Photo by Aiony Haust on Unsplash
If I had to describe Selena Gomez’s new album ‘Rare’ in three words, I would use: Honest, fun, and evolved.
Selena Gomez released her fifth studio album which is honestly the most beautiful thing I’ve heard in a while. It feels like I’m watching my friend blossom into this beautiful human, It’s relatable, fun and celebrates self-love through an honest, heartfelt lens.
It’s a Self Love Anthem
When I headed to Spotify to binge-listen to this album on my 30-minute commute, I have to admit I was very excited. But for the wrong reasons. I went into the album looking for juicy tea about her relationship with Justin Bieber and all the emotions she felt when he literally got engaged/married a few months after they ended things. In fact, I initially intended to write a post about all of the lyrics relating to Bieber in the album.
But when I clicked on the first track entitled “Rare” I got much more than I bargained for. As I continued to listen to the album, I felt like I was on her personal journey of finding self-love. A journey that is very similar to my own. It was then that I started to view her as more than the “Justin + Selena” headlines and more as a girl evolving into her own.
She Has Evolved
Like any creative, I think it’s taken Selena a while to find her sound. She nailed it when she released “Revival” but with “Rare”, it’s very clear that she has evolved and it’s a beautiful process to have watched on the sidelines.
She’s Honest
I feel like I’ve grown up watching Selena in the spotlight. Her life has always seemed sort of perfect but in the last few years, she’s opened up and shared some insane issues she’s been struggling with. She’s had boy problems, health scares and deals with emotional anxiety just like the rest of us.
It Digs Deep But It’s Fun
Yes, we get a sense of her feelings about the Biebz but it’s more than that. As much as it is sad, it’s a celebration of this liberated feeling after learning, not only how to love but the type of love she’s willing to accept moving forward. She made it through the fire and while we have ballads like “Lose You to Love Me” that are clearly about Justin, we also have “Fun”, “Dance Again” and pretty much every other song with an upbeat, dance-type tempo that was slightly unexpected upon my first listen but much appreciated the further I got into the album.
She Wrote it With Her Friends
Julia Michaels (you know her from her song “Issues”) and Justin Tranter are some of Selena’s closest friends and writing partners. And let me just say, if my friends could write like them, I’d be on a private jet, sipping a mimosa right now lol. Anyways, Selena has partnered with them in recent years and it definitely shows in her music.
Selena is growing and glowing you guys and as a young woman, I admire her and all the growth she’s experiencing in this season of life. If you want to hear more about the album and the whole process of creating it, check out this interview Selena did with Zane Lowe for Apple Music.