As the hot season comes to an end and the weather begins to cool, so do many relationships.

Tara Perez’s newly dropped, first song, No Feelings in the Summer, tries to capture the fleeting nature of summer romance.

“You think the relationship is so special,” said the Bermuda-born singer. “You have a great time, but you know realistically it has to come to an end. I think it is something not talked about in other songs. You have a summer fling. You think it will last for ever, and then realise you both live very different lives. It is about not taking anything too seriously when it comes to the summer, and enjoying your time with friends.”

Ms Perez, 21, has wanted to be a singer since she was a young child, and grew up singing in Bermuda in Marjorie Pettit’s choir.

She studied music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston for a year, before deciding she was ready to focus on her career. A lot of her friends were doing well in New York City, so she decided that was the place she wanted to go.

When she made the move in 2020, a lot of people questioned whether it was a good idea to launch her career in the middle of a pandemic.

“I felt that if I did not move then, I would never move,” she said. “I was just ready.”

The timing of the move to the Big Apple had some unexpected benefits.

“It did provide me with a chance to focus on my passion,” she said. “Nothing was really going on. I was able to get into really great studios and record with people who were very professional and are usually very booked up.”

She recorded No Feelings in the Summer at Platinum Sound Recording in New York, where she worked with well known sound engineer Serge Tsai. She had been humming a few bars from No Feelings in the Summer ever since she moved into her New York apartment.

She asked if she could work on it at Platinum.

“They said do you have a track? Do you have anything?” she said. “I said no, but do you have a keyboard?”

Ms Perez found the production process to be fun and creative.

“They brought someone in,” she said. “They started producing the track. It was a very fun, creative process, especially because the song is quite upbeat.”

The song was ready last autumn, but she did not want to release it at that time of year.

“I knew it would have to wait until summer when people could relate to it,” she said.

Instead, she released it last month on Spotify.

She envisions her music being played at parties, or when girls are getting ready to go out.

“I always wanted my music to be something that girls pre game to,” she said. “On Spotify, artists can see the names of the playlists that their music is added to. There was one playlist called Get Ready With Me. I screamed, because that is exactly what I want for the song.”

Since the song came out, she has had a great deal of good feedback. People she sang with years ago, reached out to her.

“Back then, I knew I wanted to be an artist,” Ms Perez said. “To see them text me and send me direct messages on Instagram and say I am so happy you actually pursued it, was really great. To see people posting it on their stories and social media pages, is a very rewarding feeling. I did not expect so many people to reach out.”

In hindsight, there are some things she could have done differently, but now she is focused on promoting the song.

“I am watching so many videos, and TikToks about how to promote your song,” she said.

She said the music industry has changed a lot within the last five years, even without considering the influence of the pandemic.

“It used to be very focused on getting signed, and needing to have all these people behind you to push your song,” she said. “Now, TikTok and social media is one of the biggest ways to promote your music. With the pandemic, touring was down, so labels were really interested in how people were getting a fanbase on TikTok. It is a very great time for independent artists to push themselves and make music. You no longer need this whole system backing you to get your own audience.”

She said social media is one of the best ways to advertise yourself now.

“You can reach such a large audience, so easily,” she said. “I have friends who have gotten millions of streams on their songs from TikTok.”

She has not yet made a full music video for No Feelings in the Summer, but she has posted a few videos about it on TikTok.

Ms Perez hopes to release her second song on October 1.

“It is called A Creepin,” she said. “It will be perfect for Halloween. I will try to shoot a music video and get some cool content to promote the song before it comes out.”

She recorded A Creepin at Germano Studios in New York, the same studio that one of her heros, singer Dua Lipa, uses to record.

“I held on to several songs I made there, while I figured out the right direction to go in, as an artist,” she said. "I got to the point where I realised my direction is to realise the music and live my life and promote it as much as I can and be authentic to myself.“

Living in New York City, she is learning how to get noticed.

“The best way to grab people’s attention in New York is with what you are wearing,” she said.

Pink is her signature colour, and she wears it as much as possible when she goes out.

“Always walking around in pink, people started to come up to me and say, oh, I’ve seen you before,” she said. “I said you have, well I have a song out. You should listen to it. Or people come up to me and say they do photography. A lot of people create, so you can create together.”

Once, she was at a coffee shop with her mother, and they spotted another girl in line, also wearing pink.

“My mother went up to her and said you guys are going to be best friends,” Ms Perez said. “That was really great. She is a fashion designer, and we are now best friends. That is what I love about New York. You are always meeting people whether you are on the street, out or with your friends.”

Her goal now is to continue growing as an artist, and eventually tour.

“I want to have my work out there, and be able to work with really great producers,” she said. “I want to perform, and be a big pop artist.”

For more information see her on Instagram @Taraperezz or on Tiktok @Taraperezmusic. Download No Feelings in the Summer on Spotify.