Lisbon, 7 March 2022
It’s there. Your annual appointment with Portugal’s fashion bonanza doubling as a music festival. It is time to cover, to critique to savour the couture and colour locale of Festival da Canção. Tonight saw the second semifinal of the Portuguese selection take place, with the 10 last National Final songs taking the stage for the first time.
Tonight the following songs competed:
- Os Azeitonas – “Solta a voz e canta”
- Cubita – “Uma mesagem tua”
- Inês Homem de Melo – “Fome da viagem”
- Syro – “Ainda nos temos”
- Pepperoni Passion – “Código 30”
- Milhanas – “Corpo da mulher”
- O Vampiro Submarino – “Ao lado de mim”
- Jonas – “Pontas soltas”
- Blacci – “Mar no fim”
- Pongo & Tristant – “DÉGRÁ.DÊ”
As was the case with last Saturday, tonight’s liveshow was again peppered with interviews and colourful performances throughout the night. Clear standouts on the fashion side were Os Azeitonas’s pink bedazzled jumpers, Pongo’s intensely effective make-up and Milhanas’s epic cape. Vocally, Syro provided an impressive vocal for his powerballad, with Pongo and Inês Homem de Melo nailing their difficult songs. The stand-out staging of the name came courtesy of Jonas, who elevated his song by adding an intense dance routine.
After the lines closed, it was time for Chanel to take the stage. The Spanish representative for Turin captivated the audience with a great performance of her song “SloMo“.
The endemic interval acts stood out less than those in the first semifinal, but we would like to make a nod to José Cid, who delivered a strong medley during the voting period, including a performance of his 1980 song “Um grande grande amor”
In the end however, it remained a music contest and only five would make it through. The following five were announced as qualifiers:
- Milhanas!
- Syro!
- Inês Homem de Melo!
- Pongo & Tristany!
- Pepperoni Passion!
Which means this is our line-up for Saturday:
One of these 10 will represent Portugal in the first semifinal on 10 May in Turin. Portugal drew the second half in that semifinal, and will face off against the likes of Norway, Greece and Armenia. France and Italy vote in this semfinal.
Portugal’s only victory to date came in 2017, when Salvador Sobral won the contest in a never-before-seen blow out. He is also the only Portuguese contestant to finish in the top five of their year.
Did #YOUR favourite from tonight make it? Who do #YOU want to see win FdC? Let us know in the comments, on social media or on our forum HERE. Alternatively, join the discussion on our Discord HERE.
