Selena Gomez: Rare
Format: CD, Vinyl, Streaming, Digital Download, Cassette
Release Date: January 10th, 2020
Genre: Pop
Album Number: 6
Reviewer: KT
Intro- Rare is Selena’s best work to date. This album was a long album in the making but it was totally worth the wait. It is different for Selena. I will say at first, I didn’t know if I was going to like the album and it had to grow on me, but I am certain this album is showing us who Selena really is and that she is going to be here for a while. This album is proven to be a shift in showing how Selena is an artist evolving and how we will never see Selena do the same thing twice. I have to say this album is a rare one. I recognize that she is rare but amazing.
The Album- This is Selena’s 6th album overall but it is her 3rd solo album. Selena has come a long way from her first album in 2009. This album took over 5 years to full be done and she had been teasing her fans about the album for quite some time until she released the first single and announced the name of the album. So, when I heard it was coming out, I was so excited to listen to it and enjoy it. She had a lot of things happen to her from when her last record came out and it shows what she has been doing and how her life has been affected and put into music. The big things that happened to her is that she had to get a kidney from her best friend, and she ended her 8-year relationship with Justin Bieber and briefly dated The Weeknd. So, this album was her trying to tell her side of the story and make sure that she is just a normal human being. This album has 4 versions of the album. In my review, I will be talking about the deluxe which has every song that was on all versions. This album is an evolution of sorts, but it still has the signature Selena touch. But as a whole it definitely shows that she can show that she is a versatile artist and people will see that from her first album with her band and now being solo, you can change over a decade but still be relevant and make great music.
Songs
1. Boyfriend- This song is part of the deluxe of this album. It came out 3 months after the standard and target edition came out. The song is about wanting a boyfriend but not needing one. She states that in the song, and it is a catchy song. It isn’t her best song, but it is a good song. The video for the song is her on a hunt to find a boyfriend but all of her suitors are not good enough for her so she turns them into frogs with a secret potion and she takes the frogs hoping to find the one. This is one of the 3 that was released on the deluxe version.
2. Lose You To Love Me- This song was the first single released from the record. It is a ballad, but her voice carries throughout the song. It gives me chills when I hear the song till this day. It is about her getting through the fact that when Justin and Selena broke up, 2 months later he proposed to a model and his current wife. She was so stunned by that and she made this song from that emotion she had. The video is very simple. Black and white and her sitting in front of a mirror and talking about how that made her feel. It is a very powerful song and it got me through some stuff at the beginning of the year.
3. Rare- This is the 3rd single from the album. It is very up-tempo, and I love the message. The song is about her telling a guy saying that she knows she isn’t all that, but she is rare. I wish I had this song a few years ago when I was going through a breakup. The video for the song is very trippy and looks like an acid dream with Selena’s touch. It shows Selena in the forest being with one in nature and also in a pool and on an old timey bed from the 70’s. Plus the colors are amazing.
4. Souvenir- This song is about a relationship that is described about being infatuated with someone and them taking your breath away like a souvenir to keep. It has this old-time radio static with horns that are so catchy, and it sticks in your head. I love this song so much. I wish this song got a video. I think this is in the top of my favorite song by Selena. This song is to be rumored about her relationship with The Weeknd. It has details of when she was dating him. But Selena never confirmed it herself. But it is an up-tempo track. I love it so much. This is the 2nd song that was released with the deluxe edition.
5. Look At Her Now- This song is the second single from the album. It was released a day after Lose You To Love Me. It took everyone by surprise because in most album rollouts, you wait some time before you release the 2nd single. But Selena said Lose You To Love Me and this song are 2 sides of the same coin and it is the end of that chapter and the next song was to start the new era for her. This song is very up-tempo, and I can’t get enough of this song. She put her saying “mmhmm” throughout the chorus and it makes it so infectious, you want to keep listening to it. I love it so much. The video for this song is the opposite of LYTLM. It is bright and colorful, and she dances with background dancers. The song is about her telling a story about herself saying she doesn’t need anyone to love and she will love when she is ready. Great way to end that storyline.
6. She- This is the 3rd song from the deluxe edition. This is also a story about her life being in the entertainment business and how she made some choices that might not have been great, but she is learning. It is also catchy cause of the do’s and it is a vibey track. This song took a minute to get used to, but it is a good song. It is a very introspective song and singers should do songs like that to talk about who they are and what they have been through.
7. Crowded Room & 6lack- This song is about a couple that Selena had met, and they said, “when they are at a party, there can be a crowded room, but it is just me and you.” When she heard that, she had to write about that and how she was feeling the same feeling with someone at the time. It is a slower track. I am not that big of a fan of it but it is a good song to vibe to. I do like the rapper’s voice and how it compliments Selena’s voice.
8. Vulnerable- This song is about choosing to be vulnerable and being ok with that feeling. It is a funky track and it sounds like a futuristic vibe. Another song to vibe to and it is catchy. Selena describes this song as a part 2 to another track. I think the song is good but not amazing. It has a class to it, but it isn’t a banger. It is a midtempo song and it is just a song to drive around to and just listen.
9. Dance Again- This song is about reclaiming the urge to just dance and enjoy yourself. And have a good time and not care about all your inhibitions and just go out and dance. It us an up-tempo track, and I love this song. It is also very catchy. It starts out kind of slow and it makes you think it will certain type of song but then changes and go into this up-tempo, dance track and it is that song to get you moving and just wanting to dance. This song is the only promotional song for the record. But it does have a video of Selena dancing around in a dress and thigh boots and in a room just being herself.
10. Ring- This song has a sound of someone clinking their glass to make a beat of some sorts. It is about knowing that you can have guys wrapped around your finger like a ring and you know that you can do whatever you want with them. So, it is a tongue and cheek song, but it is just an ok song. It isn’t her best song, but it is also a vibe.
11. A Sweeter Place feat. Kid Cudi- This song sounds like a video game when you first hear the track. The sounds in the song are unique. This song is about wishing that there is a place to go and hide and be with that one person that makes you happy and the whole world doesn’t know about. I like this song a lot. It is catchy also like many of her songs, but it is very well produced, and I wish this song got a video. It would have been cool to see a visual for this track. But I love this song. It has deep meaning for me personally.
12. People You Know- This track is a more up-tempo song. I like how repetitive the song gets and it progresses and just makes you want to dance. Plus, her vocals on the song are amazing as usual. I remember when I first heard this song, it was very catchy, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. The song is about realizing that there are people in your life that could just not be in your life anymore. It is a song that I needed to hear, and I think a lot of people need to hear. I will always like the message and the beat.
13. Cut You Off- This song is an ok song. It is the only explicit song on the album. It isn’t that great of a song, but it is an ok song. I don’t mind listening to it. The song is about trying to get someone out of your life and basically using that metaphor while cutting your hair or doing it a different style. There is always this thing about when you go through a breakup, you cut your hair or dye your hair to get the past relationship out of your life. This is her version of that saying.
14. Let Me Get Me- This song has this sound throughout the song that Selena did with her voice to make it sound like one thing, but she is saying oooo or out. You never know which one she is saying unless you read the lyrics. I like the song a lot. I will never get tired of this song. This song is about telling people that she can handle herself if she ever gets down or upset. It is easy to keep saying that I am fine, but it is harder to say you need help. So, this is her being confident and saying I am needing nobody to deal with my own stress. Very catchy song also.
15. Kinda Crazy- This song is about realizing that the person is crazy and not the good kind as she says. This song is also a funky song, but it is a vibe also. It isn’t a bad song but not a great song. I don’t mind hearing the song when I listen to the album. It is one song that will definitely make you listen to it and say that song doesn’t sound like a Selena song but that is ok.
16. Fun- This song is about having fun. Whether that is with a guy or a friend or whoever. A lot of people like this song and it is up-tempo but not the kind of fun song that I would not listen to again. Selena likes this song a lot. She went into the studio and asked her co-writer to make a fun song and so they called it fun and then it was all up from there.
17. Feel Me- This song was made right after Revival was made. When she went on the tour for that record, she played this song live and it became a fan favorite even though, it hadn’t been released yet. This song was officially released a month and a half after Rare came out. It is on the bonus and deluxe editions of the album. It is a midtempo track and it is a very pretty song. The song is about hoping that your old lover will think about you and feel you even when you are not there. The video for this song is a live performance of the song on her Revival Tour and she looks gorgeous while singing it.
Target Exclusive
18. Bad Liar- This song was the first song that was going be on this record. This sing and 4 other tracks didn’t make the album but were released on the Target exclusive. These songs were released over the course of 2 and a half years. This song is groovy and funky. It samples the bassline from Psycho Killer by Talking Heads. It is very infectious, and I love this song’s progression from the beginning being very quiet and simple and then picking up by the end of the song. It is about being a bad liar when you are trying to tell the person you don’t like them when clearly you do. The video was so cool. It has a Spotify vertical video and an official video. In the official she is playing a high school girl in the 70’s who likes her gym teacher. The cool thing about this video is that she plays herself, the mother, the father/principal (who also has a crush on the gym teacher), and the gym teacher. It is just showing that she has a crush and trying not to let anyone know about it.
19. Fetish feat. Gucci Mane- This is the second song that was supposed to be on Rare. It is an alternative R&B song. It is very different for Selena, but I love the song. The song is about talking to someone who is realizing that Selena is their fetish. She likes giving that feeling to this other person and she wants everyone to know about it. The video was a weird but cool in a dark and sexual way. She is basically in a yellow dress throughout the video and in different settings, showing how she can be sexual. She bites a piece of soap, puts a eye curler on her tongue and presses down and bites a piece of glass with wine on it. It is very out there but I loved the direction she was headed. I always wondered how that album would have sounded. But a very good song and it has a special place in my heart.
20. It Ain’t Me Kygo & Selena Gomez- This song was the first official song that she released after the Revival era had ended. It was with a DJ named Kygo and it is a dancy song. It had to grow on me, but the chorus has echo’s that get stuck in my mind. The song was not intended for an album, but she put it on there cause she wanted to include most of her discography from 2017-2019 on the exclusive. The song is about telling the person you are not with anymore that it won’t be her to help you through the dark times. It is a progression track also. The video didn’t have the DJ or Selena. It was a narrative about this guy and girl where the guy gets hits by a car and she is by his side in the hospital, but she is listening to the song and imagining she is dancing around in a tunnel to forget about her feelings for him. It is a good song to hear at the club.
21. Back To You- This song was made for the 13 Reasons Why Season 2 soundtrack in 2018. It starts out with a guitar strumming along and then the beat kicks in after the chorus is sung. It is a very athematic song. I like how the song gets bigger and better as the song goes into the chorus and doesn’t stop there. Selena said she liked how the song went from acoustic to EDM and how they can strip that down and it can be one song but when the electronic beat and sounds come in, a totally different song but it is cool how they mesh well together. The video for this song was her with a bob haircut and bangs and she is trying to enjoy a party but sees a Justin Bieber look alike and they steal a car and go and take pictures and film in a field. Then she burns the car and he freaks out that she did it. So, she goes back to the party and she tries it again with the same guy. Basically, saying she will keep going back to the same guy no matter what happens between them. Great song and it always will be.
22. Wolves with Marshmello- This was the last song released in 2017. It was her first song where she went blonde and she did another collaboration in honor of her many collabs with other DJ’s. I love this song so much and I was so excited when it came out. It came out around Halloween which was perfect timing and fitting for the song’s title and nature. This song is about trying to find that special someone and hoping they would get to them as fast as they could. So, they would run through and run with wolves to get to that person. This was also just a collaboration that lined up perfectly. The video for this song was different than what I thought was going to be the video. It is basically a fashion shoot in a gym pool and shower and locker hallway. Very visually stunning and one of the videos that can be mistaken for a fashion ad, but it is still very well done. This is an EDM track with also that guitar feel that is half acoustic and half club. Very well-done song. This song also has a place in my heart.
Cover Art- There are 3 different cover arts for the album. The first one is all white with Selena with a rare t-shirt on and it just says the title on the right side of the picture. That version is on the standard and the bonus edition. The deluxe has Selena with her hair up and it says Selena Gomez Deluxe Album and she has Rare tattooed on her neck. For the Target exclusive, it is a collection of polaroid’s of her throughout 2015-2020.
Overall Rating- I would give this album a 4 out of 5. It was a great departure from her previous work, but it wasn’t her best album There were a lot of hit and misses but its ok not every album is going to be my favorite album. I do like this album, but her previous work is still my favorite. I have only had 8 months to enjoy Rare, but I am liking it a lot more. I can’t wait to see where she goes from here. She is in talks of making her next record and I am so ready for SG4. But I think this one is rare.
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