This weekend sees the Grand Final of Portugal's Festival da Canção, when the nation will decide its representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
Thirteen acts will battle for the ticket to Liverpool, including former Portuguese Eurovision representative Cláudia Pascoal, who sang 'O Jardim' at the Lisbon Contest in 2018.
The Aussievision team have weighed in on who they want to see win, using Eurovision-style scoring to rank their top 10 acts from 12 points down to one (and in a tie with the points we have ranked the songs based on most 12 points, 10 points and so on in a tie).
The songs competing - ranked by the Aussievision team
13. Churky - 'Encruzilhada' (21 points)
Highs: 6 points from Steven
Lows: 0 points from Fleur, Laura, John
12. Dapunksportif - 'World Needs Therapy' (21 points)
Highs: 10 points from Hayley, 4 points from Zhi
Lows: 0 points from Craig, Mark, Steven and Kyriakos; 1 point from John
"When the artists were announced for Portugal this year, this band really took my interest! A great rock song by a band that have been established for a long time doing their prog rock genre. I have listened to some of their other stuff and it is pretty good too! However, do we really need another rock song at Eurovision this year?" ~ Hayley
11. SAL - 'Viver' (25 points)
Highs: 7 points from Hayley and Mark
Lows: 0 points from Dale, Zhi and Craig; 1 point from Fleur and Steven
10. Ivandro - 'Povo' (33 points)
Highs: 7 points from John, 6 points from Laura and Kyriakos
Lows: 0 points from Mark, Hayley and Fleur; 2 points from Dale and Craig
"This is an absolute vibe, I love the Portuguese cultural elements mixed with modern R'n'B stylings." ~ Laura
9. Esse Povo - 'Sapatos de cimento' (35 points)
Highs: 8 points from Steven and Mark; 6 points from Fleur
Lows: 0 points from Dale and John, 1 point from Craig and Hayley
8. Voodoo Marmalade - 'Tormento' (39 points)
Highs: 10 points from Dale, 8 points from Zhi Lows: 0 points from Steven and Kyriakos, 2 points from Mark and Laura
"I adore everything about this. What a fun and energetic song and performance from the group. It love the ukulele Portuguese folk fusing with other influences including even a little bit of ska and swing. It's giving me Portuguese folk Squirrel Nut Zippers (niche reference I know) and I am HERE FOR IT." ~ Dale
7. You Can't Win Charlie Brown - 'Contraste mudo' (39 points)
Highs: 12 points from Craig, 10 points from Fleur
Lows: 0 points from Kyriakos and Dale, 2 points from John
"This song is beautiful in the same way that watching a sunset is beautiful. There's no one moment you can point to, but come the end you know you've experienced something stunning and moving. Great band name, too. Don't think this will win FdC, but this sort of entry is the reason I keep coming back to Portugal's national final year after year." ~ Craig
6. Bárbara Tinoco - 'Goodnight' (40 points)
Highs: 7 points from Steven and Zhi, 6 points from John, Craig and Hayley
Lows: 0 points from Mark and Laura, 1 point from Dale
5. Cláudia Pascoal - 'Nasci Maria' (50 points)
Highs: 12 points from John; 10 points from Laura
Lows: 0 points from Mark; 1 point from Dale
"Cláudia Pascoal is a feminist icon. As a woman, I can relate to the sentiment of the lyrics about being pigeonholed and put into boxes that don't fit based on gender stereotypes. Plus the song is a banger too - mixing elements of fado and EDM to create an amazing result." ~ Laura
"Cláudia Pascoal must avenge what they did in 2018. She didn't deserve to be in last place that year, so I guess she must return to the Eurovision stage with a bang." ~ John
4. Inês Apenas - 'Fim do mundo' (59 points)
Highs: 12 points from Laura and Zhi, 8 points from Fleur and Kyriakos
Lows: 0 points from Hayley and Craig, 4 points from Steven
"It might be an unconventional choice, but 'Fim do mundo' is my favourite song in Portugal's line-up this year. The orchestral instrumental, skittering drum beats, and sweeping piano lend themselves well to the lyrical sentiment of being in love when the world is ending. This song is sublime!" ~ Laura
"This is an incredibly unique, surreal and stimulating song. I love the piano runs and the amazing build-up. Provides the listener with almost an outer body experience." ~ Zhi
"My goodness, can this woman perform. Such a unique song. The structure of it is what attracted me to it. The piano breaks give the song that edge that sets it apart from everything else. Amazing." ~ Fleur
3. Edmundo Inacio - 'A festa' (60 points)
Highs: 10 points from Steven and John, 8 points from Dale, 7 points from Craig and Fleur
Lows: 1 point from Laura, 3 points from Mark and Kyriakos
"The key selling point for me is Edmundo’s beautiful voice. The song also - to my ears - imbues traditional Fado with a modern flavour. There’s also a sensual and almost hypnotic vibe to the music. Eu gosto!" ~ Steven
2. Neon Soho - 'Endless World' (60 points)
Highs: 12 points from Hayley and Kyriakos, 10 points from Mark, 8 points from Craig and Laura Zhi and Steven
Lows: 0 points from Steve, John and Zhi
"Ah this takes me back to my Ministry of Sound chillout sessions days. I see myself sitting in a cocktail bar on a Sunday afternoon, chilled out on a comfy couch with friends with an aperitif in hand, tapping my feet. This is REALLY GOOD. I love my atmospheric pop – and I love her voice and I love their stage look. This is the best thing I have heard from Portugal since the Black Mamba. I see this doing well at Eurovision." ~ Hayley "Now this a performance with a journey!! I absolutely love this, I love music that transcends to different places and it has huge impact. I love the costuming and the mood set in the performance." ~ Kyriakos "Jawdropping vocal finish. Killer club song that Paul Mac would proudly call his own. Dark, alluring performance. Close your eyes and at times this could be Australia's very own Kate Ceberano." ~ Mark
1. Mimicat - 'Ai Coração' (98 points)
Highs: 12 points from Steven, Mark, Fleur and Dale, 10 points from Craig and Zhi
Lows: 7 points from Kyriakos and Laura
"Forget Liza with a “Z”, it’s all about Mimicat with an “M”. This camp cabaret number had me hooked from the opening seconds: it’s peppy, well sung, catchy and in Portuguese. I’d love to see this in Liverpool!" ~ Steven
"Wow, this is fantastic. It was my favourite from the first time I heard it. It's such an earworm. Classic takes on a modern twist. Mimicat performs this almost flawlessly and her stage presence is nothing short of commanding. Also that last note is perfection. Eurovision needs this." ~ Fleur "A love letter to the women who raised me: Sally Bowles, Australian Idol's Chanel Cole, my drunk aunt. There's even some Jane Krakowski and Emma Thompson in there for good measure. Mimicat? Mimi CAN. Douze points." ~Mark "This song and performance makes me feel like I've wandered into an underground club with Portuguese burlesque/cabaret. Mimicat is a fantastic artist - she has presence, a great vocal and brings an infectious energy you just want to get behind. The Eurovision stage needs her." ~ Dale
Festival da Canção Grand Final Running Order
The running order for the Final is as follows:
Cláudia Pascoal – Nasci Maria'
Churky – 'Encruzilhada'
Esse Povo – 'Sapatos de Cimento'
Bárbara Tinoco – 'Goodnight'
You Can’t Win, Charlie Brown – 'Contraste Mudo'
Voodoo Marmalade – 'Tormento'
Inês Apenas – 'Fim do Mundo'
Mimicat – 'Ai Coração'
Dapunksportif – 'World Needs Therapy'
NEON SOHO – 'Endless World'
Ivandro – 'Povo'
Edmundo Inácio – 'A Festa'
SAL – 'Viver'
Voting
The winner of Festival da Canção will be determined by a combination of jury scores and public televote, both of which will count for 50% of the final result.
How To Watch
The Festival da Canção Grand Final will air from 22:00 CET on 11 March - that's 8:00 AEDT on Sunday 12 March for Australians viewers. Broadcaster RTP will stream the via their various channels.
For continued updates on all Eurovision Song Contest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. All the links can be found at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet