Many fabrics of pop music rely squarely on the sweet nectar of romance, deep lustful yearning, or nostalgia’s neon glow. Wesley Stromberg, known professionally as simply WESLEY, drops his new song into an elixir of all three. “Home,” premiering today on American Songwriter, clinks together a sweet-toothed groove with a longing to be with the one he loves.
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“You don’t gotta feel alone when I got you by my side / Baby we could lay down / Watch the candles burn the night, so bright,” he carves out his definition of home on the opening lines.
Stromberg ─ formerly known as one-third of Emblem3, who struck it big on The X-Factor and met moderate pop success ─ pulls on the old adage of “home is where the heart is” with a shimmering modern tint. His swollen-heart confessions seep onto the recording, and his vocal dances between a reedy chest voice and a lilting falsetto.
The hook slides on a silky rhythm, the percussion foaming around him. “Whenever I’m with you, my ride or die,” he croons. “Yeah, you right there by side and you know, ooh / Whenever I’m with you, I feel home.”
“Home” is only the “tip of the iceberg,” he writes over email, of his long-awaited debut album, titled spare parts for broken hearts, expected later this year.
“If you’re around the people you love, that is when you’re truly home. Writing this song was so fun, and everything fell into place perfectly. It was just easy and done within a matter of a couple hours ─ love when that happens!,” he says. “It’s just one of those songs that makes you feel good, and the message is so true: when you find that person you love, no matter where you are, you always feel at home and comfortable when you’re with them. I’ve been writing nonstop for my album, and I can’t wait to share more.”
During his tenure on The X-Factor, alongside former bandmates Keaton Stromberg and Drew Chadwick, the trio performed covers OneRepublic’s “Secrets,” Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are,” and Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” among numerous others. The band went on to release their debut album, Nothing to Lose, in 2013.
Now a soloist, and as demonstrated with “Home,” Stromberg forges ahead with a soundscape that not only fits him like a glove but signals renewed creative energy.
Listen to “Home” below.
