At 25, Gigi Perez represents a new generation of artists blending candid storytelling, emotional grit, and indie-folk songwriting.
From TikTok virality and major-label backing to independent triumphs and a debut album steeped in personal narrative, she has emerged as a defining queer folk-pop voice in 2025. Gigi ability to turn grief into grand intimacy makes her music a rare sanctuary and she’s only just begun.
Gigi Perez Biography
Gianna Brielle “Gigi” Perez was born on February 4, 2000, in Hackensack, New Jersey, and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. Gigi hails from Cuban-American roots, she spent time in both comprehensive and Christian schools, where early exposure to performing arts especially musical theater, nurtured her talent and led her to be named homecoming queen in 2017.
Finding Her Voice: Grief, Identity & Authenticity
Gigi began writing songs at 15, teaching herself piano, guitar, and ukulele. She formed the indie-folk band Wendy Lane during high school before briefly attending Berklee College of Music, leaving due to the COVID-19 disruption and relocating to Brooklyn to focus on her solo craft.
Gigi music is deeply personal, shaped by her experiences growing up queer in a conservative Christian setting and the loss of her older sister, Celene, in 2020.
TikTok Breakthrough & Major Label Era
In 2021, Perez went viral on TikTok with emotionally raw acoustic songs like “Celene” and “Sometimes (Backwood)”, earning over 18 million Spotify streams within a month and topping the platform’s U.S. viral charts.
Her momentum caught Interscope Records’ eye, leading to her signing in 2021 and the release of the EP How to Catch a Falling Knife in April 2023.
Independent Power: “Sailor Song” & Island Records
After parting with Interscope in early 2024, Gigi took creative control and released “Normalcy”, “Please Be Rude”, and her breakthrough single “Sailor Song” in July 2024 . “Sailor Song” noted as a tender queer ballad went viral, peaking at #22 on Billboard Hot 100, topping charts in the U.K., Ireland, and Latvia, and bringing queer representation to the fore . Her unfiltered expression drew both acclaim and controversy due to its spiritual vs. secular lyric, but she defended her artistic vision.
In September 2024, Gigi signed with Island Records, setting the stage for her debut album.
Debut Album & Artistic Realization
On April 25, 2025, Gigi released her debut album At the Beach, In Every Life via Island Records. Co-produced with Noah Weinman and Aidan Hobbs, the indie-folk album grapples with themes of grief, identity, loss, and spirituality featuring emotive motifs and even voice memos of her sister Celene.
The album debuted at #96 on Billboard 200, with top-40 placements in Canada, Norway, New Zealand, and Ireland.
Impact & Artistic Ethos
Gigi defines her music as therapeutic storytelling for her fans, offering solace and authenticity. As a proud lesbian, she also champions LGBTQ+ visibility and empowerment, earning acclaim as a queer voice in indie music.
In a PEOPLE interview, she credited her channeling of grief into artistry as both healing and transformative, with the success of “Sailor Song” validating her emotional journey.
Live Stages & Tours
Gigi has gained global stage presence by supporting acts like Coldplay, Noah Cyrus, and d4vd, and performing at major festivals and headline gigs in NYC, LA, London, and Berlin.
Notably, she joined Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Tour in 2022, and most recently announced a headline tour set for late 2025.
Gigi Perez Songs
- Sailor Songs
- Sometimes
- Please Be Rude
- When She Smiles
- Glue
- Kill For You
- Figurines
- Karma
- Sally
- The Man
- Balsam Fir
- Nothing, Absolutely
- At The Breach, In Every Life
- Normalcy
- Send Castles
- Celene
- Crown
- Fable
- In The Middle
- Chemistry
- Twister
- Sleeping
- Sugar Water
- Survivor’s Guilt
