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  • 4 days ago
Gigi Perez joins B96 backstage at Lollapalooza.
Transcript
00:00B96, Mogan, Carla mornings, it's Carla and we're backstage at Lollapalooza with Gigi Perez.
00:05Hi.
00:06How you doing?
00:07I'm so good.
00:08Earlier you said you were locked in.
00:09Yes.
00:10What does it mean for you when you're locked in?
00:11How do you get in that zone?
00:12I mean, I think it's just like being present in the moment and just taking it as it comes.
00:20When you're on stage, like how do you ensure that you stay present in the moment?
00:23Because I feel like there's so many distractions.
00:25Like I'd be looking out at the crowd and be like, ooh, that couple's arguing.
00:28I mean, I think that it's taken a lot of shows to be able to get to a place feeling truly comfortable and prepared for it.
00:41Have you done many festival circuits before?
00:43Yes.
00:44So, I mean, not like all in the world.
00:49Like I'm like, I've been around.
00:50You're like, me, Coachella, headline girl.
00:52Don't you know?
00:52No, but like, you know, I've done a handful of them and, you know, it's definitely, it's like a big, it's a big event, you know?
01:04And so I think for me, it's really just about feeling the music and staying tapped into that.
01:12How do you choose what the first song in your set is going to be and the last?
01:15Because I feel like you're curating a vibe.
01:17Yeah, for sure.
01:18I think that when the album came out, I knew when it came to talking about the live, I was like, oh my gosh.
01:25Like we have to play Please Are Rude.
01:27Like it has to be the first one.
01:29So, yeah, that was a very like, I think for me, Please Are Rude just centers me.
01:36It propels me to have an amazing show, just feel amazing.
01:41So that's why we chose that.
01:43And then, you know, Sailor's the end.
01:46I mean, it's just like a, when I wrote it, I knew that it was very special.
01:50And I know that it's the song right now that really introduced people to the community of my music.
01:56And so it's just very beautiful to have that moment because I know there were a lot of people that found me that way.
02:01And so it's like knowing that there was that specific moment they connected with it, it makes the experience special.
02:06I feel like with Lollapalooza, for example, yesterday, Luke Combs played, right?
02:11And then they're Tyler, the creator.
02:12They're like such different artists.
02:13Yeah.
02:14What would you want fan bases that are like their fan bases to know about you?
02:19If this was their first introduction to you, like they happen to be walking by the stage, you're like, she's dope.
02:23What do you want them to know?
02:24I think, honestly, for me, it's less like a want of how I want people to know me as, but more so if you listen to the music that like you take whatever you feel from it.
02:45Do you know what I mean?
02:46However you want to interpret it.
02:47It's kind of like expectationless, you know?
02:49You write your own music?
02:50Yes.
02:51What is your writing process like and what memories do you pull from?
02:55Because some people I feel like can be a little more hypothetical or are you more real and honest?
03:00So I think for the most part, this album was based fully on reality.
03:07Gigi.
03:08This is Gigi's story?
03:09Yeah, this one really was telling that specific story timeline and, you know, a lot of it is about being in love, but also going through grief and how experiencing grief affected how I love.
03:26And, you know, so those things that I've been dealing with for the past five years really did play an integral role.
03:31There's songs like chemistry on it that are very much storybook-like and Twister is also that way because Twister is just the whole thing is an allegory.
03:39So between The Wizard of Oz and The Garden of Eden and like those parallels.
03:45So there's a little bit...
03:46Was it inspired with like the new Wizard movie coming out?
03:49Oh, with Wicked?
03:50Yeah.
03:50You know, honestly, I wrote Twister before Wicked, the Wicked movie was announced, but I am...
03:56They copied Gigi.
03:57No.
03:58No.
03:59No.
04:00Please don't cover me.
04:02But I really, I grew up loving the story of Wicked and, you know, I was like a theater kid growing up.
04:08So like I was 12 when I saw Wicked.
04:10And so I definitely loved it for the fact, like, the way that Wicked expands the story of what happened in The Wizard of Oz is definitely something that inspired, like, the story itself did inspire.
04:24But the movie was not announced yet, either of them, I think.
04:27Oh, wow.
04:27Okay.
04:27Yeah, because I wrote it in like 2021 or 2022.
04:30You were ahead of the game.
04:32Maybe.
04:32You mentioned you were a theater kid.
04:34Yes.
04:34I feel like a lot of theater kids...
04:37Did you watch Glee?
04:38Yes, I did.
04:38Oh, me too.
04:39Yeah, yeah.
04:39Who was the character that you related to the most on Glee?
04:43Related to...
04:44I don't know that...
04:45Honestly, like, I kind of watch it and I'm like, it's so, like...
04:49It's so hard to watch.
04:51Oh, it is.
04:51I didn't age well.
04:53Like, it's so difficult to watch that, like, I can't...
04:56I don't think I resonate with anybody.
04:58Good.
04:59That means we've grown.
05:00That means we've changed.
05:01Yeah, but definitely, like, I remember being, like, 12 years old and, like, you know, like, the first iPods and, like, the little, like, tiny reds.
05:09And then you could see, like, just, like, the little tiny album cover of, like, the Glee blue slushie.
05:14Yes.
05:14Like, I was just, like, obsessed with that.
05:16Like, Don't Stop Believin'.
05:17Like, that was my...
05:18Did you ever want to go on Broadway?
05:20Or was your dream always to be, like, a singer?
05:22I think I definitely had, like...
05:25I definitely had those aspirations.
05:27Honestly, I still do.
05:27I think I'd love to someday do a show.
05:31Like, I love it still.
05:32And so, that's something that I'm open to.
05:35And, you know, I've always wanted to write a musical as well.
05:38So, we'll see.
05:38Okay.
05:39So, you're a storyteller, then?
05:40I do like telling stories.
05:42Do you ever do, like, story times on your TikTok?
05:45How do you connect with your audience?
05:46Yes, I actually...
05:47I do.
05:48It's not often, but when I do, I have fun.
05:51And I think that as much as it is playing music and, you know, being in my bedroom and
06:03just sharing a song, but I do like talking about things that are on my mind, and I find
06:09that that helps me feel connected to people.
06:12When you're living your life outside of music, what are the things that you enjoy doing?
06:16Because you have to get your inspiration from somewhere.
06:18You can't write songs about writing songs.
06:19No, you can't write...
06:20Actually, I'm taking that.
06:22That is so good.
06:23You literally can't write...
06:24You can call me, girl.
06:25Yeah, you cannot write songs about writing songs.
06:27You have to live life.
06:28Yeah.
06:29I'm trying to think, because in the last...
06:31Honestly, when I wrote...
06:33The album happened slowly, but when I was in the process of writing it over the past two
06:38years, it was a lot of the aftermath and reflection of my experiences.
06:44So, that aspect of it wasn't like, okay, what do you like to do?
06:48It was just, like, difficult situations that happened.
06:51You're like, I'm trying to power through it.
06:52Yeah, it's like, yeah, exactly.
06:53But, you know, in my free time, what I do like to do, I do like playing tennis.
06:59I like...
07:00It sounds crazy, but I like hot cycling.
07:03Okay, like SoulCycle?
07:05Yeah, like a good, like, hot cycle is something that I'm into.
07:09I love the beach.
07:11I mean...
07:12I wish I would live at the beach.
07:14Yes, I wish I could live at the beach.
07:16Where are you from?
07:17Are you from Nera Beach?
07:19I'm from South Florida.
07:20Oh, okay.
07:20So, you're sunkissed.
07:22Yeah, sunkissed.
07:24Yeah, I definitely, like, spent a lot of my childhood by the water and the water.
07:29And so, it's nice.
07:32Like, when that concept came to me, it just...
07:34It happened slowly.
07:36Like, I didn't, like, think, like, methodically about it.
07:40It just happened.
07:40And then I was like, oh, my God.
07:42It feels like such an amazing homage to my upbringing at the same time, you know?
07:47Let's talk about your upbringing a little bit.
07:49Are you Cuban?
07:50I am Cuban.
07:51Well, I'm Cuban-American, yes.
07:52Cuban-American, yes.
07:53Do you think that in the future, you would want to infuse, like, a lot more of your culture to your music?
07:58Absolutely, yeah.
07:59I have a few songs that I've written in Spanish that I definitely want to put out at some point.
08:07And, you know, I'm a big fan of Celia Cruz.
08:10And every single...
08:11Before every single performance, we play La Vida es un Carnaval.
08:14Seriously?
08:15And we sing it.
08:15Yeah.
08:15Okay, so is that, like, your ritual?
08:17Yeah, that's, like...
08:18It's so funny because I remember when it first came to, like, trying to figure out, like,
08:21oh, like, what are you going to do before the show?
08:23And, like, we, like, tried some things, but it didn't really, like, stick.
08:26They weren't hitting.
08:27And then I remembered that I have this very specific memory.
08:332024 was, like, maybe, like, early.
08:36It was, like, maybe February.
08:37And the song came on shuffle.
08:38And I was, like, oh, my God.
08:40I absolutely adore this song.
08:41And it makes me...
08:42It reminds me of my grandmother.
08:44And she loved that song.
08:46And she loved Celia.
08:47And it would always be played at every single party.
08:49Oh, it's a month.
08:50It's on the playlist.
08:51Exactly.
08:52And then I looked and I dissected the lyrics.
08:55And I just...
08:56I was at my desk.
08:57I just started crying.
08:58And I was, like, I miss you, Grandma.
08:59Like, just going through everything.
09:00And, you know, a lot of it is, like, about, like, how life, like...
09:07Life is meant to be celebrated.
09:09And there are good things past the hardships.
09:12And it, like, it is a song about perseverance.
09:14And it's a song about that things can change.
09:17And they get better.
09:18You are never stuck.
09:20Like, just don't cry because life is a carnival.
09:22And she wrote that when she was diagnosed with cancer.
09:24When Celia was diagnosed with cancer.
09:26And so...
09:26Oh, my gosh.
09:27It's, like, for me, it feels like the celebration through the hardship.
09:31And...
09:32I feel like your music is like that, too.
09:33Because you're writing about your grief.
09:35But then something so beautiful is coming out of it.
09:37And, like, you're at Lollapalooza performing your music.
09:39Yeah.
09:40I mean, it is crazy to think about.
09:42And I think, you know, that one is just such an interesting juxtaposition.
09:46Because, yes, she's talking about difficult things.
09:47But it's, like, this beautiful, like, anthem.
09:51Those trumpets.
09:53Like, they're all playing together.
09:55And so I really love...
09:58It feels like I'm honoring and, like, experiencing my family.
10:02And my grandmother.
10:04And, you know, my father.
10:05And, like, just, like, having that experience is nice.
10:07So I definitely do want to venture into that.
10:11Because it's something that I do care about.
10:13Absolutely.
10:13And when you do release that album in Spanish, you gotta be like,
10:16I'm gonna be singing it at the top of my lungs.
10:18Especially because I feel like reggaeton and Latino music is having a moment in the United States right now.
10:22Yes, it's very cool.
10:23So let's get in there, girl.
10:24Because I want to hear Gigi.
10:25Yes, exactly.
10:26Well, I just wanted to say also, before we wrap things up,
10:29everyone was talking about how you were the performer that they wanted to see.
10:32So congratulations.
10:33That's very sweet.
10:34It's awesome that you're at Lollapalooza.
10:35I can't wait to see what you do next.
10:37And thank you for coming to talk to us.
10:38Thanks so much.
10:38Appreciate it.