Singer Selects Songs For ‘The Sound Of Pride’ – Hollywood Life

It’s Pride! Throughout June, HollywoodLife is running The Sound Of Pride, a month-long feature where members of the LGBTQ+ community pick songs that should be on your Pride 2022 playlist. Today, Greek vocalist George Perris shares his picks for the Pride 2022 playlist. George recently released his third full-length English-language album, No Armor, which featured stunning renditions of Billie Eilish’s “My Future,” Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” and more.

As a UNICEF ambassador focused on addressing child abuse and someone working with the scholarship group the Horatio Alger Association, the socially-conscious George knows that the fight for universal acceptance of LGBTQ+ people is far from over. As a teenager, George witnessed the late George Michael come out, marking the first time Perris ever saw a public figure open up about being gay. In his early 20s, George embraced who he was, and while he said there was “a little bit of backlash” from his family, eventually, “they all accepted it.”

That is a scenario George wishes that everyone could experience. When asked if he had a specific Pride message he wanted to share with the world, George told HollywoodLife, “The only thing I’m wishing for is that one day – as soon as possible – we won’t have the need to celebrate pride! We will all be so free to love whomever we want, that it will simply be the greatest given of our everyday lives.”

As the fight for acceptance and equality continues, here are the songs that George picked for The Sound of Pride playlist.

Christine and the Queens, “The Walker”

George Perris: I fell in love with this incredible French singer/songwriter and her music a few years ago. This song is a symbol of pride, with such force. She says: “Such pains can be a delight / Far from when I could drown in my shame.” Every time I hear it, it puts me to tears.

George Michael, “Through”

Just because he’s my favorite… I think of this song as a tribute to every single human being that has been chased or hated for the person they loved.

George Perris, “Disobey”

This is my emancipation song. I co-wrote this with a couple of very special guys, three years ago. That’s when I started to realize there was a shift inside me; I felt stronger, and coming out publicly felt like something in the near future for me.

HollywoodLife: One thing we’re asking everyone this year is “what’s the Vibe of Pride 2022,” considering all that has and continues to happen in the world.  

George Perris: I think it’s gratitude! We’re all grateful that we’re out of 2 years of seclusion and fear. Grateful that LGBTQIA+ rights are finally blossoming and becoming the norm in most parts of the world.

Pride is also a time to celebrate some of the unsung heroes of the LGBTQIA+ history, those who have paved the way and fought the good fight. Who should get some more mainstream recognition this year?  

I’d like to see a special tribute to all the members of our community that were imprisoned and sent to concentration camps during the Nazi Regime. Above all, though, I’d like to shed a light on every teenager out there who still fights to be accepted every day. They’re paving their own way, and through that, everyone else’s.

What do you have planned for this month – and the rest of 2022?  

I’m actually home in Greece, getting ready to start a summer tour in just a few days! I will enjoy my summer performing for my fans in my home country, and then in the fall, I will be back to my other home in New York to organize more exciting stuff!