Gigi Perez

A singer/songwriter with a brooding but strong-willed style, Gigi Perez -- aka gigi -- makes earnest indie folk-rock that recalls contemporaries like Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. She went straight to the top of the streaming charts in 2021 with her self-released debut single, the acoustic "Sometimes (Backwood)," then strengthened her sound with a mix of acoustic guitar, atmospheric synths, and full-band indie rock arrangements on her major-label debut, the EP How to Catch a Falling Knife, in 2023. A year later, she vaulted to mainstream success with "Sailor Song," an internationally charting hit.

Born in New Jersey, Gigi Perez was raised mostly in Florida and launched her music career out of Brooklyn. In early 2021, she shared a segment of her ethereal, acoustic debut single "Sometimes (Backwood)" to TikTok. The song almost immediately went viral, with the full self-released version racking up tens of millions of streams within a few months. Perez soon signed with Mogul Vision/Interscope Records, which released a series of similarly haunting and introspective but more fully produced singles like "The Man" and "When She Smiles" throughout 2022, while the singer toured in support of acts including Noah Cyrus and d4vd. The Interscope singles all appeared on her Nashville-tracked debut EP, How to Catch a Falling Knife, in April 2023. Two more singles, "Normalcy" and "Please Be Rude," were released in the front half of 2024, but it was June's breakout "Sailor Song," that launched Perez into the mainstream. After finding viral success on TikTok, the song became a significant hit, reaching number ten on Billboard's Rock and Alternative singles chart in the U.S. and charting around the world. ~ Marcy Donelson