PORTUGAL: Live blog of Festival da Canção SF 2 from 22.00 CET

Portugal continues its quest for a second Eurovision victory tonight, with the second semi-final of the legendary Festival da Canção. Ten songs are competing for the six remaining berths in the Grand Final, which takes place on Saturday 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 (CET -1)

You can watch the action HERE.

00.08 – It’s goodnight from the Eurovision Ireland blog. Catch you next time!

00.07 – Congratulations to the six qualifiers. Commiserations to the others. And congratulatiuons to you for staying the course. Did the right ones qualify? Tell us what you think.

00.06 – The final qualifier for next Saturday’s final is Dapunksportif!

00.03 – The phone lines are now closed. One final qualifier is in there somewhere

23.59 – He gets interviewed.

23.55 – Nicolas is in the studio with Anos 70

23.54 – We cast our minds back to JESC in Yerevan last December. RTP sent Nicolas Alves.

23.51 – We hear from the five fighting for that last place

23.45 – The phone lines for the five remaining acts are thrown open again for about 15 minutes. Yes, 15 minutes.

23.44 – There will be one more qualifier, chosen by 100% televote. Who will join the list below?

23.43 – One to go (possibly). And that qualifier is Ines Apenas!

23.42 – Fourth through to the Grand Final is Voodoo Marmalade

23.41 – The third qualifier is Barbara Tinoco

23.40 – First to qualify is Ivandro. Second is Edmundo Inácio!

23.39 – It’s finalists time. In a random order.

23.38 – And we’re back. How was your break?

23.28 – Another ad break. Don’t go far.

23.26 – The obligatory interview follows.

23.21 – We travel back to FdC 1968. Carlos Mendes won with Verão. And here’s singing tonight!

23.20 – We’re still here. Final recap, and the lines close. But that’s the just the first round of voting.

23.11 – The Green Room chat is getting intense and very competitive

23.07 – We chat with the eminent jury again.å

23.04 – Recap time again. If you’re in Portugal, you can still vote. Go on, you know you want to.

23.00 – Of course, the interview with Felipe and his pals follows

22.51 – It’s cabaret time. Filipe Sambado is singing Por este rio acima. There’s a lot going on. Either that or I’m hallucinating.

22.46 – OK, so it was nearer nine minutes. But we’re back. With a recap, naturally

22.37 – Time for an ad break. It’ll last about five minutes. Maybe. Stay tuned.

22.32 – Back to the Green Room. There are tote bags for the acts. The include mugs. Is there any significance to that I wonder.

22.27 – First song recap out of the way. and it’s time to meet the jury. A lot of power is in their hands.

22.23 – The lines are open for the Portuguese public to vote. As per last week, a 50/50 combination of jury and public votes will pick five songs. Then a lucky loser – a sixth song – will be chosen by a further public vote.

22.11 – There’s obviously more Green Room chat. This time with the second five acts. Don’t go away.

22.10 – There’s a ukulele sound going on here. It’s more a chant than a song, but a decent chant all the same. They are all playing instruments and there’s an interesting backdrop of stained glass windows (replete with skulls). It’s upbeat, catchy and easy on the ear. Imagine Gypsy Kings in a Portuguese stylee and you might be there. A nice way to end the presentation.

22.06 – The final song – song ten – comes from Voodoo Marmalade. It’s called Tormento

22.05 – And now for something completely different. This has class written all over it. It’s not quite fado, but on its way there. There’s more friendly guitar work too. It’s performed very well and there’s so much emotion going into the song. But don’t be fooled, Lara isn’t reading the lyrics from the stand in front of her. It’s for effect.

22.02 – Song nine comes from Lara Li. It’s called Funâmbula

22.01 – This is definitely NOT fado. It’s an electric-guitar-heavy band with a funky little number in English. This is good and may have a broader appeal if it progresses. A very good song that bounces along really well. Very good.

21.57 – Moving onto song eight. Dapunksportif sing World needs therapy

21.56 – We get an interesting set. It’s boxes made to look like skyscrapers, with Ivandro as the incredible growing man. The song is slow and heavy on the guitar backing. There’s no easily identifiable hook, which may count against it. But he’s a pretty decent singer, and is able to hold those long notes. It also ends a little on the abrupt side.

21.53 – Time for song seven. It’s Povo by Ivandro

21.52 – It’s ballad time again. Ines looks like a slightly glammed up Sporty Spice. She has a big piano as part of her act, which leads to a sizeable instrumental break between chorus and second verse. There are a couple of female dancers for good measure, who cavort around the stage. It ends as it started, very downbeat.

21.48 – Back out of the Green Room, and song six beckons. It’s Fim do mundo by Inês Apenas

21.39 – Five songs down, so we go to the half-occupied Green Room, to chat to the first five acts.

21.38 – Bárbara sings in English. Her schtick takes place during a party on stage. There are glasses of ‘wine’ too, so what’s not to like. Her party goers aren’t moving at all. That’s some party. It’s a nice pleasant little song and well thought out. As the song develops, the camera pans back to reveal an Instagram frame. The partygoers move, then freeze again. A nice take.

21.34 – Song five is Goodnight by Bárbara Tinoco

21.33 – It’s more fado-inspired music with much clapping. There are those square tambourine-drums that are used by many Portuguese. It’s got a bit more beat to it, bordering on flamenco. Bandua moves around the stage in his kilt and does have good rhythm. A very interesting, arty entry.

21.29 – Straight onto song four tonight. Bandua sing Bandeiras

21.28 – Another big fado-inspired ballad heads our way. Teresinha has a very pure voice. It has a lot of words in it, making her very expressive and very earnest in delivery. Earnest yet honest. It’s all good. And it’s very very Portuguese.

21.25 – Song three is Enquanto é tempo by Teresinha Landeiro

21.24 – They are, not surprisingly, a band. The song is upbeat and quite light. Maybe cabaret music, or something you’d hear whilst in that fancy restaurant. It’s a decent song that bounces along. Neither overly bad, but maybe not a world beater either.

21.20 – Song two tonight is O impossível by The Happy Mess

21.19 – Do we have something with an air of fado? I think we have. Edmundo is in a long red outfit and moves rather well to the best of his song. It’s a nicely formulaic song with little to surprise you. He is eventually joined by a band playing traditional instruments. They’re in white and have lace masks over their eyes. It’s a nice little opener.

21.15 – Without any further ado, it’s onto song one. It’s A festa by Edmundo Inácio

21.13 – We get to see the Green Room. It’s empty at the moment.

21.12 – Our hosts are looking well.

21.11 – We quickly get introduced to tonight’s ten acts. They’re competing for six – yes, six – places in next week’s final

21.09 – Almost on time, we start.

Author: John Stanton

Source: Eurovision Ireland, RTP Portugal