It's not every day you can interact with a talented movie star and bonafide pop star in such a genuine and intimate environment. That's why the WiLD 94.9 Xfinity Pop Up featuring Isabela Merced on March, 5 2020 at San Francisco's Cafe Du Nord was a night fans of the singer will not soon forget.
Isabela's star quality shines bright when she walks into a room, but once within arms reach of her fans, that very quality - which gives her the authority to fill a stage and bust out full choreography in proper pop star music videos like "PAPI" - morphs into honest smiles, kind eyes, and relatability.
During the meet-and-greet portion of the night, she chatted and bantered with every person who came through. It gave the room a sense of ease and comfortability not every event like this has the pleasure of seeing. Isabela was just as eager to meet her fans as they were to meet her.
While she prepared for her Q&A and performance backstage, WiLD 94.9's DJ Patrix warmed up the crowd's vocal cords as he played hit after hit. Then, Gabby Diaz hopped on stage got the audience singing and dancing, just in time for Isabela to emerge onto the stage.
The two of them quickly talked about her blossoming career as a singer and Isabela offered advice about being a Latina in the music industry. "Have a good team on your side. The way your life turns out depends a lot on the people you surround yourself with."
With that, Isabela was ready to take the stage. She started out the set with a new track called "Chocolate," a radio-ready song that was so catchy, fans were already singing along to the main hook. She went through the performance with determined focus, but always made sure to talk with the audience in between songs. Which is how we ended up with a glorious video of her saying "Hola, soy Dora" in her Dora voice.
Isabela closed with her most recent single "PAPI," and even did a bit of the movements that can be seen in the music video. As she walked off the stage, she thanked everyone for coming out and reminded them to wash their hands.
The combination of such a brazen pop song and her down to earth parting words was the final impression she left on the crowd. An impression that showed off her ability to be both a pop star and an intimate performer.
For Isabel Merced, honing in on her star quality doesn't sacrifice her relatability. And an event like the WiLD 94.9 Xfinity Pop Up at such an intimate venue like Cafe Du Nord was the perfect way for Isabela to showcase her remarkable duality.
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Photos: Rebekah Gonzalez