There are few acts who saw such a meteoric rise to stardom in 2024 as Gigi Perez. Emerging as one of the music business' most exciting new talents, the Florida-raised singer-songwriter sent shockwaves across the industry when she released her breakout viral hit Sailor Song in July.
Upon its release, the track saw Perez – who signed with Island Records in October – enter the Top 40 of the Official Singles Chart for the first time, before breaking into the Top 10 in October and hitting No.1 at the start of November – surpassing Sabrina Carpenter’s long-running chart-topper Taste, which had been holding off competition for nine weeks running.
With Sailor Song, which has racked up nearly 600 million streams on Spotify so far, Perez also became the sixth female solo artist to be credited as sole writer and performer on a UK No.1 hit, following Kate Bush with Wuthering Heights in 1978 and Running Up That Hill in 2022, Phyllis Nelson with Move Closer in 1985, Tori Amos with Professional Widow in 1997, Tones & I with Dance Monkey in 2009 and, more recently, Kenya Grace with Strangers in 2023.
“I have moments of denial, and sometimes this all feels surreal, but when I meet people who connect to my music, it’s so real,” she told Music Week last month, when reflecting on being catapulted into the spotlight since the track’s release. “But everyone has just been really kind and has made me feel grounded in it all. I don’t feel like a star, it’s more beautiful to feel like I’m in a place of service.”
With a total sales figure of 658,163 to date (according to Official Charts Company data), Sailor Song is BRIT-certified platinum and set to end this week in the Top 5 for an 11th non-consecutive week.
Perez's latest release, Fable, has also made the UK chart. It has amassed more than 40 million Spotity streams so far.
