Perfect

Album: Blood Orange (2023)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Here, Freya Ridings has a moment of clarity that striving for perfection is unrealistic and unattainable. She accepts that nobody is perfect and that it's okay to have some flaws.

    "This song is about feeling more insecure than you let on and, in a liberating way, we realize that nobody really cares and that's OK," she explained.
  • Freya Ridings wrote "Perfect" with London-based folk singer Ewan J Phillips, who also produced it. The pair were dating at the time, and they later married in November 2022.
  • Ridings and Phillips play all the instruments: Ridings (piano); Phillips (bass, drums, guitar, backing vocals).
  • Ridings' mother's favorite phrase is "connection, not perfection." When the singer was working with Phillips on music for her album, her mum's pet saying came to mind. "I was really struggling with being in front of the camera," Ridings explained to The Sun, "and I sang some of my deepest fears and 'Perfect' came out."
  • Ridings released "Perfect" as the fourth single from Blood Orange. The album was inspired by the singer's breakup with Phillips in January 2020 and reconciliation 18 months later. "Blood Orange is about being as brave as I possibly could be writing from personal experience and I found it very empowering," she told The Sun. "Blood Orange is written in two halves. It's a time capsule of a period of feeling lonely after a breakup and trying to be brave and admitting that I was falling in love again."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues

Justin Hayward of The Moody BluesSongwriter Interviews

Justin wrote the classic "Nights In White Satin," but his fondest musical memories are from a different decade.

Phone Booth Songs

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Adele

AdeleFact or Fiction

Despite her reticent personality, Adele's life and music are filled with intrigue. See if you can spot the true tales.