"This project is as close of a reflection of my experiences" - Gigi Perez on dealing with grief and love in her debut album

Singer and songwriter Gigi Perez released her debut album At The Beach, In Every Life on April 25, 2025. According to Billboard, the album deals with the singer’s experiences of grief and love. The album comes almost a year after she released her single, Sailor Song, in 2024. She told the news outlet:

"This project is as close of a reflection of my experiences over the past five years as I could get. My grief has shaped the way that I love, in friendships and with family and romantically. On the project, those things exist next to each other."

Sugar Water was the last song from the album to be finished. Gigi Perez shared that two days before she was supposed to submit her album, she recorded the song by herself. She hadn’t originally planned to include it on the project, but when her A&R asked about the track, she realized how much she loved it.

She decided to record it and see how it turned out, and it ended up becoming one of her favorite songs on the album. When talking about performing her new music, Perez said the songs that brought her the most excitement were At The Beach and Sugar Water.

She explained that she had fun playing them, and it was hard to choose a single highlight. Each time she picked up her guitar for a song, she felt thrilled to perform it. However, Gigi Perez shared that working on Crown was difficult for her.

She explained that the challenge came from allowing herself to fully step into her grief and face the heavier, more painful parts of it. She added that this struggle was an important part of the album because the project itself was not meant to be easy.

How did Sailor Song help Gigi Perez?

According to Rolling Stone, the success of Sailor Song helped Gigi Perez land a new deal with Island Records and create her debut self-produced album. She mentioned writing the album’s title track two hours after being let go from her first record deal.

Gigi Perez explained that during one of the lowest points in her life, she discovered a pure form of love. Reflecting on it, she said that experience gave her strength and a sense of self-worth that she would continue to carry with her no matter what happened next. Speaking of Sailor Song to Billboard, she said:

"Especially now that there are new songs in the mix and other focuses that I have, to know that she’s just holding down the fort is amazing."

She went on:

"And it’s exciting to see where the rest of the music is gonna go because in my head, ‘Sailor Song’ and the impact that it’s had are amazing, but I’ve set my sights on personal fulfillment, and what that means is different."

Meanwhile, Gigi Perez explained that playing the piano lit a spark inside her. Before she began writing music, she hadn’t known how to express her feelings. As she dealt with growing shame, guilt, anxiety, and fear, she found herself turning more and more to songwriting as a way to cope.

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