Who would’ve expected that a cover of Thee Sacred Souls’ reputable hit Can I Call You Rose would blow up overnight? Certainly not 23-year-old up-and-coming artist Isabel Abbott, who has been posting clips of herself performing on social media for several years now. The cover, which has gained over 36.7 million views and 3.1 million likes, was officially released on music streaming platforms on the 6th of September.

Born in Valencia, Spain, in a British-Spanish household, Isabel moved to the UK five years ago with nothing but a dream – to have her breakthrough as a producer and songwriter. Isabel graduated from BIMM University and lived for some time in Birmingham to be close to relatives, before moving to Manchester a year ago. 

“I feel more Spanish than English because I was raised there, but I’ve been interested in music my whole life,” she said.
Describing her experience as a student at the UK’s most prestigious music university, she feels grateful for the opportunity to be trained by experts and network with record labels.”Sharon O: Who are your musical influences and why? 

“When the cover started going viral, I was still studying for a master's degree at BIMM. They were really helpful throughout this whole time.”

They guided me towards the right contacts and put me in touch with some people. It was really cool in the end,” she said. 

She wasn’t expecting the overwhelming viral surge, as her previous videos barely hit the 1k view milestone. Isabel even considered at one point that maybe social media is not for her, so she gave it a one last shot that catapulted her into an overnight sensation.

 “I’ve been putting out my own music and it hasn’t done very well because I didn’t have followers. But now that more people have joined the community, my next plan is to transition into my own music soon,” said the musician.