CARNAVAL

Marina Sena crafted a game of contrasts in *CARNAVAL*: the voice stretches over a rhythm that seems to unravel, as if the beat breathes in gasps. The song lasts just one minute and fourteen seconds, yet within that time lie layers that never repeat: the echo of the guitar fades before the bass finishes settling its note, and the main melody drifts away like a sigh that never fully forms. It’s not a track meant to be hummed at first listen, but one to linger over the spaces between chords, where Marina’s voice sketches figures that vanish before they close.

The album Coisas Naturais —the third studio release by Marina Sena, launched in March 2025— arrived with thirteen songs all written by her, and *CARNAVAL* slipped in among the singles that shaped its promotion. Before the album saw the light of day, in November 2024 *Numa Ilha* had already been released, but it was *CARNAVAL* that ended up earning a Latin Grammy nomination in the Best Portuguese-Language Song category, adding to another nomination the album received for Best Contemporary Pop Album in Portuguese. The accolades didn’t come alone: the song shared chart space with two other tracks from the same album, *Ouro de Tolo* and *Lua Cheia*, which were also highlighted as singles.