Marina Sena

Marina Sena, a Brazilian singer and songwriter working in pop and samba, launched the short-lived band Rosa Neon in 2019; the group issued a self-titled album and disbanded the following year. Her first solo outing arrived in 2021 with the buoyant modern-samba single “Me Toca,” which charted and amassed tens of millions of streams. A bossa-inflected jazz ballad, “Voltei Pra Nim,” quickly followed and matched that commercial reach, paving the way for her debut album, De Primeira, released that August. Crafted with producer Iuri Rio Branco, who also co-wrote several tracks, the set rode the momentum of its two advance singles and the additional cut “Por Supuesto” to three Multishow Brazilian Music Awards. Her second full-length, the 2023 release Vicio Inherente—again helmed by Branco—turned toward rhythm-driven pop tailored for the dance floor.

Born Marina de Oliveira Sena in Taiobeiras in northern Minas Gerais, she displayed an affinity for music by age five, inventing melodies and singing them back to herself. By her mid-teens the obsession had deepened; at fifteen she began writing songs in earnest, and two years later she earned a spot on La Voz Brazil. Professional work started in 2015 when she joined A Outra Banda da Lua as lead vocalist, later appearing on the band’s album and EP while touring with them and assorted other artists. After leaving the group she performed in clubs and recorded in studios until 2019, when she formed Rosa Neon alongside Marcelo Tofani, Mariana Cavanellas, Luiz Gabriel Lopes, and Baka. The ensemble played club shows and support slots, entered the studio for its sole album in 2020, and dissolved later that year when pandemic conditions prevented touring.

Although A Outra Banda da Lua’s self-titled debut surfaced in 2020, the recording dated back nearly two years; the Catapoeira EP followed in 2021. That same year Sena began collaborating with producer and songwriter Iuri Rio Branco; together they self-released “Me Toca,” whose seamless blend of samba and dance rhythms plus indelible hook earned more than twenty million streams and widespread critical praise. June brought “Voltei Pra Mim,” another co-write whose twenty-first-century bossa pulse, Senegalese guitars, and dance beats surpassed its predecessor in streams and attracted club play from astute DJs. Guest appearances on tracks by Jean Tassy, Silva, and Illa also began around this time.

De Primeira presented ten varied pieces that traversed bossa, samba, afoxé, choro, and funk, folding them into dance mixes, R&B, guitars, percussion, and keyboards. Powered by the two earlier singles and the hit duet “Te Vi Na Rura” with Silva, the album became a club staple before spreading nationwide, ultimately securing Sena three Multishow Brazilian Music Awards for Best Experimental Artist, Revelation of the Year, and Album of the Year. February 2022 brought the chart entry “Foi Match,” a collaboration with production duo Hitmaker, while March yielded an alternate mix of “Veja Baby” shared with Lagum. Additional 2022 releases included the single “Natasha” recorded with Brazilian stadium rockers Capital Inicial, a psychedelic-pop cover of Caetano Veloso’s “Da Maior Importancia,” and the collaborative “Para Lennon and McCartney/Citação: O Vento” with legendary singer Gal Costa, who died in November 2023.

The ambitious pre-release single “Tudo Pra Amar Você” appeared in March 2023. Co-written and produced by Branco, the track layered dubwise riddims, electronics, brass, and rolling basslines around an enveloping vocal and quickly became a club favorite. April saw the arrival of Vício Inherente, Sena’s second album and Sony debut, a set of contemporary dance-floor jams. Branco’s kaleidoscopic production—surpassing his prior work with blurry samples, stacked programmed beats, organic and synthetic rhythms, and refined textures—wrapped Sena’s soaring voice like a warm blanket. The project reached number three on streaming charts and registered in three countries.