Pride
Following Jill Sobule’s tragic death on Thursday, the president and CEO of GLAAD released a statement honoring the groundbreaking singer/songwriter. “Jill wasn’t just a trailblazer in music—she was a beacon for queer artists, and I was incredibly lucky to call her a dear friend,” Sarah Kate Ellis wrote on Friday morning (May 2). “Long before […]
May is here, which means Pride Month is just around the corner — so start prepping your playlists with some new tunes from your favorite queer artists. Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ+ artists.
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From Dove Cameron‘s flirtatious new pop song to Blondshell’s much-anticipated new album, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Dove Cameron, “French Girls”
Dove Cameron knows people are watching her closely — now, she’s giving them something to look at. On “French Girls,” the singer’s stunning new dance single, Cameron invites her fans to make like Jack from Titanic and paint her like one of the song’s titular Parisian women, all while promising to give them lots to work with. A thundering beat accompanies the star’s voice as she lets a campy affectation take over. “Everything I do,” she assures her audience, “I do it for you.”
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Blondshell, If You Asked For a Picture
Sabrina Teitelbaum is ready to have a conversation about boundaries. If You Asked For a Picture, the singer-songwriter’s latest album as Blondshell, takes a life’s worth of questions about existing in the public eye and expertly examines what it means to let people see you. Whether she’s exploring emotional burnout (on album standout “Event of a Fire”) or her own perceptions of sexual identity (“Model Rockets”), Teitelbaum never flinches with her lyrics or her well-curated production, making If You Asked For a Picture an immediate classic in Blondshell’s growing sonic universe.
Model/Actriz, Pirouette
The world is in desperate need of some excellent new rock music, and Model/Actriz is more than happy to fill in that gap. With its newest album Pirouette, the band levels up their sound in scale, scope and standing, making for a winning 11-track project that paints a portrait of a group ready for an even bigger breakthrough. From the staccato guitar lines of “Vespers” to the delirious beats of “Poppy,” Model/Actriz leaves no desire unfulfilled on this excellent new album.
Brooke Eden, “Giddy Up!”
“I don’t care where you come from,” Brooke Eden offers in the opening moments of her new song. “Just listen to the sound of the kick drum.” With just a few words, Eden delivers a thesis statement on “Giddy Up,” her queer-inclusive new country single. A proper hoedown ensues throughout the rest of the track, as Eden commands the listeners to scoot their boots onto the dance floor, while never letting them forget that this song — and even this genre at large — can be for everyone, not just those who’ve historically benefitted from it.
KiNG MALA, And You Who Drowned In the Grief of a Golden Thing
If Lady Gaga incited chaos upon the release of her critically-lauded album Mayhem in March, then KiNG MALA is here to keep that bedlam going with her debut album. Throughout And You Who Drowned, MALA self-destructs (“Ode to a Black Hole”), rebuilds (“Garden”) and deconstructs (“GøD”) just about everything that she can get her hands on, all while exploring some of her biggest and best sounds to date.
Maddie Zahm, “Mothers & Daughters”
With Mother’s Day coming up in just over a week, Maddie Zahm decided to share an early tribute to her own mom with “Mothers & Daughters.” Throughout the touching new track, the singer-songwriter doesn’t shy away from some of the harder truths about the familial dynamic, including the times she found herself “screaming ‘I hate you, and you’re ruining my life.’” But the gorgeously composed track comes around to the conclusion that, as difficult as the relationship can sometimes be, it doesn’t change the immense love shared between Zahm and her mom.
Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below:
Olly Alexander, Charli XCX, Self Esteem, Neneh Cherry, Rina Sawayama, Jessie Ware and more are among the leading musicians to have signed an open letter on behalf of the U.K. music industry to offer solidarity to the trans community.
On April 16, the U.K.’s Supreme Court ruled that the definition of a woman is based on biological sex, and that a person with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) in the female gender “does not come within the definition of a woman under the Equality Act 2010.” The U.K. prime minister Sir Keri Starmer has backed the ruling.
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The decision has been widely criticized, with protests and community action held by the trans community and its allies in the weeks since the ruling. In recent days, a number of authors and actors signed similar open letters decrying the decision and offering their support to the community. Dr Victoria McCloud, the U.K.’s first openly trans judge, is planning to appeal the decision to European Court of Human Rights.
The open letter, organized by artist Tom Rasmussen and publicist Tom Mehrtens with support from Alexander and his manager Martha Kinn, states that “the UK music industry is a vibrant, diverse landscape that thrives on creativity and inclusivity” that has “long celebrated a multitude of voices and identities, and the music industry here in the UK is one of our most trailblazing and culturally vital assets — one which trans, intersex and non-binary people are woven into in every aspect of the industry, past, present and future.”
Continuing the letter states that artists and and executives “must now urgently work to ensure that our trans, non-binary, and intersex colleagues, collaborators, and audiences are protected from discrimination and harassment in all areas of the industry — whether in studios, at venues, in offices, or at festivals.”
At the time of publication, over 330 names had added their name to the letter, which describes this as a “moment to amplify voices that need to be heard, to champion inclusivity and real justice, and to ensure that our industry remains a welcoming and trailblazing space for everyone.” The letter also calls on leading U.K. industry organizations — including major and independent labels, publishers, managers and trade bodies like PRS for Music, PPL, BPI and more — to “join us in condemning the Supreme Court ruling.”
Signees also include Shygirl, Jimmy Somerville, Lava La Rue, JADE (Little Mix), Mura Masa, Mabel, Jake Shears, CMAT, Wolf Alice, MNEK, Paloma Faith and more, alongside a number of employees from across the sector.
The letter also links out to actionable steps from promoters and community group Queer House Party to support and protest the decision. Read the full letter and see all the signatories here.
Will the new cast of queens on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season 10 find themselves becoming more and more “Popular” on the new season? Will they need some “Good Luck, Babe” in order to take home the top prize? Maybe the new slate of guest judges can help them figure it out. On Wednesday […]
“I’m a little nervous,” Sandra Bernhard told the audience on the first night of her debut residency at Manhattan’s Café Carlyle on Tuesday (April 29) evening. Noting that the chic space insists its performers (whether they’re a singer, actor, comedian, or in her case, all three) bring new material to the 90-capacity room, she wondered aloud whether that meant the venue had someone “watching, monitoring” to ensure everything was fresh.
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For a performer who started out in the ‘70s and has been singing, acting and cracking wise since (Bernhard is legendary for her brash, uncompromising style and dry wit, perhaps best showcased in her classic 1990 film Without You I’m Nothing), that’s no small task. But if the venue was concerned about new material, they got that and much more when Bernhard revealed she had recently underwent open heart surgery.
“It was a planned surgery, it wasn’t that dramatic,” Bernhard clarified, pointing out that other patients she came in contact with at the hospital were suffering through much harder health scares. (Her reaction to all that? “This sh-t’s crazy, I’m gonna pull through and get the f–k out of here,” she deadpanned).
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Bernhard shared she had some last-minute concerns about potential scarring right before her surgery. “I know we’re just minutes away from being wheeled into the operating room, but I’m an actress, I’m a performer,” she recalled telling the doctor. “Do I need to bring in a plastic surgeon? They said, ‘We’ll make it work, we’ll make it beautiful.’ … And here I am.”
After some cheers and applause from the crowd, she gave her fans the side-eye. “I thought I’d get a standing ovation, but okay.”
The opening night crowd included her partner of 25 years, Sara Switzer, as well as friends and longtime fans (her rescue pup, George, was waiting for her in one of the upscale hotel’s rooms in “a smoking jacket”), giving the evening a casual, conversational feel. At one point, she engaged in an extended conversation with one lucky woman sitting toward the front. Similarly, during an anecdote about her gynecologist, she turned to a table of presumably gay men (they were, after all, at a Sandra Bernhard show) and assured them, “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna force anything on you.”
Backed by her Sandyland Squad Band (including her pianist of 40-some years, Mitch Kaplan), Bernhard sang an eclectic mix of decades-spanning songs over the course of the evening. Per the Carlyle’s new-material mandate, she trotted out fresh covers in her repertoire, tackling everything from McFadden & Whitehead’s “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” to Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful” to Seals & Crofts’ “Summer Breeze.” While the lyrics for the lattermost gave her a spot of trouble (“Isn’t this the soundcheck?” she quipped), she quickly fell into a groove with her band; while Bernhard isn’t known for vocal dynamics, she brings a captivating, effortless verve to the mic that eludes many technically proficient singers.
There was real pathos and pain in her voice when she sang Marianne Faithfull’s “As Tears Go By.” The recently deceased singer-songwriter was a longtime friend of hers, and Bernhard told a few stories about her time with the chain-smoking chanteuse. “We’ll never see the likes of her again,” she concluded of the late icon.
Many years from now (we hope) when Bernhard herself shuffles off this mortal coil, the same will certainly ring true for her. From Flint, Mich., to stages around the world, Bernhard is a true American original, possessing the kind of wit and presence that can’t be learned or manufactured. Seeing her in an intimate venue like Café Carlyle during this residency, which runs through May 3, is an undeniable treat.
Before the night was over, she did a callback of sorts to her big reveal: grasping her chest, she slumped over, briefly faking a heart attack. “That’s a new party trick,” she shared.
On Sunday (April 27), the family of Bianca Castro announced that the iconic performer — better known by her drag name Jiggly Caliente — had passed away, after battling a severe infection that resulted in the amputation of her right leg. Caliente came to public prominence after competing on season 4 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and quickly became one of the show’s most celebrated queens. She returned to the show for season six of All Stars, served as a judge on Drag Race Philippines and starred in a number of episodes of the groundbreaking FX series Pose.
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As tributes continue to pour forth in Caliente’s honor, Billboard reached out to Caliente’s close friend, Drag Race star Manila Luzon, to pay tribute to her life. Below, Luzon looks back on the first time the two of them met, their mutual love for reading each other and why she considers Caliente to be “the person that really started my chosen family.”
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For those looking for a way to help, Caliente’s family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for medical and funeral expenses, and to give the drag star “the beautiful, heartfelt goodbye she deserves.” If you’re able to donate, please consider doing so here.
Shortly after I started dating Sahara Davenport, she took me to a dinner celebrating one of her drag queen friends, and that’s where I first got to meet Jiggly. It was funny, because when I first met Sahara in a dark bar, I had just come back from a vacation in Mexico, and Sahara had misheard me and thought I was from Mexico. So, when I met Jiggly — this little, round, Filipino drag queen — she looked at me, turned to Sahara and said, “Girl, he’s not Mexican! He looks Filipino!”
The very next night that we went to visit Jiggly at The Web, which was the gay Asian nightclub in New York City. She was DJing in this little hip-hop room — she had a disc changer, and her massive folder full of burned CDs of Beyoncé and Missy Elliott. I remember being so impressed, because I certainly didn’t know how to DJ, and to have a drag queen DJing felt like, “Oh, you can perform as a drag queen but also DJ?” She just had this authority about her as the one entertaining the crowd, she had complete control over the room with the music she was playing. I always found that very admirable.
Quickly, Jiggly became the first person that I considered my chosen family as a gay person. I had been living in New York City for a few years, but I really didn’t have that queer community at that point. Jiggly was Filipino, and she was my connection to that part of my own heritage. She was a year older than me — even though she’s smaller and loved to say that she was my little sister. In the Philippines, you always refer to your older sister as “ate.” So, whenever she would say, “Oh, I’m her little sister,” I would go, “Girl, no, you’re my ate.”
She was the bridge, for me, to drag performance in New York City — I was a drag queen, but I wasn’t really going out and pursuing drag. Jiggly, meanwhile, was always out; she was going to Barracuda, she was at Therapy, she was always doing competitions, and she was always winning because she was such an impressive dancer. She started my chosen family.
Why I fell in love with Jiggly so much was because, first of all, she was so beautiful — you could never come for her face. She would always read everyone for their mugs, even back before Drag Race, she just had the most blended, beautiful mugs. But what I always loved about her is that she was this short, tiny, yappy little queen, and she had a mouth on her. She would tell everyone like she saw it; she would not let you get away with anything. If something was wrong with you, she would be the first to point it out — and never out of spite. She said it because she had very little filter, and she was always able to deliver it in a way that was shady but so funny. You would always laugh about it. She was brave enough to always say the things that no one else would ever have the guts to.
At The Web, she was the runt of the litter, so we were always picking on Jiggly in the dressing room. But she would always get us back, and would know just what to say to shut us all up. You could not tell her that, in the Destiny’s Child group, she was not Beyoncé. That is what I loved about her: even if she wasn’t this “conventional” drag beauty, she had this confidence about her. She knew that she was an amazing performer, that she had mug for days, that she was going to win over every crowd she was in front of, and that she could read you the house down if you came for her.
When we would be on phone calls kiki-ing, we would both always be saying the most horrible things to one another. I would tell her, “We are going to hell for laughing at this.” But that was the thing about her — she always found the humor in everything. Even when everything in the world was going bad, Jiggly had this way of turning it around and making you laugh at it. It’s so strange, because as I’ve been reading all of these tributes to her, I keep going to call her, because I just want to kiki with her about her own death! I want to know what she’s thinking about everyone talking about her.
She loved the pageants — one time, we were on tour when the Miss Universe pageant was airing. We were in Europe, it was the middle of the night, and we had finished our show. Jiggly refused to get out of drag: she was in full makeup, rhinestones, the wig, and I just looked at her like, “Why are you doing this? We are on a tour bus!” And Jiggly was like, “Well, I have to be dressed up, it’s the pageant!” Just in order to watch the pageant, she had to be in full pageant mode. So she sat there, in drag, and we watched Pia Wurtzbach win Miss Universe.
She also loved comic books. She was the foremost expert on the Marvel Universe before it was big. She knew all of the side characters and their backstories, and she had these dreams of what her ideal X-Men movie would look like. She thought that she was Jubliee, the young Asian superhero who could shoot sparkles out of her fingers, and that is literally Jiggly to a T. Even when she was in the hospital, we would be playing the X-Men cartoons. There was that geeky side, that nerdy side to her that I loved.
I’m going to miss her kicking all of our asses at Mortal Kombat. Whenever she would come over, it would be me, her, my husband, Valentina, Heidi N Closet, and she would just destroy us — though Heidi will probably read this and disagree with me. It’s just those little things — that little gamer, comic-book-nerd side that you wouldn’t guess about her when she’s in a sequin gown lip synching something so fiercely on the stage — that I’ll miss.
I went to go visit her in the hospital in New York City last week. I had been aware of her situation, and was in contact with her brother. I was being patient; she had a severe infection and at first, it was mostly a concern of, “Well, how is my friend going to feel that she had to have a limb amputated?” Jiggly became so popular because she was such an amazing dancer, you know? She was high-kicking and doing cartwheels, so for a short, round little drag queen, it was always a crowd-pleaser. So it was devastating to hear the news about her limb. So I was just trying to be very patient for her to recover. But the infection was so severe, and her body was under so much trauma, and it was really hard to see her in the hospital.
When I finally heard she had passed on Sunday, obviously I felt really sad. But I was also relieved. We would have gotten her a really fierce rhinestoned prosthetic and some gorgeous gowns. But I know that would have been very difficult for her, so in a way, I was relieved. She was surrounded by her family and her friends and her drag family, and I know that she felt the love and all of the positive energy from around the world once her family released the statement about her condition. I mean, there was this outpouring of love, and she got so many visitors in the hospital: friends, co-stars, family, people from all points in her life were able to come visit her. We were all able to see her in her last days, and to be with her and share our stories.
As drag artists, a lot of us are seen as rich and famous because we were on TV, but drag is a very expensive career. We have very expensive uniforms for work. Jiggly deserves a send-off worthy of the star that she was, and we also want to make sure that her family does not have to worry about finances. They’re worried enough about the loss of Jiggly. So, we’re turning to the fans to help support by helping out with some of the medical bills, and helping with the funeral arrangements so that burden isn’t there as well. Jiggly just has her brother left now — she had lost her mother many years ago. So, my heart goes out to her brother, Gian, who now has had to say goodbye to both his mother and his sister.
I don’t have to hope; I know she secured her legacy. She went on Drag Race as a trans woman when it was still taboo, because she knew she had to get on the show. After that, everyone agreed that she was a star. But I really hope people remember her for not taking herself too seriously, while still taking herself seriously enough as a woman. I hope people remember what she’s done for her communities — the Filipino community, in representing Filipinos and Asian-Americans in the media, and for her activism and representation in the trans community. She produced the show Translation with Peppermint, Carmen Carrera and Kylie Sonique Love, where they openly talked about trans issues. She made that happen — that was her concept and her idea. Her gender identity was always so important to her, and she was a woman as long as I knew her. I know that she will be remembered for that.
She will always be remembered by the people she loved as the fun, loving, shady, goofy little Jiggly. And I will always remember her as my sister.
As told to Stephen Daw.
Julien Baker and TORRES’ Send a Prayer My Way debuts at No. 5 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated May 3), and also takes a bow in the top 10 on both the Vinyl Albums and Indie Store Album Sales rankings. The set – the first collaborative effort from the duo – was released April 18 and sold about 6,500 copies in the United States in the week ending April 26, according to Luminate.
Previously, Baker has placed two solo titles on Top Album Sales. Baker is also a member of the group Boygenius, which has notched a trio of titles on the list.
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Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album (TEA) units and streaming equivalent album (SEA) units.
In addition to the No. 5 bow on Top Album Sales for Send a Prayer My Way, it also starts at No. 4 on Vinyl Albums, No. 6 on Indie Store Album Sales, No. 16 on Americana/Folk Albums and No. 34 on Independent Albums.
Elsewhere on Top Album Sales, Doechii scores her biggest sales week yet, and first No. 1, as Alligator Bites Never Heal reenters atop the chart with 14,000 sold. Until April 18, the set was only available to purchase as a download and in two vinyl variants. On April 19, it garnered a wider availability on vinyl, including two new vinyl editions (both color variants) exclusively available via Target and Urban Oufitters, along with a widely available CD.
A trio of former No. 1s are next up on Top Album Sales: Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet rises 7-2 (8,500; down 14%), Kendrick Lamar’s GNX climbs 8-3 (8,000; down 16%) and Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM ascends 14-4 (nearly 7,000; down 11%). Many titles on the chart vault up the tally with big positional climbs, but with declines in sales, as the chart adjusts back to normal following a crowded Record Store Day-infused chart a week ago.
Childish Gambino’s 2024 album Bando Stone and the New World reenters Top Album Sales at No. 6 with nearly 6,500 copies sold following its first physical release, on vinyl. It’s the best sales week and first week in the top 10 for the title.
Chappell Roan’s chart-topping The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess jumps 19-7 (5,500; down 20%), Elton John and Brandi Carlile’s Who Believes In Angels? steps 10-8 (just over 4,500; down 50%), Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours races 36-9 (4,500; down 3%) and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft flies 38-10 (nearly 4,500; down 2%).
Comedians Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, co-hosts of the popular Las Culturistas podcast, will host the Las Culturistas Culture Awards, airing Tuesday, Aug. 5 from 9 -11 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo and next day on Peacock. The show will be taped on July 17 in Los Angeles. This show is in its fourth year, but this marks the first time it will be televised.
According to a press statement, “The Las Culturistas Culture Awards celebrates culture’s most iconic and consequential moments of the year. With more than 100 unique award categories, live musical performances and unexpected celebrity guests, this show brings culture’s most crucial moments to life.”
“The word ‘culture’ is defined as ‘the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively,’” Rogers and Yang said in a joint statement. “We are so thrilled to eliminate that whole ‘intellectual’ part entirely with the LCCA’s airing on Bravo and Peacock this August, alongside our partners at Lionsgate. Because while what the world needs now might be love sweet love, it also needs to see an Oscar winning actress and a Real Housewife come together to present a very heavy award to Oprah, if we can book her. Oprah, u up?!”
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“We are so happy to bring the vibrant and whimsical Las Culturistas Culture Awards to our Bravo and Peacock audiences,” said Jen Neal, executive vice president, live events and specials, NBCUniversal Entertainment. “Matt and Bowen’s undeniable chemistry, playful humor and love of pop culture’s big and small moments have shaped this spirited award show, redefining what it means to celebrate culture.”
A full list of categories will be announced at a later date.
The Las Culturistas Culture Awards is produced and distributed internationally by Lionsgate Alternative Television. Rogers and Yang serve as executive producers, alongside Lauren LeMieux, Jonah McMichael, 3 Arts’ Olivia Gerke and showrunner Jane Mun.
Rogers, 35, and Yang, 34, have co-hosted the Las Culturistas pop culture podcast since 2016. It won podcast of the year at the 2025 iHeartPodcast Awards in March, which took place at SXSW.
Yang has received four Primetime Emmy nominations for his work on Saturday Night Live – three for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series and one for outstanding writing for a variety series.
Here’s link to Bravo’s social post featuring a clip from Las Culturistas.
Jiggly Caliente, who rose to fame on season four of RuPaul’s Drag Race, has died at 44.
Caliente, whose real name was Bianca Castro, passed away on Sunday (April 27), just days after undergoing a leg amputation following a severe infection. Her family announced the sad news in a post on Instagram.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of Bianca Castro-Arabejo, known to the world and cherished by many as Jiggly Caliente,” the statement read. “Bianca passed away peacefully on April 27, 2025, at 4:42 am, surrounded by her loving family and close friends.”
“A luminous presence in the worlds of entertainment and advocacy, Jiggly Caliente was celebrated for her infectious energy, fierce wit, and unwavering authenticity. She touched countless lives through her artistry, activism, and the genuine connection she fostered with fans around the world.”
The family continued, “Her legacy is one of love, courage, and light. Though her physical presence is gone, the joy she shared and the space she helped create for so many will remain forever. She will be deeply missed, always loved, and eternally remembered.”
News of her passing follows an earlier family update shared on April 24, in which they revealed that Caliente had suffered “a serious health setback” and had undergone the amputation of most of her right leg due to a “severe infection.”
At the time, they noted that she would be unable to participate in the upcoming season of Drag Race Philippines or any public engagements as her recovery was expected to be extensive.
“At this time, we kindly ask for privacy for Bianca and her family as they navigate this difficult journey together,” the earlier statement read. “While Jiggly concentrates on healing, we invite her friends, fans, and community to uplift her with messages of hope and love on her social media channels. Bianca’s family and drag house are deeply grateful for the continued outpouring of support, strength and prayers.”
Caliente first gained attention with her run on RuPaul’s Drag Race season four, where she finished in eighth place. She later returned to the franchise for All Stars season six and joined Drag Race Philippines as a recurring judge in 2022.
Caliente also portrayed Veronica Ferocity in FX’s hit series Pose, appearing in 12 episodes over the show’s three-season run.
Read her family’s full statement on Instagram below.
“I’m still trying to take it all in,” Gigi Perez tells Billboard of her extended moment in the spotlight. Last July, the singer-songwriter’s “Sailor Song” became a viral hit and Perez’s first Hot 100 hit — and months later, the folksy exaltation of queer flirtation remains in the chart’s top 40, rising up one spot this week to No. 35.
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In the interim, Perez played a slew of shows to growing audiences, released follow-up singles like “Fable” and “Chemistry,” and most importantly finished recording her debut album. At The Beach, In Every Life, out today (Apr. 25), finds Perez navigating love, grief and self-possession, as the success of “Sailor Song” has amplified her Island Records debut but not altered its core tenets.
“This project is as close of a reflection of my experiences over the past five years as I could get,” says Perez of the album, which expounds upon the reflection of her sister’s passing that became the focus of her single “Fable.” “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.”
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Below, Perez discusses four songs on At The Beach, In Every Life, and what they represent within her debut album:
The Song That Was Finished Last
“Two days before I was turning the album in, I recorded ‘Sugar Water’ on my own,” says Perez of the five-minute emotional heavyweight, which looks back on her transition into adulthood with childhood details and a simple guitar-and-vocals arrangement. “I wasn’t expecting to put ‘Sugar Water’ on the project,” Perez continues. “And my A&R asked me about the song. I was like, ‘Oh, I love this song.’ … I was like, “Okay, I’m gonna just record and see what happens.’ And it ended up being one of my favorite songs on the project.”
The New Song That’s Most Fun to Play Live
“The most excitement that I’ve had playing a new song has been definitely ‘At The Beach’ or ‘Sugar Water,’” says Perez, who’s been playing a handful of headline shows in the lead-up to the album release. The title track of At The Beach, In Every Life closes the album with an encapsulation of Perez’s worldview, full of passion, disappointment and unruly thoughts that run into each other over the course of the song.
Perez says that testing out her new material on live audiences over the past few weeks has been a thrilling experience. “I just have fun for an hour straight, so it’s hard” to pick one highlight, she explains. “Every single song I get the guitar, and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I’m so excited to do this song!’”
The Song That Was Most Difficult to Finish
“’Crown’ was hard,” Perez says of the searing centerpiece of the album’s second half, which mixes religious imagery with memories of her late sister. “I think it was letting myself go into that space of my grief and the uglier side of it. It’s all ugly, pretty much, but a different shade was probably the hardest to do in a specific time constraint.”
Yet that struggle, Perez believes, speaks to the truth of her first full-length. “Ultimately, I feel like that’s part of the album,” she says. “It’s not easy.”
The Smash Single That Set the Tone
“Sailor Song” kicks off At The Beach, In Every Life, and Perez says that she’ll always be thankful for the doors that her breakthrough hit has opened. “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 says of “Sailor Song. “It’s a gift — to know that I was part of the creation of something that has impacted people globally just feels divine.
“And it’s exciting to see where the rest of the music is gonna go,” she continues, “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. As long as there’s a community there, whether it’s one person or it’s 1 million, every single person that’s impacted by it matters.”