Eurovision: Meeting the Entrants - Mimicat

Mimicat is not a newcomer to Festival da Canção. Having entered back in 2001, she returned earlier this year armed with the charmingly retro Ai Coração and soared to victory against some very big names including Cláudia Pascoal, Bárbara Tinoco and You Can't Win, Charlie Brown. As she wins hearts around the world with her playful performances ahead of Liverpool 2023, we caught up with the Portuguese representative to learn a little more..

Hi Mimicat, it's been a very exciting start to your year. Have you got a clear highlight so far?

The highlight was definitely the Festival da Canção, with the real highlight being the win! It was an amazing feeling to be rewarded for all the time that I've been doing music.

We absolutely love Ai Coração Can you tell us a little more about the song itself...

I wrote the song 10 years ago. At the time I didn't see it as a song for myself, so I pushed it out for others, until I decided to record it for myself about 5 years ago. I didn't like the demo of what we did. The production was not my vision for the song. I tried working with several different people and it didn't work. I kind of gave up on the song. Then I decided to submit it this year with a demo I didn't like. When they selected it, I had no choice but to do it right.

We wanted to give the old school vibe that it has, as it's a melody from the 70s or the 60s. I love that old school way of singing, which I have. I wanted to pay homage to the Portuguese oldies on this. It needed to be traditional and big, but I also wanted it to be modern and sound like a Mimicat song. It had to be so many different things. I wanted it to be sexy, fun, frenetic. It is a big mess as a song, but I think we did a decent job on it.

Did you initially write it with Eurovision in mind?

I always saw it as a song that would work well in the Festival da Canção. I never thought much about Eurovision until I was in the contest already. I knew it was a song that could have some impact. I didn't know it was going to win. Nobody did.

Were you a fan of Eurovision prior to entering it?

No. Not a fan at all. Not up until now. Now I am really into it. I watched it a few performances after it happened. One of my favourite songs of all time is Duncan Laurence's from Eurovision, but I actually didn't know it won Eurovision. I don't have the knowledge to talk about Eurovision.

If you had to file Ai Coração between two other songs, which would they be?

I'm in between the Armenian song and the Spanish one. I like them both for different reasons. The one that connects to me most is the Armenian song.

Who do you see as your biggest competition?

This is such a hard question. There are so many of us! Most of the songs are really, really good. It's hard to think of one person as the competition. I don't even feel like I'm in a competition. I'm just here to showcase my work. I don't see myself trying to beat someone.

What are your plans for Liverpool?

I just want to put on a really good performance. We are trying to achieve a modern cabaret feeling, so hopefully we will do that. We are just going to give it 1000%

Me and my dancers will put all of our energy on stage and hopefully people will like it.



What is your ambition for Eurovision?

It is just to put my name out there and make the most out of this experience. Socially, it is to meet other people and other artists. Just be able to drink from their talent and take them for inspiration. I think I am already

Post-Eurovision, what do you have scheduled?

I am going to release my third studio album around October or November. It is going to be super cool. It has three chapters. It is a concept album. It is going to be a journey throughout my music career. It is going to original songs, but it is going to show where I've been, where I am and where I am going to. I hope people will like it. Obviously, Ai Coracao will be in it.