Gigi Perez is a study in the power of vulnerability. In 2021, she uploaded a video of herself playing “Celene” to TikTok. The song is a tribute to her older sister, who passed away unexpectedly. It’s achingly beautiful and deeply sad, but also funny, mixing the mundane with the transcendent. When Perez put it on TikTok, she didn’t have big professional or commercial expectations for the song. She just needed to get it out there, to release the music, to release the emotion, to connect. And connect she did. “Celene” went viral, with audiences worldwide finding meaning in its music and lyrics. After all, everyone has lost someone or something before.
Despite the massive reach of “Celene,” Perez experienced some stops and starts as she eased into the music business. Through it all, though, the hits kept coming. After “Celene,” Perez’s “Sometimes (Backwood)” also went viral, but her biggest breakthrough came via “Sailor Song,” an ode to a woman who strongly resembles a certain actress. Perez released that tune independently during summer 2024, garnering herself a record deal with Island Records by fall. The official “Sailor Song” video currently has 40 million views on YouTube, while it boasts 1 billion streams on Spotify.
Perez released her debut album, At the Beach, in Every Life, on Island this Spring, and is playing festivals and concerts throughout the summer and early fall to support it.
One of those performance dates is unique. On August 10, Perez will play a small, intimate show in San Francisco as part of the Verizon 5G Home Internet Concerts in the City Series. And what’s more, you can’t buy tickets to attend this performance. Instead, if you want to see Perez up-close, you have to enter for a chance to get tickets by adding your info to the Verizon 5G Concerts in the City series website here. If you’re not near San Francisco, don’t fret. The Verizon 5G Concerts in the City series is also activating in Denver with an August 5 Remi Wolf show, followed by Bailey Zimmerman wrapping things up in Dallas August 28. If you’re near those cities, you can enter your info for a chance to get tickets here.
And Perez is looking forward to her San Francisco show.
“Playing my set in a small room makes the energy in a room feel electric,” she says. “Getting to be close to everyone is such a gift, because I feel their expressions and get to feel what the songs mean to them up close and personal.”
If seeing Gigi Perez in San Francisco is can’t miss for you, enter your info here at the Verizon 5G Home Internet Concerts in the City website for a chance to get a free ticket and a plus-one.
And for a limited time, people who sign up for a 5G Home Plus Premium Internet Plan get a JBL PartyBox, on Verizon. Those who sign up for a 5G Home Internet Plan will receive a JBL Clip 5, on Verizon.
Concerts in the City Sweepstakes: No purchase necessary. Must be U.S. resident of eligible market, age 21+. Void where prohibited. Valid 05/30/2025 – 07/30/2025. See https://www.verizonconcertsinthecity.com/rules for details.
JBL PartyBox or JBL Clip 5: Offer ends 7/30/25, in select areas, for new home internet customers who activate/install and maintain eligible 5G Home Ultimate Internet services in good standing for 65 days. Redemption terms apply. While supplies last.
