[2] Chisholm had spent most of 2000 and 2001 touring around the world in promotion of Northern Star, and planned to enter the studio at the end of 2001 to start recording her next album.

After being diagnosed with depression she was prescribed antidepressants for 18 months, and also dealt with an eating disorder and a hostile media reaction questioning different topics from her weight to her sexuality.

According to The Sun, a record company source stated that "both Mel and Virgin have agreed that she should keep to the rock vibe that helped her 1999 album, Northern Star, do so well.

The original release date for the album was set for October 2002 but it was delayed until March 2003, resulting in a number of articles in newspapers questioning her relationship with her record company, reporting that she was under pressure to lose weight.

On an official statement published on her site, Chisholm stated that her relationship with Virgin was "fantastic", the recording sessions were going well and that she had not been forced to delay the release of the album or to lose weight.

[7] Chisholm stated that she was happy with having some of the Northern Star composers and producers on Reason as well as working with new ones, like David Arnold, Tore Johansson and Peter Vettese.

Originally the album included 11 tracks with the following order: "Here It Comes Again", "On the Horizon", "Reason", "Lose Myself in You", "Let's Love", "Home", "Soul Boy", "Do I", "Water", "Positively Somewhere" and "Wonderland".

[8] While working on the album, Chisholm recorded "Independence Day" for the soundtrack of the film Bend It Like Beckham; the song was later included on the Japanese edition of Reason.

Promotion also included an exclusive webcast on 24 February 2003 performing four songs, which were the same as the HMV setlist, with the exception of "I Turn to You" being replaced by "Goin' Down".

AllMusic gave the album two and a half stars out of five, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine stating that "[the songs] are colourless and characterless, sounding as if their main goal is to get on pop radio."

"[14] Johnny Dee, writing for The Times, remarked that the songs on Reason "are often crushingly tedious (in spite of its title, the bombastic "Here It Comes Again" never even arrives); and dated (the sensual ballad "Soul Boy" is impardonably Lisa Stansfield-esque).

The more mature nature of this album will attract a new tween crowd, and they – when combined with Mel’s previous fan-base – will provide Miss Chisholm with the foundation for a successful solo pop career for a few years to come.

"[17] In his retrospective review for Albumism, Quentin Harrison wrote: "The overarching feel of her second LP began embracing a brighter, tighter sound than the looser, magnetic truculence of Northern Star.