By LAURA CHIN and MARCUS HENG
Photo by MARCUS HENG
brats@thestar.com.my

AFTER watching her numerous covers on YouTube, Malaysian fans finally got to witness the incredible Megan Nicole Flores perform live at INTI College Subang Jaya earlier this month.

Best known as just Megan Nicole, the Texan’s interest in singing started at the age of 10 when her father purchased a karaoke machine. Later on, she participated in church-based music programmes, but it was when she uploaded her first video, a cover of Kings of Leon’s Use Somebody, on YouTube in 2009 that she really started getting noticed.

Two years and loads of amazing covers later, Megan released her first album B-E-A-utiful and began promotional tours around the world.

Her showcase in Malaysia featured two local opening acts – singer-songwriter Farah Idayu Kamsari, fondly known as I.Farah, who performed No Diggity and some original songs, and local band The Revellers.

Founder of the band Syeikh Eamir has already opened for international acts like Tiffany Alvord, Jason Chen and Clara C and Simple Plan.

But, of course, the concert was all about Megan Nicole, and fans were certainly treated to an amazing evening all thanks to her on-stage warmth. She began with her famous covers of pop songs like Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream and Justin Bieber’s Baby.

It was her original songs, however, that really got the crowd going. Megan gave her fans a first listen to some of her upcoming songs like In My System which have yet to be released.

Meanwhile, fans also got a moment in the spotlight when Megan invited them onstage to be a part of the performance – causing a huge crowd to rush towards her. To add to the fun, she encouraged her fans to sing their hearts out.

“This auditorium is a safe space – nobody will judge you if you’re good or bad singers,” she reassured them.

When the show came to an end, fans got another chance to interact with her at the meet-and-greet session. The line was long, but the fans had no complaints.

A fan who had to wait for about two hours even said: “I really don’t mind waiting in this queue at all. In fact, I’d do just about anything for Megan Nicole!”

The evening ended on a sweet note when Megan tweeted: “Malaysia! I had such a memorable and amazing time with all you beautiful people last night <3 Thank you”