Interscope Records
On March 21, Selena Gomez released her fourth studio album and first in almost five years. The album, “I Said I Love You First,” was made in collaboration with her fiancé, songwriter and producer Benny Blanco.
The album starts off with a narrated snippet of an interview in which Gomez explains her gratitude to Blanco and how she feels that he saved her. It sends the message that even when life is difficult, it just takes one thing to turn it all around. The message then leads into the song “Younger And Hotter Than Me,” where she sings about how Blanco could have had anyone but that he chose her, creating a nice transition from the narration to the first actual song and its themes to begin the album.
The third track of the album titled “Call Me When You Break Up” features Gracie Abrams, whose musical style matches up very well with that of Gomez’s. They both tend to write emotional songs about past loves with matching instrumentals. This track blended the two voices together to make emotionally charged and relatable lyrics.
If there is any song on the album that is a future hit, it’s “Bluest Flame.” The song gives off club-like vibes, creating a positive mood through the upbeat tune. Although it is not unusual for Gomez to write a hit catchy song, like she did with “Love You Like A Love Song” in 2011, a club song like “Bluest Flame” was something new for Gomez, and it worked as she was able to mix the storytelling of her lyrics with the upbeat track usually seen in club-like music.
The album also shares a very important message about self-positivity, which is introduced and represented very well in the interlude titled “Do You Wanna Be Perfect.” It starts out with an ad-like voice trying to pitch being perfect to the listener. The ad is then cut off by Gomez who makes a statement about how everyone is perfect by just being themselves and who they are. The words of wisdom come across very well as the creative essence of the interlude keeps the listener engaged and more likely to actually consume the message that is being sent.
For Valentine’s Day, Gomez and Blanco surprise-released the closing track on the album titled “Scared Of Loving You,” a very slow but intimate song in which Gomez sings about how comfortable she is around Blanco and how she doesn’t want to lose him. This ends the album in the perfect way to show how happy she is in life right now and how Blanco has helped her to find that happiness that she has been looking for.
Something that did not work on the album was that all the songs were a little short, averaging around two minutes with only 14 tracks in total, including the intro and interlude. Some of the interludes get in the way of the intimate vibes of the album. It is also very misleading having Blanco’s name on it because, although he did produce it, it was made to seem like he was actually on it vocally when in fact it was just Gomez.
One of the highlights of the album was the choice of collaborations, with each one bringing forth an aspect of Gomez’s persona to give each song a distinct feel. Abrams showed the emotional side of Gomez in “Call Me When You Break Up,” as well as “Ojos Tristes” with The Marías, which both included very emotional and intimate lyrics. Latin American artists J Balvin and Tainy helped to replicate the classic side of Gomez from the early 2010s in “I Can’t Get Enough,” with very similar sounding vocals and instrumentals from some of her early days.
The album did a good job of relaunching Gomez back into the world of music and will leave people wanting more sometime soon. It has been quite a long time since Gomez last released an album, and the emotional themes and collaborations within the album made the wait worthwhile.