After two hard-fought semifinals, the grand final of Portugal's Festival da Canção has arrived for 2025.
Hosted by Vasco Palmerim and fan favourite Filomena Cautela, 12 songs will battle it out for the Portugues ticket to Eurovision 2025 in Basel.
Ahead of this evening's final, ten members of 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. Ties are broken using the highest individual score received by the tied acts.
See who the team ranked first below!
12. Margarida Campelo - Eu sei que o amor (16 points)
Highs: 8 points from Hayley
Lows: 0 points from Craig, Joel, John Christian, Liv and Sam, 1 point from Jamie
"There is really something I like about this song - it is sophisticated, a real class act and she has great vocals. I think this is what I would expect to hear in Portugal in a lovely cafe while drinking Portuguese wine! Noice!" ~Hayley
11. Emmy Curl - Rapsódia da Paz (30 points)
Highs: 10 points from John Christian
Lows: 0 points from Craig, Emma and Dale, 1 point from Hayley
"This is a very decent song, and every word of it speaks of what we need in this world: a rhapsody for long-lasting peace, not war and polarization. We need this ballad to stand out in Basel, and Emmy Curl might be a very decent choice for this." ~John Christian
10. Bluay - Ninguém (32 points)
Highs: 8 points from Emma and Liv
Lows: 0 points from Fleur, Hayley and Jamie, 1 point from Dale
9. Marco Rodrigues - A Minha Casa (33 points)
Highs: 7 points from Sam, 6 points from Craig
Lows: 0 points from Fleur and Joel, 1 point from Emma and Liv
"He has such a beautiful voice and I really liked the simplistic staging. Unfortunately, it goes from beautiful Portuguese ballad to Disney musical number at times which just pushed it down a little in my rankings." ~Dale
8. Jéssica Pina - Calafrio (36 points)
Highs: 7 points from Emma, 6 points from John Christian and Hayley
Lows: 1 point from Craig, Fleur and Joel
7. Napa - Delocado (44 points, tiebreak applied)
Highs: 7 points from Hayley, 6 points from Dale
Lows: 2 points from Sam
6. Peculiar - Adamastor (44 points, tiebreak applied)
Highs: 10 points from Sam, 7 points from Craig
Lows: 0 points from Emma, 1 point from John Christian
"The most avant-garde of all the acts in this Portuguese line-up. It reminds me a little of Conan Osiris in 2019. The staging and graphics are simple yet powerful and effective. There are many slower and peaceful songs in this national final, which makes this up-tempo song further stand out." ~Sam
5. HENKA - i wanna destroy u (46 points)
Highs: 10 points from Emma, Fleur and Hayley
Lows: 0 points from Dale, John Christian, Liv and Sam
"Girl metal? HELL YES. This would pop hard at Eurovision - for so many reasons. This is accessible metal, and I think it would be good for rock-loving Portugal (Yes, I haven't forgotten your 12 points for Voyager!) to one day send a rock song. It shows they have a quality and diverse music scene - impressive!" ~Hayley
"Ola, I'm Fleur. I am half-Portuguese, I enjoy listening to hard rock music and I may have a couple of anger management issues. This song is for me, obrigada. Seriously, I love this. HENKA's vocals are amazing and Portugal have never sent anything remotely like this. The antithesis of the girl bangers that Eurovision 2025 needs." ~Fleur
"Now that's commitment! Not the sort of song I'd usually go for but HENKA commits to the theme of the song & delivers. This will definitely have its fans and is a very visually appealing package that sells the concept of the song well." ~Emma
4. Bombazine - Apago tudo (66 points)
Highs: 10 points from Dale and Jamie, 8 points from John Christian
Lows: 3 points from Hayley, 4 points from Emma
"This is just a fun and groovy 70s style number that is really hard not to like. Not sure it's a good choice for Eurovision but it was one of the few songs I wanted to go back and immediately watch and listen to again. Great!" ~Dale
"I am loving the retro 70s/80s vibe with this song and the outfits. I can't see this beating Josh, but of all the other songs in the grand final, this is my clear 2nd choice." ~Jamie
"Feel like I've got the Portuguese version of Musica leggerissima without a slap you in the face level hook. It's a nice bit of diversity in the final and makes me smile though so that means something." ~Liv
3. Diana Vilarinho - Cotovia (68 points)
Highs: 12 points from Dale, 10 points from Liv, 8 points from Craig and Fleur
Lows: 1 point from Sam, 2 points from Hayley
"I find this both powerful and hypnotic! She is fantastic and the staging I think really suits the song. I find it compelling - love it!" ~Dale
"I am always going to love fado when I hear it - what a dreamy vocal, song and performance. This would bit in nicely with the unapologetically Portuguese entries that have been sent to Eurovision in recent years. I could listen to this all day and dance and weep simultaneously, delightful." ~Liv
"This might be a bit underrated. Diana sells this so well with so much emotion. This has the usual Fado that we love seeing at Festival da Canção but it resonates a bit better than many of the ballad-like songs for me." ~Fleur
2. Fernando Daniel - Medo (75 points)
Highs: 12 points from Joel, John Christian, Liv and Sam, 10 points from Craig
Lows: 0 points from Hayley and Jamie
"What a package - the song is full of yearning and emotion, two things that I'm always looking for in a Portuguese entry. Fernando has given himself one of the biggest vocal challenges of the festival and if he can keep that intonation rock solid - it will pay dividends with the juries and public. He's one good looking lad too which can't hurt! The staging is creative and understated, I love everything about this." ~Liv
"While perhaps not quite as perfect as Josh's "Tristeza", this is a superb ballad which is well performed and currently has the better staging of the two in the FdC final. Fernando has a great voice and, just like Josh, could stand to pick up metric sh*ttons of jury points in Basel. While not my favourite in this very strong selection, this would stand a good chance of extending Portugal's phenomenal recent run at Eurovision." ~Craig
"Easily the best vocalist out of this lot. He delivers a captivating performance that gets even better once he loses that distracting guitar." ~Joel
"In a sea of Portuguese ballads this one rises above the rest. The staging and performance is the most thought-provoking and curious. The melody is the most impactful and the delivery the most emotive. This is such a beautiful performance and I hope Portugal chooses this." ~Sam
"Between him and Josh, who would either of them had a decent chance of sending Portugal to the Grand Final, this would be the option. The one thing he has a very high advantage than the other finalists is name recognition." ~John Christian
1. JOSH - Tristeza (90 points)
Highs: 12 points from Craig, Emma, Fleur, Hayley and Jamie, 10 points from Joel, 8 points from Dale
Lows: 2 points from John Christian and Liv
"The staging of this needs a lot of work (they either need to go very stripped back and naturalistic with it or alternatively amp it up to the nines), but if Josh wins Festival da Canção... I think Portugal is looking dangerous in Basel. Fantastic progression and structuring accompanied by magnificent vocals from Josh make this a high quality package, and in a year where ballads and jury bait songs are few and thin on the ground, this could easily stand to pull a lot of points. Lisbon 2026? It's more plausible than you think!" ~Craig
"This is far and away the best song in FdC this year. Josh has such an amazing and beautiful voice and it would be a travesty for Portugal to not send this to Eurovision. With some improvements to the staging, this song will finish Top 5 in Basel." ~Jamie
"This is beautiful, Josh brings the gentleness and vulnerability that this song requires. The performance needs a little refining but the potential for something great is there. If this is selected, I can see this continuing Portugal's recent run of going top 10 at Eurovision." ~Fleur
"I am transfixed every time I watch this performance, and this subtle tune is a real grower. The suspended-in-mid-air lamppost staging is a great visual hook but needs better camerawork to really make it pop on screen." ~Joel
"Absolutely stunning and a potential Eurovision winner here! The song is so delicate, SO dreamy! The instrumentation here is so gorgeous, that sprinkling of what I think is a harp is such a good choice for this song. I feel if staged right, this could be the kind of song that has you on the edge of your seat for 3 minutes. PORTUGAL SEND THIS (I really want to visit your country!)" ~Hayley
"This type of song is not usually my thing but I was mesmerised by Josh's beautiful vocals that were on the cusp of being a whisper at times. And how does he pull off that amazing lamp post hang? Could do extremely well with the juries if it goes to Basel." ~Emma
How To Watch
The Final of Festival da Canção 2025 will take place on the morning of Sunday March 9 (Australian time) and can be watched via the RTP website.
The national juries will determine 50% of the result at the Festival da Canção 2025 Final. The remaining 50% of the vote will be determined by the public.
The show will begin at:
10:00pm, Saturday March 9 Central European Time
5:00am Sunday March 10, WA
6:30am Sunday March 10, NT
7:00am Sunday March 10, QLD
7:30am Sunday March 10, SA
8:00am Sunday March 10, ACT, NSW, TAS, VIC
For continued updates on all the Eurovision Song Contest news follow us on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram. All links at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet
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