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According to ESC Portugal, we may be hearing the candidates for Portugal’s Eurovision 2020 entry in just a couple of weeks! We do not know the names of all the singers, nor do we know the song titles, but we did get the names of the composers last month.
It should be noted that Portugal’s RTP did not confirm that this would be the date of release, but one of the competing acts suggested that it will be. Dubio, who are one of the few confirmed artists because they are also the composers behind their entry. In a now-edited comment of a recent single of theirs, Dubio commented that their FdC entry will be released on January 15th.
As you may recall last year, all 16 entries were released on January 21st via the RTP YouTube account. Further, RTP already announced that the songs competing in Festival da Canção 2020 will be released during January, but didn’t specify a date. Take this with a pinch of salt, but we’ll certainly be refreshing YouTube on that day!
320 submissions…16 selected composers
Last month, RTP revealed that a total of 320 songs were submitted for just this one spot in the selection. This is a 120 increase in submissions from last year’s edition. Notably, the number of public submissions peaked the edition following Portugal’s win in 2017. A total of 346 songs were submitted to select the host entry for 2018.
Here is the list in alphabetical order:
- António Avelar Pinho
- Blasted Mechanism
- Cláudio Francisco António (Masterclass submission)
- Dino D’Santiago
- Dubio ft. +351 (Public submission)
- Eliza Rodrigues
- Filipe Sambado
- Hélio Morais
- Jimmy P
- João Cabrita
- Marta Carvalho
- MEERA
- Pedro Jóia
- Rui Pregal da Cunha
- Throes + The Shine
- Tiago Nacarato
The line-up suggests an even more intriguing and eclectic mix of songs than what we were treated to in 2018. Like last year, Festival da Canção 2020 will take place over three nights. The semi-finals will take place on February 22 and 29 at RTP Studios in Lisbon. The final will take place on March 7 in a location yet to be confirmed.
Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest
Portugal was once seen as one of the most unlucky Eurovision countries, holding the record for the longest period of participation without a win (49 attempts). Of course, this ‘curse’ was broken in 2017 when Salvador Sobral won the contest with “Amar Pelos Dois”. Not only was this their first win, but it was also their first and only top 5 placing in the contest to date.
Unfortunately, since this victory, Portugal haven’t been able to replicate this success in the past two contests. In 2018, as the host nation, Portugal got its fourth last place finish with Cláudia Pascoal’s “O Jardim”. After performing 15th in semi final 1 in Tel Aviv this year, Conan controversially didn’t qualify for the Grand Final. He finished 15th with 51 points, but was the subject of a number of articles praising the song and performance after the semi.
Are you excited to see Festival da Canção return next year? Which of the composers are you most excited about? Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our reactions to the news in the run up to Rotterdam!
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