I attribute my success to my versatility, I am consolidated, says Mari Fernandez

Don’t be surprised if you’re in a bar and suddenly Mari Fernandez shows up unexpectedly to sing live. The 23-year-old singer is recording a new project called “Mari no Barzinho” and will tour some Brazilian cities to release the new songs.

At the end of April, she already recorded in Rio de Janeiro and Goiânia and new cities are yet to be defined. In the same month, she completed three years of career. The new investment can be seen as preparation for the June festivities in 2024.

“It’s the best period for an artist. I do around 40 to 60 shows a month and I want some of my music to be on people’s lips by then”, she says in an interview with F5. While talking to the reporter, she gets her hair and makeup done by a professional for the recording of singer Mano Walter’s DVD.

Mari became known in 2021, during the pandemic, and went viral on TikTok with songs like “Parada Louca” and “Comunicação Falhou”, from her first CD. Three years later, she is one of the most famous singers in Brazil and, time and time again, occupies more than one position in the ranking of the country’s most listened to songs on Spotify.

With a career that she already considers consolidated, she says she feels confident to invest in new rhythms beyond the one that revealed her: the piseiro. “I attribute my success to my versatility,” she explains. “I managed to become relevant. I’m always recording with people from country music, funk, pagode and forró.”

“I’m at my best”, she assesses. “I can sing different types of music and I’m preparing to renew myself musically. If tomorrow the trend is country music, I’ll sing country music. [Porque] I don’t know how to do anything other than sing.”

Check out the main excerpts from the interview below.

Your national success happened during the pandemic and, at 23 years old, you are one of the most listened to artists in Brazil. What was it like during that period when you broke through and how did you manage to maintain your success?

It went viral very quickly, but I already had a job behind the scenes, I was a composer for five years. At that time, I recorded videos singing my own compositions and sent them to artists and managers, so people got to know me. I then received the proposal to record a CD. My dream has always been to be a singer, when I was a child I stood in front of the mirror with a hairbrush singing. This CD was in 2021, and the promotion was very organic and without investment, but as people were consuming a lot of TikTok, it went viral there. I was like, “Oh my God, what’s going on?”

You started out as a piseiro, but nowadays you have partnerships with country, pagode and forró artists. Why do you invest in different genres from the one with which you were successful?

I started with piseiro, a new rhythm that emerged during the pandemic, and revealed several artists besides myself: Barões da Pisadinha, Vitor Fernandes, Tarcísio do Acordeon, Zé Vaqueiro and Nattanzinho… But I didn’t just stick to that, I’m always recording with artists of other genres to continue growing. I owe my success, firstly, to God’s blessing, but also to my versatility. The support and affection from my fans also helps me, and from my team too. I can say that I am in the best phase of my career and consolidated, today I have the freedom to sing different types of music and I am always preparing to renew myself musically. If tomorrow the trend is country music, I’m going to sing country music because I was born to sing.

The June festivities will soon begin, a very intense period for you. How is the preparation?

São João was key in my career, I am in great demand, it is the best time of the year for me. This is the year I’m going to do shows the most. I’m going to travel all over Brazil and sing in Campina Grande, Bahia, São Paulo and other places. A lot of artists start releasing songs before, I’m recording new projects, I hope that by then some [música minha] be on everyone’s lips. I do vocal preparation because it’s an intense period, with more than 40, 60 shows per month. I have a speech therapist who accompanies me. The logistics for women are more complicated, we waste time getting ready, so I sleep less. I try to rest a lot between shows and, therefore, I always prioritize bus logistics because I can sleep. It’s a very special period for me, I’m very anxious. São João is a crucial moment for an artist.

Recently, a video went viral on the internet that showed you before and after a weight loss process, and internet users thought it happened very quickly. Was the weight loss process natural?

I am in a very important self-care process, it took me a while to understand that I need to be physically and mentally well to deliver results. I realized that I needed to take care of my voice because, without it, I have nothing. I don’t know how to do anything else. Singing is not just about having a voice, it involves technical preparation, especially breathing to be able to move around on stage without getting out of breath. In 2021, I weigh 90 kilos, and I’m 1.60 meters tall. At the end of 2023, in consultation with a therapist, I realized that my breathing was very bad. I had already had surgery to correct a deviated septum, and the audiologist told me that I needed to take care of my diet, I had reflux and that was terrible for my voice. So I changed all my habits, consulted a nutritionist and personal trainer and, by February of this year, I had lost 14 kilos. As I lost a lot, extra skin started to appear, so I had liposuction after Carnival. Today I weigh 63 kilos. I’m in the best phase of my life.

In addition to your physical health, do you take care of your mental health?

I’ve been going to therapy since the beginning of my success because, when I started, it was a lot of information for a very young girl. I have the responsibilities of a woman, but I’m only 23 years old. It was difficult to balance my home, I am the basis of my family. My mother has had a heart disease for many years, she is in a complicated phase and needs a transplant. I need to pay attention to her and I have to keep picking on her. I have several people who need me, not only Mari Fernandez, but Mariana. So I have to be okay with myself. I still do it today, it was one of the best things in my life. I learned that a lot of it is about whether or not we absorb what they do to us, before I didn’t have that maturity. I’m the best version of myself and I’m very grateful for therapy.

What is your relationship with social media like? And what about the criticism?

From the beginning I have been 100% active, I am a Pisces and a perfectionist. If it’s not my way, it bothers me a lot. Everything in my career goes through me, posts and captions I have to approve. I love the internet, I receive a lot of loving messages. I have “haters” because I am a public person. This already affected me more, but today it doesn’t change anything in my life. Now I know how to differentiate who is important to me and who adds. I learned that I should care about those who love me. If not even God pleased everyone, it won’t be Mari Fernandez who will. Everyone who shines is judged.

You’ve already said that you kiss both men and women. Do you consider yourself bisexual? Were you afraid to talk about sexuality?

Yes, I consider myself bisexual. I was afraid at first because of the exposed life. It’s the same feeling in your stomach as when you tell your family for the first time and some don’t understand, but [falar sobre o assunto em público] It wasn’t a difficult moment, I’m resolved about my sexuality. It’s important as an artist to be very free in everything. It took me a while to understand that people don’t just want to consume music, they want to know about their personal lives too.