forward, we get Amar pelos dois (PT17). You might remember is getting the biggest ever score. Ever.

22.56 – Amor de agua fresca (PT92) is next.

22.55 – Um grande grande amor (PT80) is next. For years this song held the title of Portugal’s best-ever finish at a contest.

22.53 – We next get Ele e ela (PT66). A song that’s not aged that badly.

22.51 – Cabaret time now. It’s a medley of Portuguese songs. Sol de inverno (PT65) is first

22.48 – Recap time again.

22.46 – We’re back. Perhaps we’ll get some results shortly.

22.37 – A short break for adverts now. Don’t go away.

22.33 – They’re handing out tote bags in the Green Room. They contain all manner of goodies. Hmmm

22.31 – The other jurors are Alex D’Alva, Carlos Mendes (PT68, PT72), Márcia, Neev, Pedro Ribeiro, and Sara Correia

22.27 – We have a jury too, and Maro (PT22) is on it.

22.23 – Recap time. You know we have to have one, at least

22.22 – The phone lines are open, so the people of Portugal can vote for their favourites

22.12 – All songs presented, it’s back to the Green Room to speak to acts 5-10. Don’t go away.

22.11 – A vocal group all in pale pink. And harmonising together. It’s like a modern Dai-li-dou. There’s a repetitive chorus and many many words in this. Maybe too many for your average non-Portuguese. If it progresses that is. However, having said all that, it’s simple enough to grab you, even when the tempo changes as they song to a big spinning glowing ball at the back of the stage. Actually, it’s not bad.

22.08 – The final song – song 10 if you’re counting – comes from Esse Povo. It’s called Sapatos de cimento

22.07 – More English. And in white outfits to remember. The songs bumbles along nicely. A bit funky, a bit techno, a bit futuristic. It has lots of things. And a hook too, which helps. The three minutes of song has too much in it perhaps, but I wish them well.

22.03 – Song nine is Endless world by Neon Soho

22.02 – A moody little song this, like one of this spoken-sung songs from Sanremo. They’re using a glockenspiel, which is novel too. The lead singers really get into the song, closing their eyes and grasping the mike stands whilst we get – you’ve guessed it – rhythmic clapping in the background. Again, there’s no easily discernible hook to grab onto, but it draws you in.

21.58 – You can’t win, Charlie Brown (yes, that’s the band name) sing song eight. It’s called Contraste mudo

21.57 – This is something a bit more “Life is a Cabaret old chum”, with a clappy Portuguese backbeat in there somewhere. Mimicat has a Chesterfield sofa on stage and two backing dancers. It’s very effective and is a pleasing little number as it develops. It could be a floor-filler. Nice.

21.54 – Song seven (after a quick plug of the FdC CD) comes from Mimicat. It’s called Ai coração

21.53 – A group using monochrome effects to start with. This has that trademark Portugese mandolin sound, which is not a bad thing. Their song is quite catchy and the harmonies smong them work well. They do make a point of rearranging the ‘amplifiers’ on the stage whilst they do the electric guitar-ey riff during the song. It’s OK. A likely qualifier.

21.49 – Song six is Viver by SAL

21.39 – Green Room chat now, as we’re half-way through the song presentations.

21.38 – Her hair is half and half yellow and pink to go with her outfit. The start is a little repetitive yet in a beat you’d only expect from Portugal. It’s definitely eye-catching and staging could help. There are white sheets behind her at one point. And clapping. It’s a performance, that’s for sure. And memorable.

21.34 – Song five comes from Cláudia Pascoal. You may have heard of her. Her song’s called Nasci Maria

21.33 – Churky has his guitar with him, which he carries in a very cool manner. He has a band too. This has a nice anthemic quality which has very quickly grabbed me. The arrangement might be very simple, but it’s effective. The guitary sound is very good. I like this one, although if I were being critical, I’d say it finishes quite abruptly.

21.30 – Song four tonight is Encruzilhada by Churky

21.29 – This could be more like it. An uptempo song with 80s overtones. April has several dancers with her who get very gyraty and acrobatic, and have gone through Chanel’s (ES22) wardrobe to see what they could find. With a bit of work, this song could go far. It has an interesting instrumental break – at the end – that could also help. Not bad at all.

21.25 – Straight onto song three. It’s called Modo Voo and song by April Ivy.

21.24 – Another funky one, this time in a jazz sense. Lots of instruments on stage and a syncopated beat. It’s not got the most recognisable of hooks, but no doubt one is in there somewhere. Hmmm, despite the enthusiasm, it’s not really a contest song. It’s one for a sophisticated yet offbeat bar deep in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto.

21.21 – Song 2 is by Bolha. It’s called Sonhos de liberdade

21.20 – Ooh, funky. Some African beat going on here. And it’s in English as well as Portuguese. The two languages blend well, and it’s quite an in-your-face song, with a repetitive chorus and hypnotic beat. Not a bad opener.