At just 23-years-old, Australian singer/songwriter grentperez has mastered his own genre of pop music: carefree but soulful, offbeat but refined, escapist but unforgettably sincere. Since first bursting onto the scene with his gold-certified single “Cherry Wine” (a US and Australia Gold certified record and No. 1 hit on Spotify’s Viral 50 chart in several countries), the Sydney-born musician has morphed from a bedroom-pop sensation to an undeniable creative force, endlessly matching his playful charm and sophisticated vocal talents with a truly unbridled imagination. Over the last few years alone, he’s amassed a global following and drawn sold-out crowds on a series of headline tours, in addition to taking the stage at leading festivals like Lollapalooza and opening for Rex Orange County, Wallows, Laufey, Cavetown, and more.

In his long-awaited full-length debut, grentperez now delivers Backflips in a Restaurant: an intimate yet wildly fun album that merges elements of R&B, indie-folk, symphonic pop, and so much more into his most daringly original work to date. For grentperez, the title to Backflips in a Restaurant in many ways encapsulates his entire philosophy as an artist. “I love that phrase because there’s a sense of controlled chaos, which is exactly what I want to create with my music,” says grentperez, whose latest triumphs include winning Emerging Songwriter of the Year at the 2024 APRA Awards. “I’ve always known I’ve wanted to keep evolving and changing it up, instead of playing it safe and making the same thing over and over.”

Although he names modern-day iconoclasts like Tyler, The Creator among his musical touchstones, grentperez mainly grew up on R&B, ’70s soft-rock, and the super-smooth Filipino love songs his family members often selected when singing karaoke. At the age of 12, he started posting guitar-accompanied covers on YouTube, steadily gaining a major following and eventually making his auspicious debut with “Cherry Wine” in 2021.

With its tracklist encompassing everything from “2DK” (a massively catchy and subtly absurdist party song) to “Reason Why” (a sweetly folky reflection on social media and self-image), Backflips in a Restaurant ultimately affirms grentperez as an artist with no limit to his vision. “I feel like I’m still discovering my voice, but this record definitely gave me the confidence to keep being bold and keep making whatever feels right to me,” he says. “When people hear the album, I’d love for them to recognize that the same is true for them, instead of feeling stuck in whatever perceptions they might have of themselves. I hope it helps them feel free to do what they want.”