Next week Portugal picks its Eurovision song. Fans will riot if spoon face Conan Osíris isn’t declared the winner. Tonight, the second semifinal of the Festival da Canção 2019 completed the list of songs in the running.
The show, broadcast from RTP’s studios in Lisbon on Saturday 23 February, was hosted by Jorge Gabriel and José Carlos Malato, with Inês Lopes Gonçalves reporting from the green room. Eight songs competed for four places in the final, with the result decided by a 50/50 jury and viewer vote.
[table id=516 /]NBC won the semifinal with “Igual a Ti”, scoring 10 jury points and 12 from viewers. Surma’s “Pugna” was second on 18 points, followed by Madrepaz with “Mundo a Mudar” and Mariana Bragada with “Mar Doce”.
Bragada qualified ahead of Dan Riverman despite both songs finishing on 15 points. Portugal’s tie-break rule gives priority to the song with the higher jury score: Bragada had eight jury points to Riverman’s seven.
The completed final lineup is therefore NBC, Surma, Madrepaz, Mariana Bragada, Matay, Conan Osíris, Calema and Ana Cláudia. The first semifinal’s qualifiers, on 16 February, were Matay (“Perfeito”), Conan Osíris (“Telemóveis”), Calema (“A Dois”) and Ana Cláudia (“Inércia”).
The eight-song final was scheduled for 2 March 2019 at the Portimão Arena. Portugal’s Eurovision choice is now one show away. And yes, the spoon remains very much in the race.
