Title: “Home”
Artist: Alicia Lena
From: TBA (2023)
Release Date: May 6, 2023
Format: CD Single, 12” Single, Digital Download, Weekly Airplay, Worldwide Streaming
Recorded: Fénix Home Recording Studios, Phoenix, Arizona, USA / Record Plant Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre(s): RnB, Soul
Length: 5:02
Label: FREEDOM
Written: November 2022
Writer: Alicia Lena
Producer(s): Alicia Lena, Neveah Martinez

“Home” is a long awaited single by the American RnB singer-songwriter Alicia Lena following on from October 2021’s well received comeback single “Here We Stand” which was released with a lot of anticipation surrounding it, manifesting in the track debuting at number one on the singles charts and marking a successful return for the popular singer-songwriter. The release of this latest single see’s a further step forward in the build for the highly anticipated fourth studio album from Alicia Lena, one that fans have been waiting for since 2012’s “Reign Over Me”. It was clear that Alicia would be taking her time with the record, offering “Here We Stand” as a taster before taking another extended break to focus fully on creating the album. She stated in an interview around the time of her comeback single’s release that she wanted to make sure that she took full control over how and when things will drop and really take her time when it came to creating and releasing music this time around. She did however indicate that although she hadn’t written or created much during her time away from the industry, in the past couple of years she did start playing and writing new songs and ideas which she took into her home studio with her when she decided to begin playing with the idea of returning to some sort of artistic output.

In terms of the progress of the album, she has stated that she considers herself a little over half-way through but didn’t want to commit to a release date until the record was pretty much finished, not wanting to fall into the same situation of pressure as she felt previously. In her most recent social media post which was some months ago, Alicia debuted the artwork for the next single which included it’s title and discussed the general tone of the album and how this latest single fits the overall tone. “The work that I’ve created so far for this next album feels encapsulated in this song in particular. I’ve found myself looking inward whether intentionally or unintentionally while I’ve been writing songs ahead of this record. I have an urge to tell these human stories and experiences more now than ever before and hopefully attempt to find that element of faith within them. Life can be cruel and brutal and sometimes those negative noises echo around us all in much higher decibels than the positive ones. As a songwriter, in trying to find that balance lies the real challenge.
“Home” is a deeply personal song for me, those that know my story will immediately recognize that but it’s not a sad story, despite how often it has had the possibility to be that, there’s been some sort of element to cling to in order to keep out the dark for the most parts. I consider these to be some of the most personal songs that I’ve ever written and just hope that I can do justice to my story in some way.”

“Home” is the seventeenth official single to be released in Alicia Lena’s career and adds to the intentionally slow build to her upcoming fourth studio album following her long awaited return back in October 2021 with “Here We Stand”. The track is one of her most recently written tracks, having been penned in November 2022 by the RnB musician and songwriter during her home studio sessions, recorded and reworked over the previous few months and produced by Alicia alongside her long-term close friend Neveah Martinez, the track comes with minimal pre-release hype, Alicia shared an image of the artwork around a few month ago but with little detail beyond that, preferring as she has done throughout her career to let the song find it’s place within her own discography and her audiences listening habits without typical industry manipulation and over-hype. The track will be released through FREEDOM as a CD Single, 12” Single, Digital Download and will be made available to Weekly Airplay as well as Worldwide Streaming from May 6, 2023.

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Song Description;

Coming in just over five minutes, “Home” is very much a powerfully emotive RnB ballad with traditional old-school Soul elements dripped throughout the track. Almost entirely a piano centric track like a lot of Alicia Lena’s work, this one see’s Alicia delve deeper into her own personal story further than previous efforts as she sings about her introduction into the world, of which she had no power over the outcome. Immediately setting the scene with the opening lyric, “Poor little girl” it sets the path for what is to come, it’s certainly a sad song in tone and content given the nature of the topic of being birthed and immediately taken from your birth parents and handed over to adoptive parents. But as the track progresses with lush piano tones and a voice that is rich and beautiful, capable of conjuring up any sort of emotion required and taking the audience along for the journey we find positivity as the track continues past it’s initially heart-breaking stages. Like much of Alicia Lena’s work it finds its strength in the life-affirming and positive, something that not only is showcased within her music but in every aspect of her being, be it coming through in interviews or social media. It’s a reputation that has been intrinsically paired with her name ever since she shot to fame back in 2010 and continues to this day.

Intertwined with the vocal and piano pairing that has served her well for a decade now, albeit with a major break throughout she shines in the simplistic lyrical content, not over-complicating her work on this track with too many metaphors and tropes that can turn heartfelt and emotive ideas into cliched overblown statements intent on forcing emotion rather than letting it live naturally alongside the strains of the piano keys and vocal scales. She delivers lines about her upbringing in the simplest of terms “Oh what a poor little girl/what a terrible way to come into this world.” But as stated, beyond the sadness, hope is never too far away as the bridge literally tells us, “But she just learns to keep on hoping/All the while knowing/That she’s better off this way.” And with that first bridge we’re taken away from the initial sadness and given the more hopeful and life-affirming story of her adoption by a young couple unable but desperate to start their own family, “But they took an unwanted child in their arms/And raised her as their own/Oh what a beautiful thing/Oh what a beautiful thing to have done.”

Throughout the song, Alicia sings positively about the things that her adoptive parents brought into her life, giving her a future when it could have so easily been taken away. The songs highlight comes in the chorus, repetitive as it may be it drives home the message of the song. A message of shining light on those that do so much for us and may not necessarily get told of how grateful we are to them for it, “This is for the ones that made us reach for the stars, reach for the stars/To the ones that helped raise us/And make us who we all are, who we all are/To the hands that helped raise us/The strength that you gave means they'll never break us/With the lessons you taught us/We'll always fight for this place we call home/And someday we'll fill it with love/This place we call home.” And I will take the argument that this is a form of greeting card magic and allow that argument, but I will offer my retort as simply as I can, after the previous few years aren’t we entitled to feel a little of that greeting card magic, if only for a brief five minutes.

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“Home”

“Poor little girl
What a terrible way to come into this world
Parents that never wanted her
A Mom and Dad that weren’t willing to kick the habits that they had
Arriving in this world, bright blue eyes big and beautiful
What a lovely little girl
And they didn’t even care to take a look at her
Just handed her off
Like she was a package in a parking lot
Discreetly handed over
Like the deals they’ve made so many times before her
Oh what a poor little girl
What a terrible way to come into this world

But she just learns to keep on hoping
All the while knowing
That she’s better off this way

A suburban middle class white couple
Told that they couldn’t have a baby of their very own
And it nearly tore their love apart
Before it had even begun
But they took an unwanted child in their arms
And raised her as their own
Oh what a beautiful thing
Oh what a beautiful thing to have done

This is for the ones that made us reach for the stars, reach for the stars
To the ones that helped raise us
And make us who we all are, who we all are
To the hands that helped raise us
The strength that you gave means they'll never break us
With the lessons you taught us
We'll always fight for this place we call home
And someday we'll fill it with love
This place we call home

But she’s learnt to keep on hoping
All the while knowing
That’s she’s better off this way

That bond feels stronger somehow
Knowing that they have no obligation to love you like they do
And yet they looked on you like you were the one that came into their life and saved them
But the reality is that they’re the ones that did the saving
Through the developmental functions
Lessons you’re taught from a very young age
To afterschool dance classes
And a million other temporary interests
Until you found your calling in the keys of a piano
And the melodies you loved creating

But she’s learnt to keep on hoping
All the while knowing
That’s she’s better off this way

And now she raises a child of her own
On the lessons that you taught
And it brings her so much joy to hear him call you nan and pops
Seeing that sparkle in your eyes once more
The same one you had
All those years ago
And although she put a part of her life on hold
She’s proud of the reasons she did it for

This is for the ones that made us reach for the stars, reach for the stars
To the ones that helped raise us
And make us who we all are, who we all are
To the hands that helped raise us
The strength that you gave means they'll never break us
With the lessons you taught us
We'll always fight for this place we call home
And someday we'll fill it with love
This place we call home”

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Credits & Personnel;

CREDITS

Produced by Alicia Lena, Nevaeh Martinez
Engineered by Aniyah Jordan
Mixed by DeAndre Patton, Aniyah Jordan
Recorded at Fénix Home Recording Studios, Phoenix, Arizona / Record Plant Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California

PERSONNEL

Alicia Lena – vocals, piano, lyrics, composition, production
Neveah Martinez – production
Aniyah Jordan – engineering, mixing
DeAndre Patton - mixing