Joshua Perez is a rising pop star who recently released a song about falling in love. Appropriately called “Fall in Love”, this song perfectly describes the butterflies that we feel when we meet that special someone. This song also includes the duality of a relationship by featuring singer/songwriter and social media influencer, Lily Stockwell.
Perez has grown up in Toronto and developed his music career there. He was classically trained in high school, but eventually pursued his passion and began his career in pop music. He began by doing Youtube and Soundcloud covers until he eventually began releasing his own music on various streaming platforms.
I had the opportunity to talk to him a little more about his latest release, his inspirations, and his musical processes.
You recently released a song called “Fall in Love”. Did you have someone or something in mind when you were writing this?
Yeah actually I wrote that song back late last year when I was starting to develop feelings for someone. Once I have feelings, it’s easier to write them out instead of expressing them verbally.
What was it like working with Lily Stockwell? Your voices blend so well together.
It was an easy process. I contacted her after finding her on Instagram, and saw that she’s a big influencer on Tik Tok, Youtube, and Instagram. It was an easy process. She’s a good singer too, really good.
Will you be joining Tik Tok as well?
I’m starting to get more involved in Tik Tok because it’s a platform that’s increasing in popularity so it’s something that I should get on.
So I see you’re originally from Canada and still based in Toronto. Do you see yourself staying there or would you wanna move to a different city at some point?
Depends on where my music takes me. If I do end up getting bigger and bigger and getting signed to a bigger label, then I’m probably gonna move to wherever that label is. But if I could go anywhere, I’d probably stay in Toronto though, it’s so nice and relaxing.
It’s cool that you’re classically trained. Would you say that your opera training still influences your pop music now?
Yeah, of course. Opera was a high school phase. We would always go to perform in front of big audiences and that’s the part that drew me into music. I knew that I loved pop and R&B. I liked the opera part but since it’s really different from the style of music I do now, I couldn’t see myself continuing in that path. I transitioned to a pop style of music but it did help me prepare to do what I do now.
A lot of your songs are about love and interpersonal relationships. Are you inspired by your own relationships or others that you observe?
Most of my songs are actually inspired by personal relationships. Whether it’s friendships or more emotional connections. In any relationship, there are ups and downs and I find my inspiration in the downs of the relationship. I tend to write more about the harder times. My music is therapeutic to me.
Could you ever see yourself going a different direction with your songwriting? Maybe writing more introspective songs?
Right now, I’m focusing on more relationship aspects but I can see myself releasing songs like that in the future.
What other styles could you see yourself experimenting with, if any?
Probably R&B and Country.
Who are some of your dream artists to collaborate with?
Justin Bieber. Also DJ Khaled, it’d be dope to sing on one of his projects.
What’s the message you wanna spread with your music?
One message I want to spread is that it’s important to put in the work for what you love. Nothing’s gonna come easy. Everything depends on how much effort you put into it so if you truly love something, put in the effort to get it.
Joshua Perez
