Portugal: Read back our liveblog of the Festival Da Canção Final

After a period of absence, Portugal are back, and with it they bring back their selection show Festival Da Canção. Will they find a good comeback entry in their national final tonight?

Viva la Diva won semi 1 with 22 points, and seem the slight favorite going into tonight’s show. She was followed by Salvador Sorbal in 2nd with 20 points, Fernando Daniel in 3rd with 17 points and Deolinda Kinzimba qualified in 4th with 12 points. Celina De Piedade won semi final 2 with 19 points, Jorge Benvinda qualified 2nd with 17 points, Pedro Gonçalves qualified in 3rd with 16 points and Lena D’Agua qualified in 4th with 14 points.

The entry to the Eurovision Song Contest will be a 50/50 combination of televotes and votes from the regional juries.

Tonight’s final show will be live from Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon, and will be presented by Sílvia Alberto and Catarina Furtado. You can read through our live blog with our reporter, Sadie Trent. The show starts at 22:00 CET, and will be broadcast live via webcast on RTP 1. Most recent comments will appear at the top.

Please note that the show is now Over. You can read back over the live blog below.

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01:50 CET – Winner announced

And the winner is… SALVADOR Sorbal! Congratulations

01:21 CET – Jury votes

Salvador gets the first 12 points from the first jury. So he is in front at the moment. He also gets the 2nd set of 12 bringing his total to 24. Viva La Diva get the 3rd set of 12, but that only takes their total to 21. Salvador gets the 4th 12 of the night bringing his total to 46. From the 5th Jury, Salvador only got 4, which sends shockwaves through the audience. Pedro Gonçalves gets the 12 from the 5th jury, but does not put him in contention. Salvador is beginning to run away with the jury votes now. He gains the 6th set of 12 points, and the 7th. WOW! He is Unstoppable now. Salvador currently heads the field on 80 points from the jury. Salvador takes 10 points in the televote.

01:23 CET – Revelation of finalists for final announcement

The curtain is raised on the green room for the finalists to hear the announcement.

00:59 CET – Lines have closed

Lines have officially closed. Hopefully this means we will have the result shortly.

00:54 CET – Important/tragic events in Portuguese history

Don’t ask me why they have done this. Events include 9/11, and the first Portuguese meeting with Syrian president Bashir Al-Assad.

00:05 CET – Green Room

The presenters are back in the green room. Now they are starting to look nervous as the Portuguese public and regional juries continue to cast their votes.

00:00 CET – Another Recap

Another recap of the 8 finalists before the results start coming in

23:51 CET – Interval act

A song called playback by a solo male singer, who I believe is famous in Portugal. Nice all black suit and hat. He is singing traditional Portuguese music, which is very enjoyable. Now the female from that same band is singing, another stunning voice.

23:16 CET – Viva La Diva (Kika Cardoso, Luís Peças e João Paulo Ferreira) – Nova Glória

Viva La Diva are the highest qualifiers in tonight’s final. The lead singer dazzling in a full length pink glitter dress, but struggling a little with her voice. As an ensemble the 2 men and the lead female vocalist are absolutely incredible. The voices work so well together, and the harmonies are excellent from these 3 as well. Again this act are proving that age is just a number. The male vocalists without the female are strong, but need the female to give them that lift, which is why I think as a 3 piece they work so well together.

23:10 CET – Deolinda Kinzimba – O Que Eu Vi Nos Meus Sonhos

Deolinda very much reminds me of Amber Riley from Glee, but with a more powerful voice. A very soulful song to much a soulful voice. Dolinda dazziles in a long full length silver dress, which her air in an afro adds to that soulful feel of the song. She can reach the high notes without struggling, and she sounds pitch perfect.

23:04 CET – Celina da Piedade –  Primavera

Celina is wearing a massive red dress which doesn’t suit the overall package of this song at all. She is playing what seems to be an accordion which is doing nothing for the song. Maybe someone playing the accordion because it does not suit her or the song at all I don’t think.

22:58 CET – Fernando Daniel – Poema a Dois

Another young male performer, similar to Freddie from Hungary, but not the same style of music. Fernando has such strong vocals, for this type of song, I think he should stand still. This is a simple stand at the mic type song, which I think he would pull off extremely well. He is wearing a leather jacket, with black trousers and a black shirt underneath, which for me, is a bit under dressed for the type of song this is, if he had a suit and was standing alone at a mic, I think I would like this song more.

22:52 CET – Salvador Sobral – Amar Pelos Dois

Salvador is the favourite to take tonight’s title for Portugal. Dressed in a smart brown dinner jacket with and trousers. His looks and voice ticks all the boxes. Excellent presentation. Yes, it is a ballad, but it isn’t a generic Ballad, it is presented differently, and with so much enthusiasm. I think if he is selected, he could do well for Portugal on their return.

22:46 CET – Lena d’Água –  Nunca Me Fui Embora

When I hear the first few chords of this song, I instantly think or Uptown Girl, that was made famous by Billy Joel and Westlife. Lena proves age is just a number, she is dazzling in a little back number and has an absolutely stunning voice, just not sure if the song is for her. She has such a huge vocal range and she needs something that could challenge that.

22:39 CET – Pedro Gonçalves – Don’t Walk Away

Very strong vocals from such a young performer. A modern Portuguese song which would do very well in the charts and at Eurovision. Pedro wears a black tuxedo jacket with black trousers and a white top, showing he can be smart but casual at the same time. Even if he doesn’t make it to Eurovision, I think we will be seeing a lot more of him in the future.

22:34 CET – Jorge Benvinda – Gente Bestial (Nuno Figueiredo)

Very colourful performance to start off what is going to be a long night. A very 60s looking background, and I like that, as that is the sort of things I like and am into. Very deep vocals from Jorge, but a very up temp song to get everyone going. He is dazzling in a red and blue checked jacket with trousers, a nice suit to blend with his colourful theme. Overall a fantastic package of visuals, composition, lyrics, costume and voice.

22:29 CET – Recap of semi final performances

Currently running VTs of semi final performances. Everyone in the audience chanting ‘Salvador, Salvador’, looks as though, he has a lot of backing tonight.

22:00 CET – Show starts

Portugal are back with a bang. A very bright start to the show. Someone dressed in a Verka-like suit, this should be interesting. Everyone present looks so happy that Portugal is back. Portugal are treating this show like they should, a proper black tie event, so everyone and everything is treated with respect.

21:50 CET – Competing Acts

The competing acts in the show tonight are as follows (composers in brackets):

  1. Jorge Benvinda – Gente Bestial (Nuno Figueiredo)
  2. Pedro Gonçalves – Don’t Walk Away (João Pedro Coimbra)
  3. Lena d’Água – Nunca Me Fui Embora (Pedro Silva Martins)
  4. Salvador Sobral – Amar Pelos Dois (Luisa Sobral)
  5. Fernando Daniel – Poema a Dois (Nuno Feist)
  6. Celina da Piedade – Primavera (Celina da Piedade)
  7. Deolinda Kinzimba – O Que Eu Vi Nos Meus Sonhos (Rita Redshoes)
  8. Viva La Diva (Kika Cardoso, Luís Peças e João Paulo Ferreira) – Nova Glória (Nuno Gonçalves)