#PORTUGAL: Live blog of Festival da Canção 2025 from 21.10 CET

By John Stanton on March 8, 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

The final national final of the 2025 season falls to Portugal, and the broadcaster RTP. Songs from two semi-finals have been whittled down, and the final 12 compete for the coveted Golden Ticket to Basel. Will they pick another Amar pelos dois?

You can watch the action HERE. And you can follow our blog below. All times are GMT.

00.40 – So it’s congratulations to them. Can they do it in May? It’s goodnight/good morning from the blog. I hope you enjoyed the show.

00.39 – It’s Napa! With Deslocado!

00.39 – 12 points to Henca (total 12)

00.38 – 10 points to Napa (total 17, the new leader on countback)

00.37 – 7 points to Josh (total 12). 8 points to Fernando Daniel (total 16)

00.35 – 5 points to Diana Vilarinho (total 17, the current leader now). 6 points to Bombazine (total 8)

00.33 – 3 points to Peculiar (total 4). 4 points to Marco Rodrigues (total 7)

00.32 – 1 point from the public to Bluay (total 1). 2 to Jessica Pina (total 12)

00.31 – Here comes the public votes…

00.30 – These are the scores so far. They get converted to 1 to 12.

00.29 – Finally, we go to Açores. 8 to Jessica Pina. 10 to Emmy Curl. And 12 to Bombazine

00.27 – Jury six is Madeira. 8 points to Jessica Pina. 10 to Diana Vilarinho. And 12 to Napa

00.25 – Algarve is the fifth jury. 8 points to Jessica Pina. 10 to Diana Vilarinho. And 12 to Peculiar.

00.23 – Alentejo next. 8 points to Fernando Daniel. 10 to Diana Vilarinho. And 12 to Jessica Pina.

00.20 – The Lisbon e vale do Tejo jury next. 8 points to Fernando Daniel. 10 to Diana Vilarinho. Amd 12 to Marco Rodrigues

00.17 – The Centro jury now. 8 points to Diana Vilarinho. 10 to Fernando Daniel. And 12 to Josh

00.15 – We’re off to our first regional jury now – Norte. 8 points to Margarida Carmelo. 10 to Henca. And 12 to Peculiar

00.14 – The phone lines are closed.

00.05 – Of course, we’re back in the Green Room

00.02 – After a chat with the performers of those three songs, it’s recap time. Yes, the lines are still open

23.53 – And now we get another classic – Ne partez pas sans moi

23.48 – It’s Refrains time. Still a classic nearly 70 years on. Then The Show in a whimsical stylee.

23.47 – A retrospective now. We see Lys Assia in 1956, and Celine Dion in 1988. And then Nemo. He was in Stockholm for Melodifestivalen earlier.

23.46 – We’re back

23.37 – Ad break time again. Don’t go away

23.36 – We’ve just played a game. Pictures related to Portuguese songs. Messrs Trump and Musk was, of course, Um grande grande amor.

23.30 – After iolanda’s showstopping revamp of Grito, we get another recap

23.27 – It’s iolanda time. She sang for Portugal last year. But you knew that.

23.23 – Back to the Green Room. It’s all getting exciting in there.

23.19 – Another recap of the songs – you can still vote if you’re in Portugal.

23.10 – As you will have guessed, we’re having an interval of traditional Portuguese music. It’s quite atmospheric. Espresso Transatlantico

23.01 – Another recap for the Portuguese public

22.59 – Next, all the Green Room sing Sobe sobe balão sobe (PT79)

22.58 – A rendition of Bem-bom (PT82) visiting acts 1-8. Nice. And then 9-12 to ensure impartiality

22.57 – Don’t worry. We’re back.

22.47 – Time for the FdC Instagram plug, before we head to an ad break.

22.43 – Enough of that. It’s recap time.

22.42 – We’re being told this show is broadcast worldwide. Yes, even outside Europe

22.35 – All the songs performed, and it’s back to the Green Room for more general chatter with the stars.

22.34 – This could be the nearest thing to fado we get tonight. Diana, in her long white dress, wails in that style with a backing track of traditional instruments. I have a fondness for the fado style and this is a good example, with a slight change of tempo to catch your attention before reverting to the original one. A nice way to end the presentation of the songs, and this could only be Portuguese.

22.30 – The final song (12) is Cotovia by Diana Vilarinho

2.29 – Josh is dressed in white. He’s suspended in air, holding onto a vertical pole. More performance art? Definitely. This slow song could have James Bond theme vibes about it, and it’s definitely a novel staging. Very memorable.

22.26 – Onto song 11 – we’re nearly there folks. Josh sings Tristeza

22.25 – Performance art beckons. Emmy has two dancers with her in cat headdresses, waving big pieces of fabric. To be honest, I’m not sure what’s going on. There’s even a rap going on in the background. It’s baffling, but strangely watchable. And in all of that, there is a tune to hang your hat on. And much wailing.

22.21 – Rápsodia da paz is song 10. It comes from Emmy Curl

22.20 – We have a more imaginative set for this one. Fernando is sat at a small table with a desk lamp. His song is very pared back and he accompanies himself with a guitar. He then ditches the guitar and sings at us, almost imploring us to vote for him. By the end of the song, he has his band with him. It’s very well put together and does have a decent hook and chorus. He sounds popular hereabouts too.

22.16 – And onto song nine. Fernando Daniel sings Medo

22.10 – More Green Room chat now.

22.09 – These are no shrinking violets. This starts almost as a Gregorian chant – very atmospheric. Then the modern dance starts and he looks sternly into the camera, and at his dancers. Then it starts to pick up and gets even more serious and quite dark. But it draws you in and it has my attention. Yes, it could be performance art, but it’s carried off very well.

22.06 – Onto song eight. Peculiar sing Adamastor

22.05 – They’re a guitar heavy band. It’s a slow song to start with, and then the beat picks up slightly. It could be a tad Beatles (in their later days) which might run in their favour. But again, you could argue it lacks an easy hook until late on. But it might be too late by that time.

22.01 – Song seven is Deslocado by the band Napa

22.00 – Marco gives us a traditional old school ballad. He’s sat on a stool and this has some great orchestration to help sell it. It shows off his voice, and would really suit a big orchestra. The second verse builds on the first nicely (he’s now stood up). The bridge towards the end is very good, and this is really really classy. I like it.

21.56 – Song six is A minha casa by Marco Rodrigues

21.55 – Jéssica has two pals with her, all dressed the same. This song has a more recognisable latino beat – maybe Brazilian and is definitely not unpleasant. It’s pleasant again, and could do something later.

21.51 – Song five now. Jéssica Pina sings Calafrio

21.45 – That was really quick. So it’s time for Green Room chat.

21.44 – A third of the way through, so time for an ad break. Stay tuned.

21.43 – Mellow is how this starts (and will probably finish). In Portuguese, Bluay has a couple of dancers with him. They’re not your regular wavy dancers either – something far more wholesome. Bluay has a great voice with some range to him. The song is in a style that springs no surprises. But it doesn’t really have a hook to grab you. It’s pleasant though.

21.40 – Song four is Ninguém by Bluay

21.39 – This is definitely not jazz. It’s dark, it’s gothic (probably) and designed to grab your attention. It’s no Bambie Thug, but is definitely inspired by them. There is actually some structure to this song, and it’s set off with some interesting shaky camera angles. If you like something really serious and really do want to destroy something, then this is for you.

21.35 – Song three is I wanna destroy U by Henka

21.34 – This is something very downbeat and slightly jazzy. Margarida is sat at a piano Maria Guinot style. and has four singers with her on stage. It does demonstrate their voices. But this isn’t a contest song as it doesn’t really go anywhere. But it gets a big round of applause.

21.30 – Song 2. It’s Margarida Campelo singing Eu sei que o amor

21.29 – A band in orange, but there’s an orchestration behind the song too. It’s bouncy in a slightly retro stylee, and not bad either. Maybe too safe for a contest, nevertheless it would suit a film soundtrack.