In the last few hours, a press release from RTP has revealed the names of the songwriters and composers for the 2024 edition of Portugal’s national final, Festival da Canção, which celebrates its 60th anniversary next year.
RTP invited 14 writers, and the remaining 6 were chosen through the song submission process, which was open to the public between 7th August and 15th October. As usual, many artists will have composed songs to perform themselves, while others have composed for another performer, who’ll be revealed in a press conference in Lisbon in early 2024. Details about when this will be, and when the Festival will take place, are yet to be revealed.
In alphabetical order, the 20 artists who’ve composed for Festival da Canção this year are:
- Bispo
- Buba Espinho
- Cristina Clara
- FILIPA*
- Huca
- iolanda
- João Borsch
- João Couto*
- LEFT.*
- Leo Middea
- Maria João
- MELA*
- Mila Dores
- Nena
- NOBLE
- No Maka
- Perpétua
- Rita Onofre*
- Rita Rocha*
- Silk Nobre
*Stars indicate artists who submitted songs to RTP rather than being invited.
Some notable names in this year’s songwriter line-up include: Bispo, the hip-hop/tuga rapper who collaborated with FDC 2023 finalist Ivandro on the 2019 smash hit Esse saia, Maria João, a notable 67-year-old jazz singer who has collaborated with Portuguese superstar and 1991 Eurovision representative Dulce Pontes in a career that’s spanned nearly 4 decades, and Rita Rocha, who made the final of The Voice Kids Portugal 2021, losing out to JESC 2021 representative Simão Oliveira.
Previously named “Grande Prémio TV da Canção Portuguesa”, “Uma canção para a europa” and “Uma canção portuguesa”, among other things, FDC is RTP’s longest-running Entertainment format. It began in 1964 and has been used every year since as Portugal’s selection process for Eurovision, except for 2002, when Portugal were relegated, 2005, when RTP selected an artist internally, and 2013 and 2016, when Portugal pulled out of Eurovision due to financial constraints on the broadcaster.
Since Salvador Sobral’s victory in 2017, FDC has experienced a huge rebirth, with interest from composers and performers in a range of genres, who’ve helped Portugal to the Eurovision final on every occasion but one since 2018. Last year, Mimicat brought her cabaret-inspired banger Ai Coração to 23rd place in the final in Liverpool after winning Festival da Canção two months prior.
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