Who will sing for the host nation Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018? We will find out tonight. One finalist pulled out, amid claims of plagiarism, but someone has been selected to take that spot in the grand final tonight.
Portugal will be selecting the successor to the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest Winner, Salvador Sobral. He won Eurovision for Portugal, and in doing so, Portugal won the contest for the first time. In May, the contest will be held at the Altice Arena in Lisbon. However, the show tonight will be coming live from Pavilhão Multiusos in Guimarães, and will be hosted by Filomena Cautela and Pedro Fernandes. Filomena will be one of the main hosts of the 2018 contest when it arrives in Lisbon. You can watch the final of Festival da Canção 2018 on the RTP webcast (which is geoblocked) from 22:00 CET, or follow the live blog with our editor Sadie Trent.
The votes will be a mixture of a 50/50 regional jury and the televoting public. The regions of Portugal that are represented are Northern, Central, Lisbon and Tagus Valley, Alentejo, Algarve, Azores and Madeira. (Lisbon and Tagus Valley are combined)
Most recent comment will appear at the top. Times will be in CET
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01:30
And the winner is… Claudia Pascoal, after Catrina scored low in the tele-votes. Portugal have selected a brilliant successor to Salvador, and Claudia will do the home nation proud in Lisbon
01:21
A flash back to when Salvador won the festival in 2017, with interviews from different people, and some words from himself and his sister Luisa.
01:17
The winner of the jury vote is… Catrina. She can’t be caught now. She is on 71, and 2nd place Claudia is on 63. The top 4 placings are Catrina with the jury 12 points, Claudia with 10 points, Peu Madureira with 8 points and Joana on 7.
01:00
Luisa Sobral is now performing, but without Salvador. She is playing the guitar and is loving being back at Festival da cancao.
00:45
Voting is now closed in Portugal. Soon we will find out who is succeeding Salvador Sobral, and representing the host nation in 2018.
00:09
Filomena has kept up the stamina tonight. I think she could have done the show on her own like Petra Mede did in 2013.
23:23
The final acts are in the Green room now. This has been an amazing show, and Portugal have put a lot of effort into finding a successor for Salvador.
23:36 – Peu Madureira- Só por ela
This is the last song in the show tonight. He is a soloist and this is a ballad. His voice soars all the way through. This would not suit Eurovision through. He gets some cheers, but not as many as the act before him. His voice is great but this is not the sort of song that would suit Eurovision should he won tonight.
23:32 – Cláudia Pascoal- O jardim
Claudia is the favourite tonight (going by forums and streaming figures). Claudia is singing well right from the start, and the reaction from inside the arena says it all. Apart from an instrument player, she is alone (she is the sole vocalist). She is wearing all black. This was a flawless performance from start to finish for Claudia. This is a ballad that would do extremely well for Portugal, and could potentially give them a back to back win.
23:26 – Anabela- Para te dar abrigo
Anabela represented Portugal at the Millstreet contest in 1993. Her voice still as unique as ever. She is wearing a skin toned dress and it is patterned on the bottom. This is another big band/orchestra song. This would not suit a backing track. It is songs like this that would need Eurovision to reconsider bringing back orchestras. Her voice is still able to reach some high notes, but she is starting to struggle a little. This is more of an ethnic orchestra song. Her movements match the ethnicity of the song really well. A great effort from this former Portuguese entrant.
23:21 – Maria Inês Paris- Bandeira Azul
Great ethnic drum beats to start the song off with. This is a jazz/ethnic song. Maria’s vocals are well suited this song. She is wearing a black dress with silver and white embellishments on it. As the composition progresses, her voices progresses with it as well. I think this might do well at Eurovision, wouldn’t win but would do well.
23:16 – Janeiro-(sem título)
He is playing his own composition which is incredible. It is just him and his guitar in stage. There really isn’t a genre to put this into. He is getting an amazing reaction from the arena. He has a similar voice to that of Salvador. When I close my eyes, I can picture Salvador singing this song (but someone else playing the guitar. He is wearing a casual outfit to suit the tone of the song. I expect this to do really well.
23:11 – Minnie & Rhayra- Patati Patata
This duo work really well together on stage. Their outfits are extremely floral. The voices harmonise really well as well. This is more of an ethnic song so it is not pop or jazz or anything like that. This really shows off Portugal, but again not something that is suited to Eurovision.
23:04 – David Pessoa- Amor veloz
A jazz song. A strong male jazz voice, again not something associated with Eurovision. He is struggling to reach the top notes in the song, and like previous acts, it is evident in his voice. In other parts of the song, he excels. He is wearing a smart casual black suit without a tie.
22:59 – Joana Barra Vaz- Anda estragar-me os planos
Singer is wearing yellow top and black trousers to look smart. Basic sounds to begin with and vocals start of small and get better as the song goes on. This sounds like another song that would be made for a film. When she drags the microphone away from her mouth, it drowns the sound out so much so we can’t hear it. Great vocals all round, very minimal staging.
22:54 Catarina Miranda- Para sorrir eu não preciso de nada
A sea themed song, with a long floaty purple dress. Nothing to show vocal ability in the first half of the song, in the second half, vocals were showcased, but then, it went back down again. Vocals at the end were great.
22:51 – Lili- O voo das cegonhas
Lili is dressed in a long white lace dress with a black belt, and has an operatic type voice, but this is not an operatic sounding song. This is a mixture of genres so it is hard to pin it down to one. It has elements of jazz, blues and pop in it (but very small bits of pop). Her vocals are incredible, and a lot higher in tone and key than the other females who have performed already. She sounds as though she is classically trained. She is coping with the key changes (up one/several) really well, and is not struggling in reaching any of the top notes in this song. This is not something that would win Portugal back to back titles though.
22:46
Now they are in the green room talking to the acts who have already performed. All of them look really relieved to have been in the first bunch of acts to have performed, but they have a long wait ahead of them.
22:42 – Joana Espadinha- Zero a zero
This is another mid tempo song but this is mainly pop. The thing that instantly draws you in is the sparkly outfits that are being worn by the main and backing vocalists. Another one who is sadly having her voice drowned out every so slightly. The backdrop for this one is really colourful, and matches the outfit and personality of the singer really well. Later in the song her levels become louder so we are clearly able to hear her vocal ability, she copes with this song as well as she can. She is getting an amazing reaction from inside the arena.
22:37 – Peter Serrado- Sunset
This is a mid temp jazz/blues song. He is singing in English so it is easier to understand for international audiences. The backdrop represents a long and continuous road into the sunset. He is dressed casually. He is playing the guitar whilst singing, but he is struggling to hit some of the top notes in the song, and that is evident in his shadky voice when he tries to reach them.
22:32 – Susana Travassos- Mensageira
A nice slow ballad. Susana is dressed in Red, and her vocals are weak to begin with. They do get stronger as the song goes on though (maybe it was just nerves) The song picks up pace (just ever so slightly) but the singing pace does not change. The volume of the song overall could do with being a bit louder, as her vocals are extremely quiet against the composition, some of her notes are being drowned out.
22:28 – Rui David- Sem medo
This is what I call a big band show tune, with the true gentleman voice to go with it. Yes his vocals are not your typical Eurovision standard, but they are doing really well with the song. He is wearing a smart/casual suit. The staging for Portugal this year is way above what they usually do. This song is slow tempo. The vocalist is working the camera well, but there is no hitting extreme high notes in this song, so I do not believe this song would do well, in the field of songs that have already been selected.
22:24
Filomena is being amazing with Jon Ola Sand. I can’t get over how amazing she is! She is hilarious!
22:23
The atmosphere between the 2 presenters is amazing. Filomena is already doing an amazing job, and can tell she will be an amazing host in Lisbon!
21:50
The acts and their songs are as follows:
- Rui David- Sem medo
- Susana Travassos- Mensageira
- Peter Serrado- Sunset
- Joana Espadinha- Zero a zero
- Lili- O voo das cegonhas
- Catarina Miranda- Para sorrir eu não preciso de nada
- Joana Barra Vaz- Anda estragar-me os planos
- David Pessoa- Amor veloz
- Minnie & Rhayra- Patati Patata
- Janeiro-(sem título)
- Maria Inês Paris- Bandeira Azul
- Anabela- Para te dar abrigo
- Cláudia Pascoal- O jardim
- Peu Madureira- Só por ela