James Reid Is At His Most Comfortable And Confident With ‘Honey, I’m Home’ — An Exclusive Track-By-Track Guide
“But what brings all the songs together in this album is my identity, what’s changed in me, who I am as a person. I think that’s a huge shift. This one just feels more authentic,” the singer-actor shares.
JAMES REID: Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment
JAMES REID: Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment
For Honey, I’m Home, James Reid arrives at a place where he feels the most comfortable, confident, himself, and, well, at home.
Compared to his past releases, the singer-actor’s third full-length project is a culmination of many experiences in his life. The result was a feeling of being in such a great place.
“I’m actually more myself, kind of realizing that nothing was missing this whole time. So I don’t know if that’s new, or if it’s just who you really, really are. I can’t say it’s new, because it’s really who you are,” Reid shares with Billboard Philippines in an interview.
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment
Teaming up with artist and producer Luke April, it was a collaboration that fit like a glove. “He’s young, he’s super talented, and extremely versatile. I’m really glad that we just got on the same page musically, from the beginning, from day one. We got on the same page right from the beginning,” Reid explains. “This project is almost as much his as it is mine, when it comes to the creative input that went behind the album.”
This big shift in his life, both creatively and personally, Reid largely attributes to his significant other, Issa Pressman. “It was the kind of love that just makes you kind of stop and really take a look at what you have and become more appreciative of what you have right now,” Reid reveals.
It was all about being present and appreciating the love that is here, right now. Reid keeps coming back to the idea of being present, amplifying the love that makes him feel that everything pauses, stops, and he realizes how there is something to appreciate in front of him.
From writing about this love, the person he calls home, the album came together as what love really taught him. It was “about being present, feeling like I already have enough. And by the end of the album, it’s not really so much about that anymore. It’s really realizing that nothing was missing from me in the first place,” he adds.
Billboard Philippines talked to James for a track-by-track guide to his third record, as he dives deeper into how the album was more than just a release, but also his way of marking this chapter in his life through love, growth, and realizations.
“Honey I’m Home (Intro)”
James Reid: It’s very physical. It’s like, “Hey, I’m actually coming home. I’m at the door. I’m really coming home.” And this song was pretty on the nose. This was the title track where I just really wanted to be more of an intro to the album.
So you get a lot of the sounds. You get that it’s a little bit experimental with how I played with the drums and everything. I bounced back and forth between Tagalog and English. I just kind of wanted it to be like a sampler for the whole album, and the message is simple. It’s, you know, “You are my home.”
“Attention”
The kind of love that makes you stop and really pay attention to the details. Even the way I was writing that, I focused a lot on details. “I’m noticing the way you say my name. The way your hair falls gently on my face.” I’m just really bringing up small details and things that I’m starting to notice, and it’s really changing me.
I think the song was heavily inspired by Dijon. It [has] a little bit of [Michael Jackson] in there. Luke is like a fan of Prince, so we get that blend of a little bit of ‘80s nostalgia. [This] was also produced completely by Luke.
“All Night” (feat. Arthur Nery)
This one, it’s very sensual. It’s a very intimate song. Yeah, it gets very intimate. I wanted to express that part. It’s interesting that this is at the beginning of the album. But I just wanted it to be there because of the energy of the track; how it comes in is so strong. This one, we really got to play around with those electric guitars. That kind of 80s feel to it. I think this has to be one of my favorite productions on the whole album.
Originally, there’s a switch-up in the middle of the song. That part, we were considering making it a second song altogether. We had two different choruses. It was so catchy. We decided to keep it because it felt so different.
I’ve been making pop music for a long time. I thought it’d be fun to just mess up the format of the music a little bit. I couldn’t think of anyone else other than Arthur [Nery] to come on the track, and bringing those really sexy, confident R&B vocals. That late-night, nocturnal feel.
It was just perfect for the track. He probably wrote his part in 10 seconds. I’ve worked with Arthur before. He’s quick. He can think of the whole entire song inside his head before writing anything down. [This] was produced by Luke, then written by me, Luke, and Arthur.
“Traffic”
This was produced by Luke. I also worked with Nhiko Sabiniano from Nameless Kids for this song. We were at the tail end of our songwriting camp. We were trying to run out of ideas. Someone was like, you should write a song about traffic. Actually, I think Luke brought [it up], but then [he] dropped the line, “Sayang lang ang oras ko sa traffic.”
I still wanted to make it personal. It’s not just a song about traffic that’s so random. This song is really about trying to overcome so much adversity, even when things seem hopeless. There are so many obstacles in your way between you and this person. Whatever it is, it might be for you — this job, a dream, a passion, or maybe it’s someone, or maybe it’s simply just a date. Dealing with that impatience, and dealing with that waiting, and hoping that you don’t miss that chance.
“Sunny Side” (feat. Luke April)
This song is really fun; Luke produced it. I think this is really different from anything I’ve done before. I even opened the song by rapping in Tagalog, which is totally different.
At first I’m like, “Is this really me?” when I heard my voice. But I love the production. Luke went very experimental on the drums. It has this kind of Dominic Fike kind of hip-hop feel to it. The message that I wanted to get across for the song was really this feeling that I feel now of just being untouchable. I just feel like, coming from the Gary V [Unshaken] interview, it’s hard to shake me up now.
It’s hard to get to me because I’ve just gotten to a place where I feel like I think untouchable is the best way to describe it. I don’t know, I’m just so at home in my own skin that people can say what they want online.
Just unfazed — that’s the right word. It’s just an “I don’t give a fuck” song, like a middle-finger-to-the-haters kind of song.
One of the people I worked with on the production said, “Hey James, this song has been really helping with my depression. Thank you so much. It’s helping me get through some dark days.” That’s really what I made it for. Can’t let anyone mess with your own sunshine.
“Blessed”
This song came from a place of just so much gratitude. I couldn’t believe the love I was receiving. It kind of became overwhelming at some point. I was going through a lot at the time. Yeah, the love that I was receiving from Issa, from everyone — that’s where I’m from. It comes from a very humble place. Even just to know the love, just to even know it. I feel like I’m so blessed with the production and with Luke on this. It’s so organic, the way it builds up. There’s so much space on the track.
This was the first one I released from the new sound of the album. I released this last year. Production-wise, it’s not repetitive at all. The lyrics can be repetitive. But if you listen to the production, it’s crazy. There aren’t two guitars that repeat. And they’re all doing different things. I just love how alive this song feels.
“Indiana”
I actually did the main composition for the song on the guitar. I did the main chords and the main melody, and then Luke picked it up and then helped me build out the track. I wrote the song together with Issa. This one was something where we wanted to talk about the kind of love that transcends generations. We had watched this video about someone talking about how it would have meant the world to them if their parents had thought about them before they had them.
And then we thought, “Wow, we talk about having a kid of our own so much. It’s so real. And we feel like we love this person already so much. But they’re not even here. How is that possible?” So we wrote a song about how we’re excited for this life. We’re excited to meet this person one day. And that even though you’re not around, we love you so much now. So also one day, when we’re gone, that love will still be there.
A lot of the songs we wrote very quickly on this project; I just wanted to let everything flow. But then this one, we really took our time. This one took the longest to write, actually. Because it felt like a message to your future. So it was something that we could always sing to her in the future, and that one day, she can sing back to us. It was such a meaningful song and meaningful moment.
I think my favorite lyric from that one is “They tried to bury us but forgot that we are seeds.” Just kind of as a message or a lesson that we’re telling our future daughter, our future kid. It’s just a piece of wisdom, something that we’ve been through.
“Richest Man Alive”
This was produced by Brian Lotho. I also co-wrote this with Jason Marvin [and a producer in the U.S]. This one we actually did at a Sony songwriting camp. This went through three different versions, actually, with Brian. The last version that we went through had a yacht rock kind of touch to it. At the time, I was just really listening to a lot of yacht rock. I got kind of sucked into that trend. I still love it though.
The song was a simple message that the things that make you rich in life really don’t cost anything. When you’re with the right person, when you have the right kind of love, it makes everything so much more valuable. This song is really talking about the simplest things and the simplest moments and finding the beauty in that.
“On My Way” (feat. ISSA)
Originally, [this] was Issa’s song. She made the song with Luke. This was originally supposed to be her single or something like that. I heard what they were doing in the songwriting camp. I came in, and I heard they had made the first verse and the chorus. Then I said, “I’m on the second verse, right?” She’s like, “Yeah, sure, of course.”
I made the second verse, and then we finished the song. I really wanted the song to be on my album. I felt like it was such a huge part of my whole story for the past couple of years. It just needed to be there. Thank you, Issa, for letting me steal your song. She’s singing on the track produced by Luke. I guess it’s about fate or destiny. All these things that we went through, what if it was just the prelude? What if it was just the build-up to our actual love story? What if this whole time, even when we were apart, all these things we went through were just the universe’s funny way of bringing us together in the end?
“Unbecoming”
This was produced by Brian Lotho and written by me. This song actually inspired the whole concept of the album. It came from such a vulnerable place. I thought that I might as well go all the way. If I’m going to dive in and really get to the core of myself in these songs and with this music, I wanted something that represented that — the whole self-discovery journey.
Really, what the lesson was at the core of this whole process, not just for the music, but just me personally and over the past however many years it’s been, that’s really helped me just be happier, be at home with myself. The lesson that’s brought me here to where I am today is that being vulnerable is a strength.
I think that’s why the first line is, “I had to be strong, but the weakest thing I did was to act numb.” For so long in show business, to deal with all the hate, to deal with the bashing and just the nonsense, I learned to just numb myself so I didn’t feel it. It helped, but it wasn’t fun. It didn’t really help me in the long run.
I had to try and find a way to get back in touch with my emotions again and open up, which meant being vulnerable. If I was really, truly going to love someone else, myself, I really had to go all the way. This song was a very deep, personal realization that I got to wrap up in one beautiful little song at the end of the album. I wanted this to be a soft landing for the album. The album doesn’t really end with a bang; it just ends with a very quiet realization.
It starts with the album saying that me physically coming home and home being this person, and then really finishes with “What if nothing was missing? What if I just wasn’t home?” It teaches you to stop searching outside of yourself for these answers.
I didn’t mean for this album to go that deep with the whole concept and everything. But it did. It just kind of all came together. I think that’s what sets it apart from the previous projects that I’ve done, where they feel more like just a random collection of songs. The others, what kind of brought them together was just more of an idea or a feeling.
But what brings all the songs together in this album is my identity, what’s changed in me, who I am as a person. I think that’s a huge shift. This one just feels more authentic. And I’m not hating on my other projects — that’s what I was going through; that’s who I was.
Frequently Asked Questions
Honey, I’m Home is James Reid’s third album, centered on presence, gratitude, and self-acceptance. Reid says it taught him nothing was missing in him in the first place.
Luke April produced most of Honey, I’m Home, shaping the album’s sound and direction. Brian Lotho produced select tracks, including “Richest Man Alive” and “Unbecoming.”
“On My Way” began as Issa Pressman’s own song with Luke April. Reid added a verse and asked to include it on his album as part of his story.
“Indiana” was co-written by James Reid and Issa Pressman as a message to a future child. Reid says it took the longest to write of any song on the album.
Reid says his earlier albums felt like song collections tied by a mood, while Honey, I’m Home is unified by his identity and personal growth with Issa Pressman.
