Ever since Isabela Merced‘s debut single, “Papi,” came out on October 25, 2019, fans have been pretty obsessed with it. Now, the 18-year-old singer has spilled all the tea on the inspiration behind the song exclusively to J-14!
“I wrote that song about somebody that I was working with, a guy that I was working with who pretty much was obsessed with the idea that I was Latina,” she told us. “Pretty much ever since I started in the industry, where diversity is not common, I’ve always encountered people who kind of see me and they think, ‘Oh she’s gotta be feisty. She’s gotta be sassy. She’s gotta be a feisty Latina.’ The stereotypes are overdone and I’m tired of it.”
“This guy kind of pushed me over the edge because he would learn these phrases in Spanish that were super offensive,” she continued. “One time I called his name and he was like, ‘Nah, don’t call me that. Call me Papi.’ And it was all humorous to him but to me it was so cringe-y, so I kind of decided to write a song about it.”
The Dora: The Explorer actress explained that although the song was originally inspired by the mysterious music mogul, it’s not all about him.
“There are some lines in there that are a bit more flirtatious and I would never flirt with him,” she added.
As for what’s next for Isabela, she revealed that fans can expect some more music from her very soon!
“I have been working on music for two years now because I’m a songwriter and I had to try to find my sound. I have like 60 songs in my back pocket, just in my phone,” she said. “I just can’t wait to release them because they’re all really true to me. They’re all just pieces of me. It’s hard to release that and feel exposed to the whole world but I think it’s necessary for me to grow as an artist.”
BRB, going to listen to “Papi” on repeat until she drops her new tunes!
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