Release Date: August 12, 2021 Genre: Pop, Electropop, Contemporary
Label: Independent
"City Lights" is the newest delight from the twenty-two-year-old Winnipeg-based, Philippines-born singer-songwriter Rein. Following the release of his much-anticipated debut album, Chase Me, in June 2021, Rein is back with his first-ever electropop song. Rein on a regular day can be heard performing contemporary, R&B, jazz, or folk numbers. "City Lights" is a track about going for a cruise at night with a loved one, roll down the windows, hit the road, and see the city at night. The song was written and recorded in approximately two hours, with all of the song's production finished the following day. Just like all of Rein's music, his new single "City Lights" was entirely self-produced. Rein began singing quite early in life, at the age of four years old. Rein began singing and performing in front of his loved one in the Philippines but unfortunately took a brief hiatus from music when he and his family moved to Canada in the mid-2000s. Fast forward to when Rein was seventeen years old, he learned the piano and wrote his first-ever original song for a high school project. After writing his first-ever song, Rein became fascinated with the construct of songwriting and also producing music. The rest is history and all led to his debut single in June 2020, "Waiting (Stripped)," his first EP in January 2021, titled Dreaming, and most recently, Chase Me, his debut full-length album in June 2021. His debut album served up backstories of his personal life, with subjects like heartbreaks to finding a second chance at love. One of the album's singles, "Glass," was excitingly entered into this year's CBC Music's Toyota Searchlight competition, which led the song to be his first to be featured on the radio.
"I wanted to make a song that people can listen to when they're going for a drive at night," states Rein. "I wrote the song back in April. In two hours, I finished the song and got the first draft of the production done the next day."
Musically, "City Lights" blurs the line of Rein's usual contemporary sound with a sprinkling of electropop to deliver something fresh and to add to his repertoire of genres. "City Lights" takes quite the inspiration from notable songs such as "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd, "No Tears Left to Cry" by Ariana Grande, "Red Lights" by Tiësto, and "Dreamer" by Axwell Λ Ingrosso. The single opens with the sounds of a car engine starting up, similar to the intro of Halsey's "Drive." Immediately after, vocal harmonies spring out over top of the subtle piano. As the song builds, the first inklings of electropop squeeze their way into the track. "City Lights" has an uplifting tone about it compared to a majority of Rein's previously released music and additionally features the use of his vocal range from his primary baritone paired along with his falsetto.
"I wanted this single to be different from what I usually release," continutes Rein. "It's more upbeat than my other songs where I usually sing to a piano."
"City Lights" is a fresh breeze into Rein's musical abilities. This rising Canadian music is set for big things in the future. "City Lights" demonstrates a widely intriguing songwriting style that embodies the emotions conveyed in the song's lyrics into the music beautifully. The track sure will make anyone who gives it a listen to put it on in their car as they're cruising around on the road or highway at night. This is just the start of a blossoming career for Rein. I'm immensely intrigued to see what Rein formulates for his future releases. Please stay in touch with Rein by visiting his social media in the links provided below and make sure to stream both his debut album, Chase Me, and his new single, "City Lights." Both are available now on all major music streaming/purchasing services.
