Semi final 2 also took place in Lisbon at RTP’s studio with another 8 songs competing for 4 places in the final.
Jorge Gabriel e José Carlos Malato were the hosts. Voting was, once again, 50% jury, 50% public.
The line up was:
1. "O Lugar" - Lara Laquiz
This was a surprise. Lara goes a bit for the “high dress” idea (very popular in the recent past) and gives a strong performance. Lara and the two dancers are dressed in black and we listen to a very easy going pop, which easily one can remember later on.
2. "Lava" - Dan Riverman
This is a nice strong ballad, with very deep lyrics, and there is nothing we can say that went wrong. It brings a bit of the style many Portuguese entries to the Eurovision got us used too.
3. "Mar Doce" - Mariana Bragada
Mariana tries her best in this wanna-be catchy pop-ballad, but it is not enough. It is, after all, very repetitive and annoying.
4. "O Jantar" - João Couto
This dinner (“Jantar”) is like many of the Portuguese pop songs that were written back in the 90s, and even in the 2000s. It is nice to listen, but nothing special. In terms of the lyrics, it is a very empty song.
5. "Mundo A Mudar" – Madrepaz
Madrepaz brought us indie-pop that can even resemble some traditional Portuguese sounds, with a very different staging. All four members of the group and the two back singers were very synchronized and had a very competent performance. This would be great in Tel Aviv. It is pleasant, makes you sing a long and smile.
6. "Pugna" – Surma
Surma is known for being a great composer/singer and having a very unique style. That was she brought to us in this semi final. “Pugna” is a different song, was sung and performed well and, at the end, stands out as one of the contenders to win Festival da Canção.
7. "Debaixo Do Luar" - Mila Dores
Mila is sitting at the piano and start her performance of what could be a Gabriela Schaaf song from the late 70s. Nothing wrong with that. It is a very strong performance of a nice ballad. No need of extra staging when a nice voice gets together with a good song.
8. "Igual A Ti" – NBC
Probably the biggest favourite of this semi final, NBC brings “Igual a Ti”, which is performed very well. Not sure if this would be a good choice for Tel Aviv but after his performance we knew it would be one of the qualifiers.
After all was sung, time to review “Desfolhada”, “Verão” and “Sobe sobe, balão sobe”.
And then it went on and on and on… until we got the final results!
Qualified for the Final:
"Igual a Ti" 22 points (10 J + 12 T)
"Pugna" 18 points (12 J + 6 T)
"Mundo a Mudar" 16 points (6 J + 10 T)
"Mar Doce" 15 points (8 J + 7 T)