Mimicat

Marisa Isabel Lopes Mena, born in Coimbra in 1985, better known as Mimicat, is a Portuguese pop and soul singer and songwriter.

Marisa Mena recorded her first album at the age of 9. A self-taught singer-songwriter from a very young age, she spent her teens between school and recording studios.

She participated, aged just 15 and with the stage name Izamena, in one of the semifinals semifinal of Festival da Canção 2001, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. She presented the song “Mundo Colorido”, but did not make it to the final. In 2004, she auditioned for Idolos Portugal and entered the last 50.

Marisa was the lead singer and author of most of the lyrics for a band from Coimbra called The Casino Royal. In 2009 she graduated in Sound and Image from the Escola Superior de Artes e Design das Caldas in Rainha.

In 2014 she presented her debut album under the name Mimicat: “For you”. The first single “Tell me Why”, was included in the soundtrack of the soap opera Jardins Proibidos.

In 2015, she performed on some of the biggest Portuguese stages (Festa do Avante, Sol da Caparica, Edp Cool Jazz, Meo Marés Vivas, Culturgest, among others). She debuted on stages in Brazil, at one of the biggest events in São Paulo, Virada Cultural.

In 2016 she released two singles: “Stay Strong” and “Gave Me Love”. They were included in her second album, “Back in town”. The album was released in September 2017. Two more singles from the album, “Fire” and “Going down” were released in the same year. In 2018, the single “Nobody knows” from the same album was released.

Also in 2018 Mimicat got the opportunity to open for Selah Sue during her tour in Portugal. In July of that year, she teamed up with Camelier. She featured on his single “It feels so good”.

On 11 april 2019, Mimicat released her first single in Portuguese, “Ate ao fim”, dedicated to her parents who celebrated their 50 years of marriage. The song was followed by “Mal maior” in November.

Due to COVID19, it remained a little silent around Mimicat. However, she sang a lot online. On 11 February 2021, a new single came out: “Tudo ao ar”. A year later, she teamed up with Filipe Gonçalves, who featured in her single and video “Mundo ao Contrário”.

In 2023 she won the 57th edition of the RTP da Canção Festival, with the theme “Ai Coração”. She represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest. The song reached the final and became 23rd there.