Selena Gomez premieres her brand new self in “Rare.”

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REVISITED

12/20/2023

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STREAM

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TOP 5

 

Honorable Mention. Cut You Off

Damn, Justin (I’m assuming she’s talking about Justin Bieber in this song), you gotta stop drunk-texting Selena, bro.

Selena Gomez fans are going to love “Cut You Off.” Not only do you get a vocal performance by the former Disney star that is pretty outstanding (She switches between low-pitched and high-pitched effortlessly on the track), but you also get production that is Super Rich Kids-like and juicy lyrics. How juicy are the lyrics, you ask? See below:

And I might as well just tell you while I’m drunk, yeah
The truth is that I think I’ve had enough
Professionally messin’ with my trust
How could I confuse that shit for love?

Ouch.

5. RING

Don’t butcher me, Selena Gomez fans, but “Ring” sounds like a Camila Cabello song… Now that I’ve gotten that assertion out of the way, I can admit that the song is hot fire!

“Ring” is the type of song I would expect to hear on a Latin drama: The instrumental to it is on some mid-tempo Latin pop s**t, while Selena’s singing and lyrical content on the song straddle the line between silky, sensual, and promiscuous (Every single Latin drama I’ve watched has featured silkiness, sensuality, and promiscuousness).

4. RARE

Selena Gomez is rare, like the chicken I ate for dinner today (Am I supposed to die?).

This is how crazy I am: The moment I pressed play on “Rare,” the song that came to my mind was Lloyd, Andre 3000, and Lil Wayne’s track titled “Dedication To My Ex.” The two songs have the same old-school vibes, a similar beat, and tons of pizazz. Anywho, “Rare” is the perfect song to start the album with. It’s quirky, it’s fun, it’s slightly snippy, and it serves as a reminder to people (aka Justin Bieber) that Selena is ready to fight anyone who isn’t in her best interest.

3. Dance Again

I’m surprised that this song only has 60 million streams on Spotify. Its replayability is crazy to me.

You can’t go wrong with a song that begs you to dance to it, has a nice tempo, and features a catchy hook. The icing on the cake is the true meaning behind it. In her verses, Selena Gomez lets the world know that her heart is healed and that she is ready to hit the dancefloor again. Isn’t that beautiful, guys?

2. Look At Her Now

I love this sound for you, Selena!

After watching a bio on Selena Gomez late last year, I became a major fan of hers. I love that she’s a hard worker and admire the resilience she showed after suffering from serious health issues a few years back. Now that Selena is all fine and dandy in the key aspects of her life, it looks like she’s ready to continue with her highly successful music career; “Look At Her Now” feels like her big-time comeback song.

“Look At Her Now” gives me old-school R&B feels. The song boasts serious dance vibes, quirky lyrics, and a whole bunch of sass. When you combine these three aspects, what you get is a surefire hit.

1. Lose You To Love Me

I wonder who this song is about (I’m guessing it’s about a guy that has a name that rhymes with Wustin Wieber).

“Lose You To Love Me” is a piano-heavy ballad that has Selena Gomez singing about finding herself after her relationship with Justin Bieber ended:

I gave my all and they all know it
You turned me down and now it’s showing
In two months you replaced us
Like it was easy
Made me think I deserved it
In the thick of healing, yeah

We’d always go into it blindly
I needed to lose you to find me
This dancing was killing me softly
I needed to hate you to love me, yeah

While “Lose You To Love Me” has had a ripple effect throughout the music world due to its content, I don’t want people who listen to it to ignore that Selena’s vocals are beautiful in the song.

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SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. Rare (4/5)

2. Dance Again (5/5)

3. Look At Her Now (5/5)

4. Lose You To Love You (5/5)

5. Ring (4/5)

6. Vulnerable (3.5/5)

7. People You Know (3.5/5)

8. Let Me Get Me (3.5/5)

9. Crowded Room (Ft. 6LACK) (4/5)

10. Kinda Crazy (3.5/5)

11. Fun (3.5/5)

12. Cut You Off (4/5)

13. A Sweeter Place (4/5)

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OVERALL RATING

(C+) (81%)

Before I tell you what I hate and love about Rare, I want to say that I’m super happy that Selena Gomez is in a better place now. OK, now to the criticisms!

What surprised me quite a bit about Rare was how versatile it was. Throughout the album, you get songs that are old school-sounding (“Rare,” “Look At Her Now”), songs that are high in energy (“Dance Again,” “Kinda Crazy”), songs that are very personal (“Vulnerable,” “Cut You Off,” “Lose You To Love Me”), and songs that are on some lovey-dovey s**t (“Crowded Room” & “Fun”). While each song has a level of meaningfulness attached to it, at the same time, Selena made sure things weren’t all gloomy throughout the album; I love that approach!

I don’t think Selena Gomez is the greatest singer in the world, but she can hold her own on a song. Throughout Rare, the former child star was asked to bend and stretch her vocals like Mariah, and surprisingly, she didn’t do all that badly (She also didn’t do amazingly). Nonetheless, Selena’s contributions to Rare are all about her lyrics and touchiness, not necessarily her vocals.

So, are there hits on Rare? Absolutely! Personally, I can see “Vulnerable” being played in a bar, “Rare” being played at a skating rink, “Lose You To Love Me” being played at a doctor’s office, and “Crowded Room” being played in a psychiatrist’s office. If you are a music lover, trust me, Rare has a hit for you! (You get a hit! You get a hit! You get a hit!)

In Rare, Selena Gomez sounds reinvigorated and reconfigured. She also sometimes sounds a bit lost as a musician, which has her tapping into music that I don’t think is for her. That said, the album feels like Selena’s version of an escape, so don’t judge it too critically…