Marisa Isabel Lopes Mena (born 25October 1984), known professionally as Mimicat, is a Portuguese pop and soul singer and songwriter. She represented Portugal in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, as , the winner of the with the song "Stefania (song), Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, was unable to host the eve ...

with the song "". She had previously participated in 2001 with the song "Mundo colorido" under the stage name Izamena, but did not advance beyond the semi-finals.

Music career

Born in

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

, Mimicat participated in 2001 with the song "Mundo colorido" under the name Izamena, aiming to represent Portugal in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2001 The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 was the 46th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song " Fly on the Wings of Love" by Olsen Brothers. Organised by the Eur ...

, but did not advance beyond the semi-finals. In 2009, she graduated from with a degree in sound and image. In 2014, she joined the band The Casino Royal, for whom she was the lead singer and songwriter. In the same year, she released her first album as Mimicat, "For You". The lead single from the album, "Tell Me Why", was featured in the Portuguese telenovela . Her stage name, Mimicat, is a combination of Mimi, a nickname for godmothers in her family, and Cat. She entered Festival da Canção again in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

with the self-composed song "

Ai coração "" (; ) is a 2023 song by Portuguese singer-songwriter Mimicat. The song represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning ''2023'', the Portuguese national selection for that year's Eurovision Song Contest. It finished ...

". The song won both the jury and popular vote in the contest, earning the right to represent Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. She qualified from the first semi final for the final, in which she placed 23rd. She returned as

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

's jury spokesperson the following year. Mimicat has described her musical influences as including soul music, but also "pop hits on the radio". She has named

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

and Jill Scott as influences.

Personal life

Outside of her musical career, Mimicat has worked as a

real estate agent Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...

. She is married and has two children.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other appearances

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mimicat Living people Portuguese pop singers Portuguese women pop singers 21st-century Portuguese women singers English-language singers from Portugal Portuguese women singer-songwriters Portuguese singer-songwriters Musicians from Coimbra Sony Music artists 1984 births Eurovision Song Contest entrants