The twenty competing songs in Festival da Canção, Portugal’s national selection for Eurovision 2023 have been released. One of these songs will represent Portugal in Liverpool in May.
Festival of bilingualism
As a result of MARO’s success at the Eurovision Song Contest last year, there is an increased presence of English in the selection. This is noteworthy, as up until 2020, English was very rarely heard during Portugal’s Eurovision selection.
The competing songs in Festival da Canção 2023 are:
These are the competing entries in the first semi-final on the 25th of February:
| Artist(s) | Entry |
| April Ivy | “Modo Voo” |
| BOLHA | “Sonhos da Libertade” |
| Churky | “Encruzilhada” |
| Cláudia Pascoal | “Nasci Maria” |
| Esse Povo | “Sapatos de Cimento” |
| Mimicat | “Ai coração” |
| MoYah | “Too Much Sauce” |
| Neon Soho | “Endless World” |
| SAL | “Viver” |
| You Can’t Win Charlie Brown | “Contraste Mudo” |
The songs competing in the second semi-final on March 4th are:
| Artist | Entry |
| Bandua | “Bandeiras” |
| Barbara Tinoco | “Goodnight” |
| DAPUNKSPORTIF | “World Needs Therapy” |
| Edmundo Inacio | “A Festa” |
| INES APENAS | “Fim do Mundo” |
| Ivandro | “Povo” |
| Lara Li | “Funâmbula” |
| Teresinha Landeiro | “Enquanto é tempo” |
| The Happy Mess | “O impossível” |
| Voodoo Marmalade | “Tormento” |
All the song’s songwriters were publicly revealed by Portuguese broadcaster RTP in November. Each of the artists now have until February 25th to prepare their visual stage concepts.
You can listen to the competing songs here:
Splitting the semis
Already, RTP has allocated each competing song into a semi-final. The first semi-final will be held on February 25th, with the second semi-final being held on March 4th. Ten songs will qualify from the two semi-finals to make it to the final on March 11th. Once in the final, a 50/50 combination of a national jury and televote will decide the winner. The winning song will then go on to represent Portugal in Liverpool in May.
Portugal’s Eurovision journey
Portugal debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest with António Calvário’s “Oração” in 1964. Since then, Portugal has participated in the competition 53 times – appearing the final 44 times. Their only win in the competition came in 2017 with Salvador Sobral, performing his heart-wrenching song “Amar Pelos Dois”.
Portugal’s most recent participation was with MARO with the song “saudade, saudade”. MARO managed to qualify for the Grand Final and once there, she finished 9th, after receiving 207 points from the jury and the televote.
What do you make of the songs competing in Festival da Canção 2023? Which of the songs is your favourite? Do you think there is a Eurovision winner in the selection? As always, let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for all the news regarding Festival da Canção 2023!
News Source: RTP
Photo Credit: RTP
Tim J