For such a time as this

Freshman Damaris Perez ministers to Brazilian audiences through music

Universal Music Group (UMG) has offices in 60 countries and is the largest music corporation in the world, so being signed with their Christian label at age 20 is no small feat — something that Liberty University student Damaris Perez knows full well.

“Right now, here in America, I just feel like another student trying to get great grades in college,” Perez said. “I sometimes forget that I have a career in Brazil.”

Perez, a freshman at Liberty who is from Goiania, Brazil, performs under the stage name “Hadassah Perez.” Picking a stage name, however, was not an easy process for Perez, who said she did so because she wanted to avoid confusion with another popular Christian singer in Brazil.

Around the same time Perez began recording songs, a television series about the life of the biblical Queen Esther was being aired in Brazil. Perez, who loves Queen Esther’s story, immediately wanted to use the same name. But something about “Esther Perez” just did not seem right. So, Perez chose Queen Esther’s birth
name — Hadassah.

Before it became official, Perez said she wanted to seek God’s will, so she and her family prayed for three days. Soon thereafter, Perez received her answer at a church service her family was attending.

Perez was approached by a woman she did not know, who kept calling her “Hadassah.”

“That was like God telling me, ‘That’s your name,’” Perez said. “I was so, so happy because … Esther saved the Jews, by God, of course, but it was like she was saying I was going to kind of save a lot of young people in Brazil because of the songs and everything.”

Perez, who is studying artist development at Liberty, began singing and leading worship at the age of 12 in the church her parents pastored.

“I think God gave me this gift when I was little,” Perez said.

“Really, when I was born. But I actually just started using it when I was 12. I really realized that was God’s thing for me.”

Four years later, when she was 16, Perez began recording music at her home church. Just before she turned 18, Perez released her first 12-track album, “Tudo Que Eu Preciso (All that I Need),” something she never imagined that she would do.

“At the beginning, when I was little, I liked to sing and everything, but it never came (into) my mind to be a singer and have a CD in hand and those things, but God had a different plan for me,” Perez said. “(That) year and a half was crazy. I was like, ‘How can I be this person? How can I be a singer and have a CD?’ But at the end, I was like, ‘OK God, it’s done. It’s your project, not mine. So do (with) it whatever you want to do (with) it.’”

Her first performance — her CD release concert — was in front of an audience of 10,000 people.

Perez recalled the difficulty of breaking into the Brazilian music scene as a Christian artist, but said she trusted in God’s plan.

“At the beginning, it was really hard because you start everything, but you have no idea (of) the world you’re going into,” Perez said. “We had a lot of down moments, but at the same time God (gave) us really up moments. … I try to, in every moment, … show people that I’m not doing this because I want money (or) I want fame, but actually because God put me here, and he wants to use my body, my voice, to spread his word.”

A year after releasing her first album independently, Perez signed with UMG Brazil’s Christian group and spent three months in Rio de Janeiro recording remixes and promoting her music, which she describes as “electronic-pop,” a genre that was not widely popular in Christian circles at the time. According to Perez, the genre has since gained popularity as Brazilian youth are now beginning to look inside the church for answers — and new music.

“At the beginning, that was a crazy thing to do because in Brazil, (Christian music) is kind of like just worship,” Perez said. “That was a crazy step in the dark, … a step of faith. … I realized when I started recording (that) I wanted to do music that I wanted to hear. … I realized that I needed to search in the secular world to find a song that I wanted to hear. That was why I recorded this style, because that was the style I was looking for.”

Following her time in Rio de Janeiro, Perez returned home, wrestling with God’s will for her life, trying to decide whether she wanted to be a full-time student or singer — she was studying during the week and performing on the weekends. She was not sure if she could do both.

Once again, Perez and her family began prayerfully considering what to do. It soon became very apparent that God wanted Perez to cross a sea to come to
Liberty University.

Perez had been introduced to Liberty in 2012 at the age of 17 at a Christian fair in Sao Paulo, Brazil. So when it came time to make a decision, Perez knew where she needed to be.

“I was so in love, so crazy in love about Liberty,” Perez said.

While the process of becoming an international student is often quite complex, Perez said everything worked out smoothly and right on time for her move to the United States last August.

Although she does have a career in Brazil, Perez said she feels like any other college student, trying to keep her grades up and enjoying time with friends.

“I think it’s funny because everyone here that knows I’m a singer is like, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s famous. She’s an artist in Brazil,’ … but at the same time, it’s like, ‘I’m just another person that wants everyone to know that (I’m) doing what God wants (me) to do,’” Perez said.

Perez stressed the fact that music is not just a path to fame, but a God path as well. God is the one who created music and she is simply trying to please him — whether she’s singing in front of an audience of 200 or 20,000 — one song at a time.

“Since the beginning, since I was a little girl, I learned from my mom to do excellent things,” Perez said. “If it’s for God, you need to give your best. … God gave you the best — his son. So you need to give him your best. … Me being here is not because I want to become famous in the world, no. I have this gift, and I really need to be excellent in it, so God can use me in his excellence.”

For now, Perez is content with taking a break from touring to study at Liberty. She digitally released her first song in English, “Holy is the Lord,” last semester, and is currently working to have her music made available on American iTunes and Spotify. A summer tour in Brazil is also in the works.

Perez admits that juggling both a singing and a college career can be quite challenging. But, as Perez likes to say, if it is God’s will, she will not say no.
Perez said, like the biblical Hadassah who became Queen Esther, she sometimes finds it hard to believe that God called her to this task, but considers it a privilege to be able to share the love of God with others through her music.

“When I got here, people (were) like, … ‘Why are you stopping your career?’” Perez said. “I’m not stopping my career. … I didn’t start my career for me. I started (it) for God. If God wants me to move to America and study for four years, that’s what I’m going to do. I don’t care if I stop (being) famous in Brazil, if everyone forgets me. If it’s God’s will, then that’s what needs to be done. … Until the day he says stop, I’m not going to stop.”

GRAF is a feature reporter.