You came because Selena Gomez was in the title of this article.
You’ll stay because Selena Gomez is in the body of this article.
Imagine having that status, that power, that influence. Imagine what you could do with it – how much harm you could cause, how much good you could evoke.
Selena Gomez has used her fame to do nothing but promote self-empowerment to women, serve us incredible music and entertainment, encourage transparency with mental health and address the realities of being a human being.
If you haven’t yet heard the news, Gomez has just released a deluxe version of her third album titled ‘Rare’. Now, this is something different. Selena has never released such a divinely cohesive album quite like this. It’s mature, cool and saucy. It reflects a woman that’s completely over being caught up in old love, and one that’s ready to gain self. Not that I’ll surprise you with another act of kindness from Selena, but, for every album purchase, Selena is donating $1 to the Plus 1 Covid Relief Fund. Amazing.
While many artists flaunt the rich and lavish celeb lifestyle, Gomez has never shied away from the truth and downfalls of living a not-so-ordinary life. She’s used interviews and articles to shed light on the human experiences she’s been through whilst being under the spotlight. Amidst the good things, we’ve heard about her unhealthy relationships, mental abuse, autoimmune disease, lupus, the kidney transplant, depression, anxiety and earlier this week whilst chatting Miley Cyrus (as you do), Gomez revealed her bipolar diagnosis has affected her and the impact it’s had on her career. I think it’s safe to say that seeing such a well-respected celeb such as Selena discuss her battles with mental health brings that fame-normal barrier down a good few touches. The transparency allows us to perhaps see some of ourselves in the star and build a respectful and loyal connection with her as an artist.
Selena uses some of these experiences for her new album, Rare is an album that I can imagine is going to be listened to over and over by many fans who just may need to hear the words. This is Selena understanding all she’s been through and looking back with gratefulness rather than hatred and regret. It’s using her pain to move forward; it’s just letting go and dancing to her own shockingly beautiful beat. What a beautiful thing here we have here in our hands, from one of the greatest, most real pop-artists of all time. This is Selena back on her feet! And it has millions downright excited for the future of her music.
The standard version of Rare came out 20 January 2020 and included ‘Lose You To Love Me’ which struck her first Billboard #1 on the charts. This just-released ‘deluxe’ version includes three completely new tracks ‘Souvenir’, ‘She’ and my personal favourite ‘Boyfriend’ in which I’m about to watch the music video:
Get a load of my live commentary:
God she’s beautiful. “I want a boyfriend” – probably a statement repeated by many during this period of isolation. It’s ridiculously bouncy, I’m sure we’ll see it appear on TikTok in the next coming weeks – you heard it here first. Where’s she going? Look suspicious. Okay damn, she has a magic potion. Wait is this Wizards of Waverly place footage? She’s out with a man, no – men. Plot twist: the potion turns you into a frog. What’s with the frogs? I’m confused, I thought she wanted a boyfriend. Her voice is of the angels, she does an incredible whisper-type melody that shudders down the spine. Tune. When this video finishes, I’m sending this to my friend Jess. I get it, the frogs are potential boyfriends that didn’t quite make the cut. She’s released them back into the wild, she’s empowered, she’s amazing, she’s Selena.
There’s no music video for rumoured The Weeknd inspired ‘Souvenir’ nor young-Selena-story time-pop-song ‘She’ so I’ll let you indulge in your own live commentary listening to these singles. They are the perfect icing to one powerful album.
