An unpredictable, versatile artist with a restless spirit claims with many claims to represent Portugal in tomorrow’s final of the Festival da Canção. Mimicat remains favorite from the first day of the publication of the songs of the festival until today will exclaim Ai Coração to stand out among the 13 songs taking part.
Shortly before the first semi-final of the Festival da Canção 2023, although suffering due to infection, she agreed to speak to OGAE Greece to get to know her better.
O: Good evening Mimicat . Thank you very much for your time for this interview. I hope you are better today.
M: Good evening, I’m doing my best to be ready on Saturday. Yesterday we had our first technical rehearsal and there will be 3 more until Saturday night.
O: Very nice. How did your first rehearsal go?
M: It was more of a technical rehearsal. I didn’t sing normally because of the infection. My voice has stopped, something that has happened to me for the first time. The Portuguese TV budget is generally low, but we do what we can. I will have two female dancers with me and I am learning to dance and sing at the same time which is new for me.
O : I wish you a speedy recovery and that everything goes well on Saturday. It is true that this is your second participation in the Festival . The first one was just in 2001. Tell us what that experience was like and how it came about.
M: In 2001 I was only 15 years old, I had no idea where I was going. From the age of 9 to 17 I released some albums and at some point I was offered to take part. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to qualify for the final. I finished 3rd and that year only the first two songs qualified for the final. I could tell you that I joined just for the sake of joining. I didn’t have Eurovision in mind as a goal.
O: 22 years later how did you decide to take part again with the song Ai Curaçao! ;
M: I wrote this song 10 years ago with a completely different instrumentation. I wrote it in just ten minutes with only the Festival da Canção in mind. For me the song is a kind of tribute to the older festival entries that have written their own history. For example the participation of Portugal in 1979 with Manuela Bravo is excellent, I love her. In any case I knew from the first moment that it is a song cut and sewn for the festival.
O : So how come you didn’t take part in the previous decade?
M : In those years I was singing other kinds of songs, I was part of a band as well and we had songs exclusively in English. In 2012 I didn’t feel like I could support the song vocally. My participation this year came about completely by accident, almost as a joke. I sent the song literally on the last day of the submission deadline without telling anyone and then forgot I had sent it!
O : And how did you react when you finally found out that you are in the final twenty?
M : I was rehearsing for my third record which will probably be released in the summer and I receive a call from an unknown number and at first I didn’t even realize that it was the organizers of the Festival. I didn’t think I was selected! -laughs-.
O : So a very nice surprise. Listening to the song we quickly realize the multitude of musical influences. How would you describe it musically?
M : The song originally had, as I told you, another orchestration, it was more calm. We changed it by combining many elements. We had said at the beginning that it should be fado, but in the end we changed our minds. It is indeed a mix of many musical genres, it has elements of burlesque and cabaret, elements of jazz, traditional Portuguese music – although classical guitar has been used -, castanets which are a classic instrument of Spanish and Latin American dances… Even Balkan influences I could tell you , by Emir Kusturica e.g.
O : You have also written the lyrics of the song. Do you have a verse that is perhaps your favorite and why?
M : Hmm, I don’t have a specific lyric, however before I wrote the song I remember listening to various songs by Amy Winehouse and I think it gave me more inspiration.
O : Interesting! You previously mentioned Portugal’s entry in 1979. Which other entries in the competition do you like and why ?
M : From Portuguese, I cannot fail to mention the participation of 1994 with Sara Tavares. It’s a very important song for me because in my first performance in front of people when I was 9, I sang Chamar e Musica. I really like Duncan Lawrence’s Arcade, Salvador Sobral’s winning song of course… I also went crazy with two completely different songs… Barbara Pravi’s Voila and Channel’s Slomo.
O : Different but equally dear! Looking at the votes inside and outside of Portugal, one immediately realizes that you are the big favorite! How feel for this ?
M : It’s all touching, honestly. I want to go one step at a time. I’m not thinking about Eurovision yet but it will definitely be a very emotional moment if I manage to win. Until then I’m focusing on the semi-final and the final of the Festival da Canção .
O : Closing the interview, would you like to say something to the Greek fans of your song?
M : The love I keep getting from people is awesome. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and I hope you like my look.
O: Muito Obrigado Mimicat e boa sorte no Festival da Canção!
Who is Mimicat?
Performer, translator and composer from a very young age, Mimicat , the alter ego of Marisa Isabel Lopes Mena, who was born 38 years ago in Coimbra, appeared in 2014 although she had already recorded her first album at the age of 9. With a warm and powerful voice, typical of Anglo-Saxon soul-pop (among his references are names such as Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles or Jill Scott), he released his first album under the name Mimicat in 2014, entitled For You , which had Tell Me Why as its first single. From 2015 to 2016, she presented the album on the country’s biggest stages and made her international debut with concerts in Brazil. In more pop rhythms without ever losing her characteristic power and charisma, she released the album Back in Town in 2017. In 2019, she released her first song in Portuguese, a tribute to her parents’ 50-year bond, which came about during her pregnancy. After taking a break for her first child, she returned in 2021 with the single Tudo ao Ar . Last year, she presented her new single Mundo ao Contrário , which will be part of her third personal album ΄which will be released later this year and will present three chapters of her personal story.
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Interview & Editing: Christos Favios
