GROWING up in Guam, a small island in the middle of the western Pacific Ocean, Pia Mia Perez spent her childhood obsessing over live performances of Michael Jackson and Celine Dion on YouTube. “I grew up in a household where my parents were always playing music,” recalls the 25-year-old crediting her parents versatile music taste as a source for her passion.
“But what got me into singing music was actually musical theatre. I started when I was eight-years-old doing school plays – Cinderella was the first musical I was in. I guess that’s what really sparked it for me,” she adds.
With a tight-knit support system around her comprised of an army of siblings, cousins, distant relations and friends, her childhood was a fortress where interests and skills could be tried and failed without judgement. “I felt safe to be creative and to explore” explains the singer.
“So, when I go to make songs, I’m pretty clear on my direction because I never felt like I didn’t have support. I have never second guessed myself because of it”. It was through developing this fearless attitude that Pia Mia persuaded her parents at 13-years-old to let her go Los Angeles for three months to learn about the music industry, “My parents said if I got straight A’s, and stayed really focused I could come for the summer”.
Pia Mia
“I was eating at this cafe called Urth Cafe on Melrose Avenue” she tells me when I ask about how she got signed weeks into that trip to Babyface, one of America’s most prolific record producers. “And this woman came up to me and she asked me if I happen to be a singer – she was one of Babyface’s producers wives.
“So I said yes, and we exchanged information. Then the next thing I knew I was being invited to the studio and I ended up signing my first production deal over there. I had never been in a studio before. I didn’t even know how songs were made”.
With no family in the States nor a mentor to hold her hand as she found her own path, Pia Mia felt like moments such as the one just spoken about were signs that enabled her to keep pushing for her dream. “I really have just been winging it since day one … it was just kind of all on instinct and that’s why I think following the signs is so important”.
A notable moment in the early days of her career was a video of her performing Hold On, We’re Going Home at a dinner table. Recorded by Kim Kardashian West, a fellow guest, her rendition of the famous track was viewed over and over again across the world and her name became one every teenager learned.
Leading up to this moment, she was in the studio with Nic Nac and Marc Griffin playing around with the Drake track putting their own spin on this hit single.
Pia Mia
“I was just friends with the girls [Kendall and Kylie Jenner] and they knew I made that song”, explains Pia when I ask how this viral video came to fruition. “We were actually singing it in the foyer of the house when Drake walked in – which was kind of awkward. We ended up going to sit down for dinner and Kanye [West] called me out in the middle of dinner and was like ‘Sing him the song you did’ so then I did.”
Now eight years on, four EPs later and a hit single Do It Again featuring Chris Brown and Tyga, that has accumulated over half a billion views, Pia Mia has made her mark on the industry.
Focusing on love, her plethora of songs have exposed deeply personal feelings as she uses moments from her journal to be transparent outlining the the ups, downs and moments behind closed doors in her music.
I ask her what the best piece of advice regarding love she has been given, “As long as it’s a positive experience and you’re happy then go for it because love is the best thing in the world, but you just have to listen to yourself”.
Christmas EP
Taking a new turn in her music career, Pia Mia released her first Christmas EP earlier this month entitled Christmas. Working with Bigg D and Canon Lamb on this project, the trio transformed the studio in Miami with festive decorations, “It was like 80 degrees outside and there was no winter vibes, but you would walk into the studio and would have never known that you weren’t at the North Pole” she laughs remembering the process.
With the end of the year fast approaching, I ask her to reflect on her achievements so far. “I’m just so grateful to have had just all the experiences I’ve had. I come from such a small island and I was just a little girl that loved music,” she says honestly. “I’ve accomplished more than I could have ever dreamed of.”
With the hopes of touring next year and with a feature in Josh Webber’s psychological thriller Isaac, as well as the prospect of finding love again, 2022 is sure to be the year of Pia Mia.
by Imogen Clark