The award-winning singer, songwriter and actressJennifer Peña, who captured the Tejano world with her debut in 1995 and then went on to become an international recording star in the late 1990s and 2000s,will team up with her multitalented husband,Obie Bermudez, a Latin GRAMMY-winning vocalist who is also an actor, songwriter, and musician, for her highly-anticipated musical comeback that will happen during an up-close-and-personal unplugged online concert from the couple’s home in Corpus Christi this Sunday, May 23, at 8pm CST.
Bermudez and Peña spoke withTejano Nationduring an exclusive interview about the upcoming evening of music, conversation, and surprises they have planned during the concert called “Nuestra Nota.”
“(Nuestra Nota) most definitely describes what it is, what we are,” Bermudez explained. “It’s a little window to our personal life and the way we do things at home and how we balance music, kids, and everything. It’s a very intimate, unplugged type concert.”
Both Bermudez and Peña hope fans will enjoy the special evening they have planned for Sunday.
“We’re excited,” Bermudez said. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for such a long time. And we’ve really worked so hard to make sure you guys have a good virtual experience this 23rd. So, we’re just excited.”
Peña said she hopes fans will join the couple for the event, which will go beyond just your typical concert.
“We’re just excited that people are finally going to get to tune in and we hope that they do,” Peña said. “I haven’t sung on a stage and I haven’t sung my hits in so long. So, it’s been a really, really long time and I’m really hoping that the fans will tune in and enjoy that night with us. It’s going to be a really beautiful night. We have some good conversation planned as well so it’s really going to be an experience, not just like, ‘Hey, come listen to us sing.’ We’ve worked really hard to make sure that it’s a great experience for everybody.”
In the past several months, Bermudez and Peña have shared the lighter, funnier parts of their hectic lives with their followers via social media, specifically Instagram and Tik Tok. During her first Instragram live on January 10, 2021, Peña seemed genuinely surprised that so many people logged in to see her.
“It’s just been so long,” Peña said. “And I really felt like, ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ I was out of sight, out of mind for a lot of people. And (the fans’ response) was really surprising, but in a really good way.”
Peña continued, “I have felt so much love in these past few months on our social media, and it’s really filled my heart in a way that…It’s just been really good.”
Bermudez said it wasn’t surprising to him that the fans wanted to see and hear from his wife as he frequently gets asked about her as he’s out and about continuing his own music career.
“I would always tell her, ‘Babe, they’re asking me. Everybody’s always asking me, ‘When is Jennifer going to sing?’ ‘What’s happening?’” Obie said.
“I said, ‘I told you like everybody’s just waiting for you,” he said.
Bermudez credits Tik Tok with increasing the fans’ desire to hear Peña sing again.
“I think what started it off is when Jennifer joined Tik Tok,” Obie said. “She started…singing. And then her Tik Toks went viral. So many people had been wanting to hear her sing.”
Bermudez, who was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in New Jersey, is probably Peña’s biggest supporter as well as an ardent Tejano music fan.
“I’m enjoying it, because I’m not only Jennifer’s husband, I’m her best friend. I’m her everything,” Bermudez said. “But I’m also a fan. I love Tejano music. I always say that probably in a past life I was Tejano. I had to be.”
“I just love Tejano period,” Bermudez said. “And Jennifer to me represents everything in the Tejano world so to me it’s like I’m so proud and happy that she’s back in the scene and she knows that I’m excited. And it’s really, really nice to feel all the love.”
Bermudez said the love Tejano fans have for Peña is a major reason he wants to share the experience of the couple’s first concert together.
“This is the first, first, first time that we do a show together,” Bermudez said. “We have done things in the past. We’ve done songs here and there. We’ve done performances, but like doing an actual concert where we’re sharing the stage and singing songs. This is the first time, so it’s definitely, it’s unique, and why we want to share it with everybody, especially Tejanos, because I know how much you guys love her and what she represents.”
Peña said in addition to performing an entire concert together for the first time, fans will get a glimpse into the couple’s life that they haven’t before.
“It’s the first time we’re going to be uniting for a full show and doing my songs, his songs, singing with each other, singing for each other, backing each other up, and sharing that intimate conversation that the fans have always enjoyed from us, but a lot of things that they haven’t heard from us either,” Peña said.
Peña did not want to reveal too much about the concert’s surprises but did say that fans will hear from her early musical history as well as the top hits for both her and Bermudez.
“I did want to include a little bit of the old stuff,” she said. “We did a couple of songs from the very, very beginning so people will hear a little bit of that very, very beginning stuff.”
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The couple also spoke about Peña’sMay 8 performance of the national anthemin front of a crowd of more than 73,000 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, prior to the Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez versus Billy Joe Saunders fight.
“I was so proud of Jennifer,” Bermudez said. “When she got up there and she started singing, and I looked around and I saw 73,000 people and Jennifer’s on stage singing like nothing. She looked so comfortable. I asked her when she finished, ‘Babe, were you nervous?’ And she said, ‘No, babe, I felt like that’s where I belong.’”
Peña said the experience was almost calming for her as she stepped up to sing before the massive crowd.
“It was definitely like a peace,” Peña said. “I was filled with a peace. I guess I was more nervous like the day before and soundcheck just about the thought of it all. But walking up on that stage, it did feel like, ‘Let’s do it. This is what I do. This is where I belong. Let’s get this done.’ And when I walked out there, it was just like peace. Almost like, still, for me.”
Regarding the preparations for “Nuestra Nota,” Peña and Bermudez, who have five children, from the youngest who is not yet 1 year old to the oldest who is 13 years old, said the concert showed how the two can work together not only in life but professionally.
“It felt like for the first time, we’re partners not only in our personal life and with our family, and the work that we do here in this house as parents, but also we are partners in music now,” Peña said. “And that felt really good.”
As far as what the future holds for Peña and Bermudez in the music world, Peña said they don’t have a set long-term plan just yet.
“We have talked about possibly doing more ‘Nuestra Nota’ stuff,” Peña said. “Who knows what the future holds,” But we are enjoying this moment. Right now. And like I said, not really this big planned out five-year plan or anything.”
Whatever comes next for this charming, talented couple, it is obvious that they will tackle it together, and will continue to relish the moment as they prepare for their first joint concert.
“We’re in a really, really good moment,” Bermudez said. “Not only in our personal relationship but also in music. We’re inspired again and there’s a lot of stuff that we’re working on. It’s an exciting time.”
The virtual show, “Nuestra Nota” will be held on Sunday, May 23 at 8 p.m. (PR / EST) and 7 p.m. Central Time (Texas/Mexico). Tickets and more information are available at www.ticketplate.com.
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