This story is part of Dialing Up, a series where the Preen staff gets cozy and comfortable with your fave people.
As big of a star as James Reid has been in the past decade, the actor-musician and record label executive is determined to continue pushing boundaries as he takes even bigger strides in the next chapter of his career.
In this edition of Dialing Up, we chat with Reid about learning and collaborating with artists from L.A. and South Korea for his sophomore album “Lovescene:” and his upcoming tour, all while he’s out in California cooking up more surprises with the Careless crew.
The Weeknd is one of your dream collaborators and a lot of fans have likened your new album to his. Was he one of the artists that influenced “Lovescene:”?
Not so much while I was working on it, but The Weeknd is definitely an artist that has inspired me in general and in terms of career trajectory, his music, and his collaborations. So that’s awesome to hear that they’re likening it to his album. That’s pretty cool.
You’ve talked about how the album portrays different stages in a relationship but if there were three aspects that are really central to its storytelling, what would they be?
Tough to break it down to three. But I guess the first step or the first few songs in the album are about finding new love and how I deal with it. Then, realizing a lot of things about the relationship and going through speed bumps and hard times—all the things that come with being in a relationship. And then, it kind of finishes with loss or a breakup and the things that I’ve learned in those relationships.
Did spending a lot of time in California also infuse it with a vibe different from your previous releases?
Definitely. It’s because of the people that I’ve worked with, a lot of different producers and artists out here in L.A. A lot of them are also Filipino. I think I have at least three Filipino collaborators on the album.
The sound was influenced by being out here and the way they go about making music and writing. I definitely got more personal and authentic in terms of the storytelling.
Careless also has another mixtape in the works. What are three words that can describe it?
One, it’s going to be big because we have the full roster of Careless on the mixtape plus features.
Two, it’s going to be very different because of all the collaborations. We’ll be hearing songs that you wouldn’t normally hear from us. There are a lot of artists switching genres. So it should be very interesting.
Three, it’s coming soon. So watch out for it.
Any dance performances or live shows coming soon?
I don’t know about dance [performances] but definitely there are shows coming up. I have a North American tour happening early next year, around February. I also have shows in the Philippines. I’ll be performing in January. Everyone can look forward to that. I’m excited to tour again.
What’s your message for your fans here and across the globe?
Thank you so much for all the support that you guys have given “Lovescene:” and I’m glad you guys liked the songs. I have more coming up soon and the tour is happening soon. I’ll get to perform in front of you guys in person after the longest time. I’m so excited and I love you all.
Produced by Amrie Cruz
Creative direction and video by Neal Alday
Art by Ella Lambio
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