I guess most have you have already heard the news of James Reid dropping his much-awaited new record Palm Dreams over the weekend. Scout was actually lucky enough to hear a preview of the entire album at the Palm Dreams listening party at Yes, Please, BGC. Ever since then…well, like everyone else, consider ourselves hooked. None of us have ever called ourselves James Reid or Jadine stans but now we’re kind of getting there.

Why do we love Palm Dreams? See our reasons below:

1. A+ visuals and design

Ya’ll. Look. At. That. Album. Cover.

We know you guys are probably sick of this word but we gotta say it right here–aesthetic. We’re totally loving the whole retro California vibe of Palm Dreams’ visuals. These gorgeous pictures were also shot by renowned photographer Mark Nicdao, while the visuals for “Cool Down” were from Scout friend Andrei Suleik.

2. Catchy AF beats

As James’ first self-composed album, props to him for making songs that can cause pretty much anyone to fall prey to LSS. If “Cool Down” didn’t work for you (it should though), you have tracks like “Turning Up,” “ILU2LU,” and “On Top,” which is the Scout team’s personal favorite. This is also thanks to producer Paolo Tiongson a.k.a Poor Taste, who was heavily hands on in not just music production but also the video for first single “Cool Down.”

Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be busy putting “On Top” on repeat for about a thousand more times.

3. Great collaborative efforts from James’ fellow artists

In Palm Dreams, we get treated to a handful of collab tracks featuring James’ friends in the industry, including Sam Concepcion, Kiana Valenciano, Bret Jackson, and of course, Nadine Lustre herself. From Nadine’s feathery vocals to Bret’s rapping, it’s cool to see everyone’s vocal talent complement each other’s to help out in the entire album production, and in turn, release some sick tunes that make Palm Dreams the all-star record that it is.

4. All that material on #Jadine

Okay, as much as we want to keep this James-centric and stray away from the entire love team thing, we can’t really help ourselves. Not gonna lie here, the whole album is pretty kilig-inducing once you realize that almost every song is most likely dedicated to Nadine. What can we say? James is one lucky guy. And Nadine, on the other hand…hold on, let us find that Rihanna GIF real quick.

There we go.

5. It’s a showcase of James’ artistry and his breaking out of the norm

Many were surprised by the new direction James took with Palm Dreams. It’s a sound that people weren’t expecting him to go for, and this in turn shows how James is moving a step forward into his career–to go beyond the boxed-in expectations that everyone has for celebrities at James’ level of stardom. Do they have to stick to international song covers and innocent love ballads? Nope, not on James’ watch. James (and also Nadine) is putting the artist in the artista, as not many mainstream celebrities would go this much out of their way to create something they’re truly passionate about. For James, it’s good music. Nadine as well, has ventured into entrepreneurship and has showcased an eye for photography.

[pull_quote]James (and also Nadine) is putting the artist in the artista, as not many mainstream celebrities would go this much out of their way to create something they’re truly passionate about. [/pull_quote]

And we, and their fans, can see and appreciate their progressive efforts to mold themselves into artists. Palm Dreams is not a perfect album, with some missteps in its production, but it is what it is–good.

Additionally, we’re really loving the suggestive lyrics found in the album ( particularly in “On Top”), which shows that both aren’t afraid to express their sexuality and are beginning to break away from their squeaky clean celebrity image. In Nadine’s words, who cares, right? (You tell ‘em, girl.)

Overall, James Reid transcends with the release of Palm Dreams and we’re all here for it.