“Of Course I Lied” is the latest stop on Will Preston’s journey through R&B
By Kurt Beyers
“Of Course I Lied,” Will Preston’s new R&B single, continues his special brand of R&B storytelling with a soft, soulful story of the end of a love.
“I think love is multifaceted, and people go through painful times,” he said. “Sometimes you’re the one leaving, sometimes you’re the one stuck on the other end.”
“Of Course I Lied” is told by the man, but the lyrics tell of pain on both sides. “Of course I lied” he sings to his lover in the chorus. “I mean for real / Did you think I was just gonna tell you the truth,” and later, the pain is on the other side, “My silent cries, you chose to ignore.”
“When you think about love songs, obviously we think about when it feels good, and when everything is great. But there's a very realistic side of love that exists also.”
One of his gifts, in addition to his voice and his command of it, is his lyrics. His songs tell stories, and the story grows out of the melody.
“One of the things that I focus on when I’m writing is telling a story,” he said. “I really get into melody, but even more for me is the story behind it. I want the people listening to the song to ride with me all through that song.”
He develops his own melodies, and sometimes his songs start there. Sometimes, people submit tracks, and he gets inspired and writes to them. On at least one occasion, both came to him at the same time. The song, “Phone Don’t Ring,” was on his last album, Where Do I Begin, in 2020.
A piano intro bubbles like water in a mountain spring. Then the beat kicks in, and he sings, “Phone don’t ring / Please don’t ring … Every time I look down / My phone starts to ring / But it’s not your name / Coming across my screen.”
“I literally woke up in the middle of the night with that melody and those lyrics. I had to get up to write it all down. That was just one of those times.”
Sometimes, a melody hits him when he’s walking around, triggered by something he saw or heard, and he hums the tune to remember it until he can write it down.
“So, I’m walking and I’m humming, and I’m trying to be quiet enough so that people around me aren’t thinking, ‘What’s going on with that guy?’”
He goes through periods when he doesn’t release any projects. His first album, It’s My Will, was in 2005. Caught in the Act — The LIVE Experience came out in 2007. In 2013, he released #reacquainted, and in 2020 he released Where Do I Begin.
He is an entrepreneur, and he has other things that demand his time and focus, like real estate interests in Atlanta, where he lives. He is also a partner and part owner in a cosmetic arts college.
“All those things pull me in different directions at times, but music is something that I’m always focused on.”
He is constantly looking to broaden his base of listeners. His base grows with each release. “I really enjoy the kind of organic growth I’ve experienced.”
When he connects with people, he often hears, “Wow! Where have you been?” His response is, “Well, it’s the tricks of the big boys at the big stations. They don’t always play us indie artists.”
Another thing he hears is, “R&B is dead. Or dying.”
“And I’m always out there screaming ‘No! No it’s not!’ You just have to look a little harder for us and dig a little deeper.”
“I really want to appeal to those listeners who are craving that good R&B that they feel is missing in today’s music.”
He is working on more songs and plans to release an album around October. He says he has about three things he is working on at any given time. While working on a song, something comes up that he wants to get down so that he doesn’t forget, and, eventually, “It comes together for me.”
He prefers putting out albums to singles.
“I’m more interested in the long-term impact and sustainability of my career,” he said. “I want people to be able to look back and see that I have a catalogue of music that they can listen to and take a nice journey back through my albums.”
To go on the musical journey with him, stay connected to Will Preston on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
https://www.instagram.com/thewillpreston/?hl=en
https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B001279MTK/will-preston?isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/will-preston/63061971
https://soundcloud.com/whyiswill
https://open.spotify.com/album/1m9TUSRBdM1qNUFT4ivLxe?si=MTkImsbMToacaab8uKN5TQ&n
https://www.tiktok.com/@yepthewillpreston
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