Title: Place A Wish In Your Heart
Featuring: Chloe
Released: April 1, 2012
Format: Digital Download, CD Single
Recorded: Avatar Studios, New York City, New York
Genre: RnB, Soul, Pop, Rap
Length: 5:37
Label: Tric-Jam Records!
Writer: Alicia Lena
Producer: Alicia Lena, Nevaeh Martinez-Smith, Will.Rocca

“Place A Wish In Your Heart (feat. Chloe)” is a song by American RnB/Soul singer-songwriter Alicia Lena featuring rap vocals from Chloe. The song was revealed as the second single from the RnB singer’s upcoming third studio album “Reign Over Me” and follows her previous single, “Drop The Needle And Pray!” which peaked at number #1 on the Digital Downloads chart and number #4 on the Top20 Airplay charts. The song features rap vocals from the highly successful pop singer Chloe, the two have worked together closely in the past as Alicia produced a number of tracks on her sophomore album and Chloe joined Alicia onstage on a number of occasions during her previous world tour as well as being included as an opening act during the tour. The song was produced by Alicia Lena and co-produced by her new label boss, Nevaeh Martinez-Smith and her long-time friend and collaborator Will.Rocca at Avatar Studios in New York City, New York and set for release as the second single from her upcoming third studio album ‘Reign Over Me’ on April 1, 2012.

Background and Writing
The song was written in February 2012 during the initial recording sessions for her third studio album and an early version of the song was recorded during the sessions without the rap verse on the song, however upon hearing the initial version of the song it was suggested by her producers, Nevaeh Martinez-Smith and Will.Rocca that perhaps an addition to the song would be best and after consideration Alicia decided to include a rap verse to the song which is something she’s never really took on as a songwriter in the past but two weeks later the official version of the songs lyrics were completed and she called upon her friend Chloe, the two have worked together on a number of occasions throughout their careers and they recorded the song together with featured rap vocals from Chloe.
The initial idea for the song came back in November 2011 as Alicia was starting to think about ideas for the new album, she wanted to create an album filled with optimism which included elements of her own faith and after writing ‘Drop The Needle And Pray!” the lead single from the album around this time it was during a meeting with a friend a couple of weeks later where she played a demo version of the aforementioned lead single, after talking about ideas for the album, she scribbled the chorus of the song on a napkin which became the foundation on which the song was built.

Song Description
A trademark soft twinkly piano introduction is heard at the beginning of the song, it takes around 13 seconds for Alicia to begin singing the opening lyrics to the song as the piano plays consistently throughout, it’s soft, emotional and slow but it builds in pace as the first rap verse with vocals from Chloe begins and the song hits its peak during her second rap verse which Alicia then follows up with the chorus and then the final verse which softly fades back out. Two vocalists a piano and the use of echo are the primary backdrop’s to the song and it’s the combination of the echo and piano which give the song the emotional and inspirational feel to the song that Alicia is clearly going for with the songs hopeful lyrics matched with her soulful RnB vocals. The rap vocals from Chloe help enhance the song and give it a little more energy which helps turn it from a slow paced ballad into a more energetic and soulful song.

Rolling Stone Review



Songwriter’s Comment
“I think it’s no secret that I’m an optimistic type of person, I’ve never been one to focus on the negative’s and I think that may come across in my music, it certainly appears to come across in my music whenever I listen to it, I don’t necessarily see the optimism all that often when I’m actually writing or recording the songs but always when I listen back to them it definitely becomes clear. Following up, ‘Drop The Needle And Pray!’ which was a single primarily about faith and belief and optimism with a song titled ‘Place A Wish In Your Heart’ could maybe perhaps cause questions to be asked as they have quite similar theme’s but I think if you can look beyond that and perhaps if you can look at this song as a stand-alone single without any knowledge of prior songs then I think it will be the best way to judge the song, I think that the previous single is quite possibly my favourite song that I’ve written, it’s the first time I really took a chance to put as much of myself into my lyrics as I have and I certainly think it’s my best work, so of course it was always a tough decision to know what song to follow it as a single but hopefully I made the right choice.

I wrote the chorus of this song on a napkin in November and had completely forgotten about it until a friend reminded me of it, it was during the first recording sessions for my third album in New York and I wanted to get a bunch of solid ideas together to help form a clear picture of what the album would sound and feel like. I worked on the song and had pretty much the finished version written within a week or two, however I went back to the song and included a couple of rap verses which was a different obstacle to take on as a songwriter, it’s not something I ever really considered writing but although the rap verses are not ground breaking lyrics I think they add to the song in a way that any other writing style couldn’t have done. When it came to the decision as to who I would have feature on the song and evidently perform the rap lyrics I think it was always a little obvious who my first choice would be and after sending the lyrics to Chloe we met up at the studio and managed to record the song pretty quickly. I think that after writing over three album’s worth of lyrics this song in particular proved to me that we’re always learning as songwriters and thankfully I’ve managed to create another song that I hold close to my heart and that I feel very passionate about.”

- Alicia Lena

Song Lyrics

Normal – Alicia Lena
Bold – Chloe

There’s a special place, where young hearts learn to grow
Cradled in their parents arms being taught everything they’ll need to know
You’ll learn to smile, learn to walk, learn to cry and learn to talk
You’ll learn to laugh and learn to love, learn to fight to push and shove
You’ll learn many things and shake many hands
But there’s just something’s that are hard to understand
---
Somebody once told me that this is the place
Where everything is better and everything is safe
Somebody once told me that dreams come true
So make a wish and watch it come to you
Just make a wish and place it in your heart
Because we were born with dreams from the very start
---
Yeah, we were born with dreams from the very start
But over time that belief starts to part
Just make a wish and place it in your heart
Because the beauty in this world is still around
Just sometimes it’s harder to be found
---
People can be difficult and tough to understand
Why they seem content to hurt you
They just need a helping hand
See, people only rain on your parade
When they’re jealous of your sun
And tired of their shade
---
You use your heart and your soul and you try your best
Just have a little hope, just pray and the lord will do the rest
Believe that these days will someday get better over time
You’ll find your way through the storms and the mountains that you climb
The hard times fade and the strongest always seem to last
Not matter how hard it is to let go of the past
The things we have now are enough for us
No matter how tough things get, we never make a fuss
So keep on walking with your head held high and a smile upon your face
Knowing that the things you’ve lost can’t ever be replaced
But the things you can learn from the toughest parts
Can make you stronger
Make you learn to mend your broken hearts
---
Somebody once told me that this is the place
Where everything is better and everything is safe
Somebody once told me that dreams come true
So make a wish and watch it come to you
Just make a wish and place it in your heart
We were born with dreams from the very start
---
Yeah, we were born with dreams from the very start
But over time that belief starts to part
But just make a wish and place it in your heart
Because the beauty in this world is still around
It’s just sometimes it’s harder to be found

Personnel
Alicia Lena – vocals, piano, lyrics, composition, production
Chloe Smith – rap vocals, backing vocals
Nevaeh Martinez-Smith – production
Will.Rocca – production, mixing