Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015
| Eurovision Song Contest 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Portugal | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Festival da Canção 2015 | |||
| Selection date(s) | Semi-finals: 3 March 2015 5 March 2015 Final: 7 March 2015 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Leonor Andrade | |||
| Selected song | "Há um mar que nos separa" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | ||||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Failed to qualify (14th, 19 points) | |||
| Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Portugal participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Há um mar que nos separa", written by Miguel Gameiro. The song was performed by Leonor Andrade. The Portuguese broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) organised the national final Festival da Canção 2015 in order to select the Portuguese entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. After 12 songs competed through two semi-finals and a final, "Há um mar que nos separa" performed by Leonor Andrade emerged as the winner, ultimately being selected through a public televote. In the second of the Eurovision semi-finals, Portugal failed to qualify to the final, placing fourteenth out of the 17 participating countries with 19 points.
Background
Prior to the 2015 Contest, Portugal had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-seven times since its first entry in 1964.[1] Its highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been sixth place, which the nation achieved in 1996 with the song "O meu coração não tem cor" performed by Lúcia Moniz. To this point, Portugal has been competing in the contest the longest time without having achieved victory. Since semi-finals were introduced into the contest in 2004, Portugal has failed to reach the final seven times. After failing to qualify to the final in 2012, the country briefly withdrew from the contest in 2013. Portugal returned in 2014 with Suzy performing the song "Quero ser tua", which also failed to qualify the nation the final.
The Portuguese broadcaster for the 2015 Contest, who broadcasts the event in Portugal and organises the selection process for its entry, was Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP).[2] Portugal has most commonly selected their entry through the national final Festival da Canção except between 2003 and 2005 where the broadcaster used internal selections and the talent competition Operação triunfo to select their entry. The broadcaster will organize the 2015 edition of Festival da Canção in order to select the Portuguese entry for the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.[3]
Before Eurovision
Festival da Canção 2015
Festival da Canção 2015 was the 49th edition of Festival da Canção, the music competition that selects Portugal's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest.[3]
Format
The format of the competition consisted of three shows: two semi-finals on 3 and 5 March 2015 and the final on 7 March 2015, all taking place at RTP's studios in Lisbon. The competition featured twelve competing songs written by composers who RTP invited for the competition. The composers both created the song and selected the performer for their entry. Each semi-final featured six competing entries from which three advanced to the final from each show. Results during the semi-finals were determined by a jury panel and votes from the public. The songs first faced a public vote from which two advanced to the final. The jury then selected an additional qualifier from the remaining entries to advance. The winner in the final was determined over two rounds of voting: in the first round, the songs first faced a public vote from which two advanced to the superfinal. The jury then selected an additional superfinalist from the remaining entries. In the superfinal, the winner was determined solely by votes from the public.[3]
Competing entries
12 entries participated in the 49th Festival da Canção. The competing entries were announced on 19 February 2015. Among the competing artists were former Eurovision Song Contest entrantsSimone de Oliveira, who represented Portugal in 1965 and 1969 contests, and Adelaide Ferreira who represented Portugal in the 1985 contest.
| Artist | Song (English translation) | Composer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Ferreira | "Paz" (Peace) | Adelaide Ferreira |
| Diana Piedade | "Maldito tempo" (Damn time) | Carlos Massa |
| Filipa Baptista | "A noite inteira" (All night) | Augusto Madureira |
| Filipe Gonçalves | "Dança Joana" (Dance Joana) | Héber Marques |
| Gonçalo Tavares | "Tu tens uma mágica" (You have magic) | Gonçalo Tavares, José Cid |
| José Freitas | "Mal menor (Ninguém me guia à razão)" (Lesser evil (No one guides me to reason)) | Chukry (Diogo Rodrigues) |
| Leonor Andrade | "Há um mar que nos separa" (There's a sea that separates us) | Miguel Gameiro |
| Rita Seidi | "Lisboa, Lisboa" (Lisbon, Lisbon) | Sara Tavares, Kalaf |
| Rubi Machado | "Quando a lua voltar a passar" (When the moon passes again) | Sebastião Antunes |
| Simone de Oliveira | "À espera das canções" (Waiting for the songs) | Renato Júnior, Tiango Torres da Silva |
| Teresa Radamanto | "Um fado em Viena" (A fado in Vienna) | Fernando Abrantes, Jorge Mangorrinha |
| Yola Dinis | "Outra vez primavera" (Spring again) | Nuno Feist, Marques da Silva |
Shows
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 3 March 2015, hosted by Joana Teles and Jorge Gabriel. In the first semi-final six entries participated, and of these six, three advanced to the final. The competing entries first faced a public telephone vote where the top two songs advanced. An additional qualifier were selected from the remaining four entries by the jury.
Public vote qualifier Jury qualifier
| Semi-final 1 – 3 March 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Place | Result |
| 1 | Rita Seidi | "Lisboa, Lisboa" | 6 | Eliminated |
| 2 | Leonor Andrade | "Há um mar que nos separa" | 1 | Finalist |
| 3 | Filipa Baptista | "A noite inteira" | 3 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Yola Dinis | "Outra vez primavera" | 2 | Finalist |
| 5 | Gonçalo Tavares | "Tu tens uma mágica" | 5 | Finalist |
| 6 | Adelaide Ferreira | "Paz" | 4 | Eliminated |
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 5 March 2015, hosted by Sílvia Alberto and José Carlos Malato. In the second semi-final six entries participated, and of these six, three advanced to the final. The competing entries first faced a public telephone vote where the top two songs advanced. An additional qualifier were selected from the remaining four entries by the jury.
Public vote qualifier Jury qualifier
| Semi-final 2 – 5 March 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Place | Result |
| 1 | Rubi Machado | "Quando a lua voltar a passar" | 6 | Eliminated |
| 2 | José Freitas | "Mal menor (Ninguém me guia à razão)" | 5 | Finalist |
| 3 | Teresa Radamanto | "Um fado em Viena" | 1 | Finalist |
| 4 | Simone de Oliveira | "À espera das canções" | 2 | Finalist |
| 5 | Filipe Gonçalves | "Dança Joana" | 3 | Eliminated |
| 6 | Diana Piedade | "Maldito tempo" | 4 | Eliminated |
Final
The final took place on 7 March 2015, hosted by Júlio Isidro and Catarina Furtado. In the final six entries participated. The winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round, The competing entries first faced a public telephone vote where the top two songs advanced to the superfinal. An additional superfinalist were selected from the remaining four entries by the jury. In the superfinal, the winner, Leonor Andrade with the song "Há um mar que nos separa", was determined entirely by the public televote.[4]
Public vote qualifier Jury qualifier
| Final – 7 March 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Place | Result |
| 1 | José Freitas | "Mal menor (Ninguém me guia à razão)" | 6 | Eliminated |
| 2 | Yola Dinis | "Outra vez primavera" | 4 | Eliminated |
| 3 | Leonor Andrade | "Há um mar que nos separa" | 1 | Superfinalist |
| 4 | Simone de Oliveira | "À espera das canções" | 3 | Eliminated |
| 5 | Teresa Radamanto | "Um fado em Viena" | 2 | Superfinalist |
| 6 | Gonçalo Tavares | "Tu tens uma mágica" | 5 | Superfinalist |
| Superfinal – 7 March 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Place |
| 1 | Leonor Andrade | "Há um mar que nos separa" | 1 |
| 2 | Teresa Radamanto | "Um fado em Viena" | 2 |
| 3 | Gonçalo Tavares | "Tu tens uma mágica" | 3 |
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation.[5] The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into five different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[6] On 26 January 2015, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Portugal was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 21 May 2015, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[7]
Once all the competing songs for the 2015 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Portugal was set to perform in position 7, following the entry from Norway and before the entry from Czech Republic.[8]
In Portugal, the first semi-final was broadcast delayed, while the second semi-final and final were broadcast live on RTP1, RTP Internacional and RTP África with commentary by Hélder Reis and Ramon Galarza.[9] The Portuguese spokesperson, who announced the Portuguese votes during the final, was 2014 contest entrant Suzy.[10]
Semi-final
Leonor Andrade took part in technical rehearsals on 13 and 16 May,[11][12] followed by dress rehearsals on 20 and 21 May. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country, responsible for 50 percent of each country's vote, watched and voted on the competing entries.[13]
The stage show featured Leonor Andrade dressed in a black leather outfit with flowing trains performing at a microphone stand with a wind machine special effect. Four backing vocalists were lined up on Andrade's side also dressed in black: Pedro Mimoso, Ricardo Quintas, Tânia Tavares and Carla Ribeiro.[14] The background LED screens displayed images of a large city which transitioned to waves in blue, black and white.[11][12]
At the end of the show, Portugal failed to qualify to the final and was not announced among the top ten nations.[15] It was later revealed that Portugal placed fourteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 19 points.[16]
Voting
Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member were released shortly after the grand final.[17]
Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Portugal had placed thirteenth with both the public televote and the jury vote in the second semi-final. In the public vote, Portugal scored 24 points, while with the jury vote, Portugal scored 23 points.[18]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Portugal and awarded by Portugal in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:[16][19][20][21]
Points awarded to Portugal
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
Points awarded by Portugal
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Split voting resultsThe following five members comprised the Portuguese jury:[17]
References
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