Following the success of her single “Sailor Song,” released July 26, 2024, which peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, hit number one on the UK Singles Chart and landed itself on music charts around the globe, Gigi Perez released her debut album.
The album, “At The Beach, In Every Life,” available on all streaming platforms, was released on April 25, 2025.
The album is 46 minutes long and contains 12 songs. The main themes of the album are love and religion, with a lot of queer undertones.
Five songs in the album had been previously released as singles prior to the album release. While “Sailor Song” is the most popular of the five, two other songs were released before it. The first of which was “Normalcy,” which was released March 15, 2024, and the second was “Please Be Rude,” which was released May 10, 2024. After the release of “Sailor Song,” two more songs were released. These songs were “Fable,” released Oct. 25, 2024, and “Chemistry,” released on Feb. 28, 2025.
The most popular song on the album, “Sailor Song,” was the third song to be released prior to the album, and the first track of “At The Beach, In Every Life.” The song is about love and lust, with the beginning lyrics of the chorus being “Oh, won’t you kiss me on the mouth and love me like a sailor? / And when you get a taste, can you tell me what’s my flavor?” A lyric in the chorus, however, caused controversy among listeners. Namely, the lyric, “I don’t believe in God, but I believe that you’re my savior.”
According to Official Charts, “Given its central queer love story, the release of Sailor Song drew criticism from some far-right, conservative groups online for the line… Perez took to TikTok to decry the backlash, saying; ‘My songwriting is not a democracy and that applies to every artist’s work.'”
I personally really like this song. I fell in love with it on my first listen, and was streaming it non-stop. Perez’s vocals are amazing, and the instrumental compliments it very well. It’s a very passionate song, and I relate heavily to the lyric “I sleep so I can see you ’cause I hate to wait so long.”
“Chemistry,” the last song to be released before the full album dropped, is the sixth song on “At The Beach, In Every Life.” The song is about love and lust, and having to keep a relationship secret, shown in the lyric “Don’t you know I’ll never tell a soul about our secret life?” Though not explicitly stated, I presume Perez and her lover have to keep the relationship secret due to religious reasons, as a lot of the album deals with opposition to religion.
The instrumental of this song is very upbeat and loud, and Perez sings very passionately, reminiscent of “Sailor Song.” This song is another favorite of mine from the album.
“Crown,” the eighth song on the album, is about death and religion. Perez speaks on the hypocrisy of Christianity and how people handle death. She first speaks about Jesus, saying that “They put a crown on His head / They only love Him ’cause He is dead.” Then, later in the song, Perez switches the lyric to a general statement, singing “Oh, it’s only when you’re dead / They’ll put a crown on your head.” Perez’s sentiment is that people don’t appreciate those they love until they’re gone, similar to how Jesus was persecuted and then worshipped after his death.
“Fable,” the next song on the album, is death, religion, love, and family. Perez again criticizes Christianity, with the lyric “‘Cause you believe doesn’t mean that it’s there.” At one point in the song, Perez plays an audio recording of her, her sisters, and her mom underneath the loud vocals and instrumental.
In an episode of the podcast Bringin’ It Backwards, Perez revealed that her older sister Celene had passed away in 2020. She credited her sister for getting her into music.
“She was my main introduction to music, and for a while I never really considered music. I just felt really drawn to it. I remember when I was a kid… right next to my house there was this Costco and they would have this section of instruments and there were pianos. I would just bang on it. I had no idea what I was doing, but I felt it… I started writing when I was around 15, that’s when I really felt the spark,” Perez reflected.
In the same interview, Perez explained how religion had tied to her music journey.
“I feel like growing up, I struggled to find connection and relatability in my peers. I went to a Christian school, and… growing up gay in an environment where you’re not allowed to be that was very taxing on me, and once I discovered letting out my emotions and being able to analyze them, it was a total life-changer for me.I feel like that was the first time I could breathe. And it just tumbled into this obsession where I would stay up till four or five in the morning just banging away on the keyboard and just writing about how I felt at the time,” Perez said.
Perez went on to go more in-depth about how going to a Christian school had affected her.
“The beginning of me discovering my sexuality was a very, very difficult thing to come to terms with because I grew up with the notion in my head that if you’re gay, you’re going to Hell. It was complicated for me because I did experience a connection to something divine… At the time it [her interpretation of Christianity] was very much set and I had it very deeply ingrained into my mind.
I’m pretty sure in the honor code… one of the rules was not engaging in homosexual activities, or it could get you expelled… It was definitely a scary thought. I think at that age when you’re trying to understand what you like and who you are. It’s one of those things that feels very restrictive. And I think that’s also why a lot of people lash out and rebel and why you have so many stories of people that grew up in very rigid ways go off the deep end,” Perez explained.
“Please Be Rude,” the following song, is about love and religion. Again, Perez speaks on having to keep a relationship secret, evident with the lyric “you booked the night train for a reason.” She also asks, “How else can it be proven to you / That I’m devout?” These lyrics hint at people doubting her relationship with religion, tying it to her romantic relationship. The lyrics are a bit repetitive, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
The titular closing song of the album, “At The Beach, In Every Life,” is about love, lust, and religion. Perez longs for a lover, singing “You would find me at the beach / In every life, through every door.” The song ends the album with the consistent theme of love and wanting someone so strongly, with one of the last lyrics being “You’re everything to me,” over and over, portraying Perez’s yearning.
Perez’s rising fame has been the product of her beautifully crafted songs and steadfast loyalty to speaking (or singing) her truth. Her journey has just begun, and I look forward to what she’ll put out next.