Watch a sneak peek of “Come To Me,” from J. Breckenridge’s debut album, Monotony, above. The full music video releases February 16, and the track drops February 6 on all music streaming platforms.
“I was in a boy band in high school called Infinite—I wrote the songs!” says Breckenridge, whose Broadway credits include Come From Away, The Scottsboro Boys, and The Ritz. “[So 'pop star' has] always been a part of "The Dream" for me. Getting a BFA in Musical Theatre at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music took all my mental and physical space, so songwriting went from a passion-filled focus to an infrequent friend to basically a non-existent stranger.”
Post-college, Breckenridge set his sights on performing in theatre, television, and film. When theatres shutdown due to COVID-19, he was able to prioritize reuniting with his dream of recording pop music. “Before I knew it, in two short months I had a record full of songs on my hands—all birthed out of isolation. So I found a producer, bought the equipment, and lifted the lyrics from the page.”
“Come To Me” is a nod to Breckenridge’s southern California roots, infusing it with the well-known vibes associated with The Golden State, which Breckenridge visualized as “a sunny, hopeful, stroll down the sidewalk or cruising down the 101.” Mixed with the cheerful melody is a heartfelt message about discovering and cherishing one’s own value. “It’s a beachside bop with some bite,” says Breckenridge. “I hope that anyone who has ever felt this way grooves away from this track moved, motivated, and reminded of their absolute self-worth.”
The music video “Come To Me” stars J. Breckenridge and features Jeremy Thompson, Jenna Wright, and Gabriella Bridgmon, with choreography by Chris Liu. The onstage band includes Brett White, Timothy Hayn, Bas Janssen, Farrokh Shroff, and Jasmin Guevara.
The music production department includes Grammy-nominated James Frazee as the album producer/mixer, Brian Griffin on drums, Carl Carter on bass, Alec Berlin on guitars, Peter Hess on horn arrangement and saxophone, Justin Mullens on trumpet, and Dave Paarlburg on organ.
The music video was produced by The Angel Films with Apoorv Arora Films and directed by Mateo Marquez, with Mike Gialloreto as director of photography, Nupur Madan as producer, Apoorv Arora as co-producer, and Breckenridge as executive producer. The crew includes Shubham Gosalia as second AD, Austin Mulhern as first AC, Dustin Penrod as Gaffer, Nichole Ruiz as key grip, JP as grip, Sam Paynter as production designer, and Megan Gutierrez as makeup artist. Special thanks to Ralph Johnson.
