Selena Gomez is Good For You

her vocals on this chorus are crazy, and the way she says 'skin tight' is insane. admittedly: something borrowed, something blue, but also -- something new. bc she actually has a voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TsVjvEkc4s

this song is phenomenal

^^

phenomenal is the word

oh look, she's gone all lana del rey

not enough explicit criticism of the male gaze for me tbh - while there's something despairing (and desperate) about the way she sings + the synth drone, it still seems all too besotted with phallocentricity of objectification

absolutely no idea how it is 'phenomenal' - although it is not bad - but perhaps i'm not viewing it through a selena gomez career arc lens

the music is ultimately not exciting enough to befit that word

i liked the wibbly bit in the middle

i have been informed that the song is, in fact, phenomenal. sorry.

informed by whom? socratic daimon?

you could call her that

:)

:)

listen to it on good headphones.

yeah i like it more the more i think about it - it is really tragic

the production

i heard this twice on the radio in the car today, and had no notion it was she…with this and "the heart wants what it wants," she's very much trying to corner the market for dysfunction tunes, huh? I haven't much fucked with Lana del ray…is she all about "you treat me like shit, but I love you" kinda thing?

i've only listened to Lana thru my bf, but her singing voice is p weak.

is the heart wants what it wants good? i need 2 listen

there's nobody on the radio who has less presence, who sounds less like they should be singing at any kind of professional level. this song is less horrifying than her others but still pretty bad.

Selena has a bunch of classic songs, but I admit they don't criticize phallocentricity

"Who Says" is the only one i ever thought was decent

i prefer her "i will survive" refix

why's everything "cool" of the past six years always all minor key and †dark† anyways

i like "come and get it" a lot, even though it's basically a rihanna song (as some dude pointed out, it was written for rihanna: http://www.thefader.com/2015/06/24/songs-written-for-rihanna-that-were-passed-on).

her voice on this is really quite a performance - it has the passion and commitment of a true singer, and her icy falsetto/higher register cuts like a knife.

i was confused about A$AP Rocky having a guest credit on this because he's not in the video and i thought he only produced it, but then i heard it on the radio the other day with a verse from him. man he's not much of a rapper at all, huh.

yeah i dunno, i haven't really formed an opinion. he's gotten some good girls tho.

this song is indeed good for me

still listen to 'love you like a love song' weekly
this song is p nice

surm otm itt

http://image.spreadshirtmedia.com/image-server/v1/designs/12547030,width=178,height=178/Golden-Dollar-Sign.png

Man this is lovely and a beautiful vocal performance imo

she sounds good, not much of a song though

the song (structure and melody) doesn't really go anywhere but I like her vocals which are heavily processed but still vibrant.
the rap break is pretty bad and pointless, though.

she has absolutely no presence on this and the song relies on this fact, it's like rachel stevens

she has more presence on this song than 85% of hot 100 songs i've heard in the past year

and her enunciation on "good" is presence enough for the whole track.

she always enunciates like that

idk i don't like this song

it's not even just her, it's very similar to what miley cyrus does with the verses of wrecking ball

i'm still surprised that a good friend of mine was able to get me into Wrecking Ball. but it's more for the chorus and not the verses

"Wrecking Ball" is an amazing song imo, but yeah i guess the chorus is the killer

definitely my fav Selena since "Love Song" - it's more convincing without the dead-eyed video imo

yeah, my fav since Love Song too

The more I listen to this, the more I like it (except the rap that still sucks and breaks the atmosphere and charm).
the "hmms" in the verses are great.
there's definitely something missing in the construction of the song to make it really great but it's very nice.

The video version's sparer and doesn't have the rap, I think it's prob better

oh really ? I have to check that then !

video is pretty cool. she is v v v pretty. "doin' my hair up real real nice" might be my favorite line

also that white t-shirt is Kate Moss/CK circa 1994 all over again.

OK, the video is nice and this is much better without the rap !
very exotic and sensual (which is a tour de force considering it's a very minimalist electronic track with processed vocals !).
It's a perfect hot summer evening track.
btw it made me think there's no big ubiquitous summer jam this year, is there ? (I mean "get lucky", "blurred lines" big level).

lovin you right now

i put in a good word for it on the summer jamz thread

the idea of a summer jam is primarily music industry horseshit fwiw

tbh i have considered that opinion carefully over the years and now steadfastly disagree. some songs just sound hotter, like summery. summer jams. summer jammy.

video is weird to me tbh. katherine's blurb over on TSJ which described it as like footage of when you're hungover and restless on the couch was otm

also just in terms of aesthetic the vibe i get from this is closer to shakira in ballad mode than LDR, especially when you consider "honeymoon"

not enough explicit criticism of the male gaze for me tbh

after listening to the video version, I'm not too sure if I prefer that even more minimalist instrumentation version or the single featuring A$AP one (not taking into consideration the fact that the rap ruins everything). Maybe the single's version without the rap would be the best. that said, the video version is pretty cool... hum... dilemma !

somebody else said Shakira to me but i don't really hear it. then again i don't really hear much Shakira in general (maybe i should work on that?)

mentioned this in my blurb but I hear jazmine sullivan's "mascara" and/or jojo's marvin's room cover

it's hard to trump jojo's marvin's room cover

if i ever wrote this or sang it like Selena i would die happy

this is not even 1/1000 as good as "mascara" come on

it's not a one-to-one comparison, just a similar feel and subject matter

this song is good but much prefer 'the heart wants what it wants', love sad-eyed selena

i will listen to it today.

I have no idea as to what she and whoever she worked with intended, but I think this is sad eyed Selena. "the heart…" seems to be "this relationship is fucked up, I'm miserable, but I can't help that this is what I want"—this was reinforced by the video, which includes an intro w/ tearful SG talking about the shitty things a paramour did to her, probly sposed to remind listeners of JB. But this is "I give up, I don't care that it's fucked up, I have no will anymore, go ahead and use me, I get off on being your toy." I thought she was singing "trust me I can take it," whereas what she actually sings is not much less submissive in context.

This is obv not a sentiment that, say, Jezebel would heartily endorse, but popular music does not and should not exist to reinforce correct notions of gender politics or any other kind, ones that anyone likely to read these words knows are healthy and would not wish the opposite on anyone they care about. I think the people who will respond to this song and might make it huge are not disaffected rock critics eager to foreswear Pitchfork, but are young women, girls (or boys/men) who hear and sympathize the numbness of the washed out chords and her hungover or narcotized delivery: maybe they've been where SG is evoking. It is like Jojo's adderall-ized performance mentioned above.

truly the ASAP verses compromise it…don't like it as much as other shit she's done ("Love song" is my fave) but it certainly made an impression on me immediately without me knowing it was her.

not enough explicit criticism of the male gaze for me tbh

lol

great post veronica. i do agree with you largely. but i also see less numbness. it is there for sure. but i also hear pure sex. and yes most of us have been there. wanting to look good for your boy is an old tradition. i hear that in this too. putting on your makeup, and doing up your hair. it's a girls' tradition, or a boy's tradition, and it doesn't have to be wrong, submissive, or numb. but i do agree that those inflections are present in the song. it is a fine line, but a beautiful one.

funnily when i just pulled up my Spotify to play this, the song that was cued up was "Numb" by Rihanna

no i think you're right, she's sad.

the production on the vocal "and syncopate my skin to how you're breathing" in the 2nd verse makes me realize that this is indeed the perfect song

z-100 is going all the fukk in on this tune…

this is shaping up to be one of those songs with strongly polarized reactions, where men tend to find it sexy and literally every woman I know who's written about it finds it sad

legit cannot stop listening to it

I like it a lot but it's superclearly sad

yea you're right. i have always had a thing for sad songs. MC writes a lot of em.

the saddest line is probably "so don't, so don't [ go ]"

i guess it's different for a gay guy to want to look good for a man than it is for a woman, but i don't consider it bad kind of sad.

Yeah it's all in the tone/delivery, like that's all she thinks she has to offer him/all he wants from her.

definitely a "feminist" talking point - and with such good production, definitely an invigorating viewpoint and song from the pop scene/Selena. i would wage a significant bet that her vocals, isolated, would be highly commendable.

the one thing that comes to my mind is that sadness can be sexy. i know you said the songs seems divided between the 2, katherine, at least in terms of reaction; but i think they are one.

*song

http://www.billboard.com/files/media/selena-gomez-revival-album-2015-billboard-650x650.jpg

(nsfw)

still love this song (the non rap/sparse arrangement version, of course !)
was it a hit ?

i don't know or care all i know is that it is one of the best of years past

thx for reminding me 2 listen to it 2day

oh and actually i heard it got to at least #7 on hot 100 America

it sounds like she's singing "goyim for you"

i look forward to collegiate a cappella groups covering this

this song would be boring if it weren't for the gross pandering to paedos lyrical content, ugh, sorry if you like it. It's just awful, maybe it's because I'm a 40 yr old woman idk.

ok i thought about it a little more, and maybe I should be more "sex positive" and think that if she's just playing at jailbait with daddy issues and she's actually an adult woman, then more power to her, and we understand it as "play" rather than read it literally. But the literal read, of "I am doing this teen jailbait schtick and singing about my daddy issues with a 6th grade vocabulary," sorry that shit grosses me out. There is too much of it in real life.

I don't get where the pedophilia comes in, she's 23

She looks like she's a teenager and her voice is very young sounding.

Ten years from now, we are going to look back at songs like "Good for You" and not only be amazed at how many outstanding pop songs with amazing productions were released during this era – but also how many were ruined (or nearly ruined) by terrible raps during the middle-eight.

sure ok but accusing someone of "jailbait with daddy issues" is loaded as fuck and almost certainly more loaded than the song

I'm not saying that Selena Gomez, the real person, is that, but the character that she is playing in the song comes across that way to me.

Can't a grown woman express affection for her father through song?

just wanna look freud for you

anyway I think this is a more pressing update than the "update" upthread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naKhF6G36rM

i don't even know which lyrics are specifically about daddy issues? i mean the way she sings it, it's not a healthy relationship and her bf has power over her, is maybe even controlling, but...that's why it's primarily a sad song, right?

(it's really grown on me even though it is lana cosplay; amusing that selena's idea of "doing lana" is to mumble and slur so that whatever the lyrics are come out mostly incomprehensible)

(is there a hq mp3 of the asap-free version? didn't realise the (boring, missed opportunity) video was a solo versh. would appreciate it if so bc this is the most egregiously breaking-the-spell rap guest since ty on mila j's "my main")

(selena's awkward affectations actually serve the song well bc the entire thing communicates that constricted awkwardness of having dressed up to the nines and being very uncomfortable with it, so that every move is stilted and careful bc otherwise the sham will be revealed)

last parenthesis sums up the songs ambiguity perfectly!

also is just very relatable

i don't even know which lyrics are specifically about daddy issues? i mean the way she sings it, it's not a healthy relationship and her bf has power over her, is maybe even controlling, but...that's why it's primarily a sad song, right?

― lex pretend, Thursday, September 10, 2015 10:22 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

because any expression of insecurity in a woman is almost always attributed to "daddy issues," and pop freud needs to be burned to the ground and its ashes shat on

copied the lyrics, and listened for verification, see below. see also wiki entry, link also below.

No fair reading of the song could possibly indicate daddy issues or pedo pandering. As i said a month ago above and as the esteemed Lex sez above, there can be little doubt that its intended to depict a fucked up relationship in which the protagonist has no agency but to appeal to her dominant partner. In no way can anyone seriously suggest that Selena gomez is saying "yes, girls of the world, be good little fuck puppets" or "my passive whispering reflects the proper, prone position women should have w/r/t you, men of the world." she's evoking shitty relationships that maybe she and certainly uncountable millions of individuals on Earth have had. It's a companion piece to "the heart wants what it wants"; in that tune, the protagonist has some shred of agency and awareness of how lousy it is, but now has surrendered in "good for you." how anyone could not conclude it's not unambiguously sad is beyond me: a five year old would hear the washed out minor chords and come to that conclusion.

the song is on z-100 in NYC all the live long day. I like it, but not as much as "Love you like a love song."

I'm on my 14 carats, I'm 14 carat
Doing it up like Midas, mhm
Now you say I got a touch, so good, so good
Make you never wanna leave, so don't, so don't

Gonna wear that dress you like, skin-tight , do my hair up real, real nice
And syncopate my skin to your heart beating

'Cause I just wanna look good for you, good for you, uh-huh
I just wanna look good for you, good for you, uh-huh
Let me show you how proud I am to be yours
Leave this dress a mess on the floor
And still look good for you, good for you, uh-huh

I'm on my marquise diamonds, I'm a marquise diamond
Could even make that Tiffany jealous, mhm
You say I give it to you hard, so bad, so bad
Make you never wanna leave, I won't, I won't

(pre-chorus and chorus repeat)

Trust me, I can take you there
Trust me, I can take you there
Trust me, I, trust me, I, trust me,, etc etc

(mood killing interlude followed by chorus and "trust me", then out)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_for_You_(song)

she's afraid he's going to leave her. which is sad :(

The newest single was written by Charli XCX and Selena is doing what most popstars do when they sing Sia songs, and imitating all of the writer's vocal tics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=naKhF6G36rM

to be fair it's not just sia and charli songs, it's all songs with demo tracks. sia and charli just maybe have more distinctive tics

When you have Sia or Charli singing on a demo it's kinda diff from it being like Randy Newman or someone, I guess

the chorus on this is almost indecipherable from charli tho lol

i like "good for you" -- it'st least catchier than anything lana has put out this year. lana would write better lyrics tho

i think "syncopate my skin to your heart beating" is a sharp line

yeah that is nice

agreed RE: Lana - i do love the lyrics though. that line is ace.

'syncopate' is an awfully big word for a sixth grader

still insist that the writer meant "synchronize"

my friend told me that he knows one of the guys who wrote this song the other night. i was excited :)

also i like the wiki entry and the depiction of Selena's involvement/take on the song

yea, the pedo/daddy issues reading of this song baffles me.
otm Veronica Moser and others.
I'm still stunned by how much her voice and singing carry with so little (words, melody).
the funny thing is at first her pronunciation of "good" seemed weird to me but now that I listen closely, it is very normal...

wow, that's a long wiki entry for such a recent and not that successful song !

while I agree with lex's/veronica moser's reading of the song, selena may disagree:

She also explained how she now tries to convey her feelings through her music. “Good For You” is about "the confidence of me turning into a young woman," she said.

http://www.ibtimes.com/selena-gomez-talks-about-her-new-song-good-you-why-tailor-swift-wants-her-get-cat-1978955

That's quoted out of context, and Selena doesn't have the last say abt song's theme, but seems relevant all the same

she wants to look good for us ;_;

yes, and she's comfortable with it too

oh it was actually quite successful. good for... her !

anyway, Selena doesn't seem to think of the song as depicting a fucked up relationship or constricted awkwardness:

There’s no love interest in the video, it’s all me. The reason why I wanted it to feel that way is because it’s about truly feeling good about yourself. I love the sensuality. It doesn’t try to hard. It’s not in everybody’s face. It’s like when you have that feeling with someone, when you just want to feel pretty and you want to feel good. Whatever it is, whether its in jeans and a t-shirt, or someone else’s shirt. Just something that makes you feel beautiful and sexy.

see, i love that! i love the honesty and innocence about it. it doesn't need to be *all* tragic. sometimes it's ok to want to feel pretty and good, even if it can be sad at the same time. v v easy to relate to.

the goid pronunciation was def the initial selling point of the song

"same old love" is pretty good

also, although I really dislike the rap break and prefer the sparse musical arrangements version, it's interesting that Rocky actually contributed to the production of the version of the track he's on.
I wonder if it's often the case or if most/all the rap breaks are simply added to the finished track.

My problem isn't that the rap break interrupts the flow – musically anyway. I think the key change there is great, actually, and the thing sounds fine.

It's that the lyrical imagery of her grinding on his "miniature John Hancock" is so nakedly crude it takes the listener right out of this trance she's put us in before.

Combined with the "ho ho watch me cleverly avoid swearing" flow, it's just another reminder of how cancerous these things really are right now.

regarding the "goïd", when you listen closely, it seems it's not due to her pronunciation but to the echo or something.
definitely one of the things that struck first !

there's another thing about the rap break it's the sounds she makes in the background... kinda creepy.
Like an old ghost or something !

YES. the only i truly hate about his verse is the john hancock line. otherwise i fully prefer the production on the callabo. it hits hard.

yeah it hits harder and sounds more like a hit but that's the reason why I prefer the more basic and naked version that leaves more room to her voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XFfWems2_A

<3 this

uh ohhhhhhhhhhh. what with this and the new Janet i think my friday night is MADE. can't wait

Pretty cool. It doesn't hit me instantly as hard as "good for you" but many hooks. The "hihihihiiiiiiihi" are fun !

still insist that the writer meant "synchronize"

― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Thursday, September 10, 2015 11:48 PM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

if your heartbeat is syncopated you should see a doctor

wow, that's a long wiki entry for such a recent and not that successful song !

― AlXTC from Paris, Friday, September 11, 2015 1:52 AM (3 weeks ago)

virtually all recent songs by pop artists with rabid fanbases (including random album tracks that i guess are "notable" b/c they were mentioned in two album reviews or something) have unbelievably long and overly detailed wiki entries

meanwhile ~90% of wiki entries for pre-wikipedia era songs are just "(song) is a song released by (artist) in (year). It reached #(position) on the charts. The End."

"Hands To Myself" better be a single soon.

i love this record so much

omg is there a full album? HANDS TO MYSELF what a title

https://www.yahoo.com/health/selena-gomez-reveals-she-has-lupusbut-what-is-134448687.html

eek

saw that last night, heavy shit

first track of new album sounds kinda like...drake (for me, this is not a bad thing)

I MEAN I COULD BUT WHY WOULD I WANT TO

have been contemplating a "this is what happens when your boyfriend's a werewolf" comment but bad taste obv

first track on this is great

oooooh "hands to myself"

i am rly excited to buy the Billboard

it's like my Saturday morning ritual

https://twitter.com/chartnews/status/652909248490418176

selena first week projections: 85-95k

halsey first week sales: 115k

lana del rey honeymoon first week sales: 116k

I've only listened to a few tracks and have no particular thoughts yet but I've noticed I really like her speaking voice.
I didn't know or cared much about her before "good for you" so I had never heard her talk.
She has a great low register voice when she speaks (which makes a big contrast with her looks).
I'm not sure she's a good singer but there are moments when her voice is great.

Heard part of the album while getting coffee this morning. Not bad.

"Me and the Rhythm" is good. "Same Old Love" is garbage.

wow title track is lovely, her voice sounds incredible

loving the album, same old love included. hearing 'the dreaming' synths and more police revivalism

me and the rhythm is a little taylor for me

i'm also getting some (forgive me, but) Gloria Estefan vibes like on body heat

Some nice tracks but I would have been much happier with only slow, intimate tracks like "good for you" instead of the big pop/rnb songs with big production and hooks. Also
I don't really like her generic diva voice.
For instance I find the second time she sings the word "revival" fantastic. More of that !

if anything, "me & the rhythm" reminds me most of CRJ's "warm blood"

"hands to myself" is really great

i mean i could but why would i want to <3

definitely an album to cherrypick from though

um can we please talk about "hands to myself"

yes

kinda crazy

http://i.imgur.com/VcGsQo7.jpg

def voting for "hands to myself" in the tracks poll

yeah i think i might too even though i've only just heard it yesterday via the EOY spotify playlist. it's really great! love her vocals on it.

i'm surprised that there isn't more love for "same old love"

that song sucks

"same old love" is great

alb is <3

i actually like "same old love", much better than "good for you"

down with all 3

my gf heard this on the car radio and she goes, "who's this? she seems... damaged..."

aww yeah the women are opinionated about it, understandably so, and sometimes empathetic, it seems

"hands to myself" reminds me of a robyn album track, in fact if robyn had released it i'm sure the music blog ppl would be freaking out

great radio single in any case

yeah. i heard same old love at my hair place the other day, also sounded v good on radio

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8lIrESwaqI4/hqdefault.jpg

Me & The Rhythm > Good For You > Same Old Love > Hands To Myself

...maybe

no

"hands to myself" is amazing and incidentally sounds amazing on the radio

especially since it is often bookended by garbage so it feels like you've been suddenly vacuumed into this pocket of goodness

^that truly is the secret of radio success

haha yeah it's a big grower for sure

Selena really is our new Britney, Justin drama and all

This new Selena track takes the "Psycho Killer" and makes something really enjoyable out of it. I didn't think Selena would be the coolest Pop Star around, but maybe she is?

"Psycho Killer" bassline... sigh.

Unimpressed ...too acoustic for my liking. Also, it just made me want to listen to "Psycho Killer". Maybe they should have sampled the guitar as well?

selena gomez was secretly the coolest popstar around back when she was doing "naturally" and "love you like a love song" and has generally regressed since then

i have mixed thoughts on this, it has a good song but there are some real lyrical duds in there, i felt secondhand embarrassment at the battle of troy line. not bad tho!

it is at least unique enough to stand out when compared to the typical output of the top 40 sphere at the moment

this is def the kinda song where a strong music video could get me to like it but i don't think major labels are particularly invested in creating those these days

the battle of troy line is still a step up from "metaphorical Gin and Juice"

in general it seems like the kind of song that only gets better on multiple listens. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a "Work" level hit, but I don't expect it to happen

yeah definitely

"work" wasn't instant for me either!

I love it. It's fresh.

perfect summer mornings track. it works for me.

yeah battle of troy line is lol but I really like the song, her delivery is great

this is great. it's so nice to hear a new pop song with this sort of light touch. a little space, a little simplicity! thank you!

I really like the song...and her performance too.#selenagomez #BadLiar #psychokiller

— DavidByrne.com (@DBtodomundo) May 18, 2017

yeah it's nice and will probably grow with more plays but I don't think it has a smash hit potential.
Somehow, it reminds me of Britney's "Piece of me".
and, yeah, her delivery is great.

sounds like... peaches. i love it.

the battle of troy line is still a step up from "metaphorical Gin and Juice"

― brontosaur, Thursday, May 18, 2017 1:42 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

pfft "metaphorical gin and juice" 4ever

yeah i like this

holy shit this is great

i hear a resemblance to this iconic pop classic in the verses
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oLVB5k3z_M

lol apt comparison!

I have never heard that Maria Mena song before. That's great.
*Wonders if ILX has talked about it here before*

Is Maria Mena's "You're The Only One" the new Worst Thing Evah?

Oh.

maria mena's newer stuff is also good

also this song rules, it's the best carly rae jepsen song carly rae jepsen isn't going to release anymore

am i evil for wanting to hear a big boshy remix? :)

i love this song

same

same

same

Love it as well. Not hearing how this sounds like CRJ at all tho.

Or do you mean something off her debut? I haven't heard that one.

less in sound than in lyrics

in sound it kinda makes me think of a deroboticized version of something bloodshy & avant would've done with britney

This came on the station my 11-year-old listens to which is otherwise 100% Hailee Steinfeld "Starving" + soundalikes and it really really really stood out (in a good way)

ugh i love that David Byrne tweet

he tweeted it on my birthday!

The Bad Liar video is so goofy.

i still have to see it but i got that sense. wait what is this new song she is teasing? Fetish?

oh it's out! lol

not surprisingly... i like it a lot <3

on first listen it sounds alright but a bit generic.

I went back to "good for you" which I hadn't heard in a while. still so... good (but too bad the video version isn't available on spotify).

i just did too last night! STILL that good

I still don't get that song at all or her generally but "Bad Liar" really is a jam

i have to tell you that her last spread in Vogue was gorgeous

simon h otm

the middle 8 (sorry) is GLORIOUS

when i first heard it i was liike did not even know what was happening

i love the na na na na na stutter nod to Byrne too

Disappointed that Fetish is no good. I'm very done with that pseudo-trap sound altogether.

a pop song titled "fetish" could have been so much more conceptually interesting. the chorus is terrible.

I'm just gonna listen to remixes of Baby Ford's "Fetish" instead, based on the responses here.

Wise.

I don't need her to remake Bad Liar a hundred times from here on out, but I liked that it stood out from what everybody else in her particular sphere is doing. Fetish is like the residue at the bottom of that sphere.

Video inspired by Beckett's 'Not I'? Actually, a young pop star version of Beckett on film would be awesome.

ok listen Fetish is not great but i definitely didn't want her to try and imitate Bad Liar.

i love 'Trust Nobody' so much

xp ha!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=199&v=STO4-8vkG0U

this is... intense.
still don't like that song much.

i have to tell you that i'm not upset that "it ain't me" is still playing all over the radio

New single out now.

I’m generally not into ballads but I like the vocal production on the chorus, it’s slightly weird and gives it a distinctive sound.

https://smarturl.it/LoseYouToLoveMe

Everything about this is magnificent.

Hum it's nice but it doesn't really take off.
And a second new single !

https://youtu.be/8u-_64S7plI

Cool video, song is trash.

Yeah, this is bad.

i like the song a lot! (but not the video)

The second one??

I like the midtempo track more than the ballad... Neither hold a candle to “Bad Liar”/“Fetish,” though

xpost - yeah, the second one! the first one did nothing for me (weirdly, given how much you liked it)

When the super layered chorus vocals really kick in during the last third of Lose You... I get dem goosebumps.

I'm digging "Look At Her Now" (both song and video).

always had a weak spot for selena gomez. love the ballad.

"look at her now" is decent but "lose you to love me" does nothing for me

^^^ this but the opposite of it

I actually like both for different reasons. They’re definitely not as good as Bad Liar / Fetish were.

Btw are all of these singles supposed to end in the same album? Or were they just released for streaming as standalone songs?

if one becomes a hit with staying power (seems likely for "lose you to love me" currently) an album will be announced. if not there won't be and they'll remain standalone singles. this is how it works now

tho occasionally even a smash hit single will lead to no album announcement and will end up being standalone (e.g. halsey "without me")

oh jk i guess halsey eventually announced an album w/ "without me" on it, but way way after the fact (+ after followup singles had already bombed and been downgraded to standalone)

I mean it makes sense specially in pop as in electronic music to just release a song when it’s finished, if you wait too long until a whole album is finished the trends you were trying to set and/or follow might have shifted. There’s not that many people that still buy physical albums or even play an album instead of standalone songs, specially with youtube and playlist culture.

Selena stans are swarming Lizzo on Twitter, b/c their singles are dueling on the iTunes US chart, and Lizzo tweeted a request for more dl’s to get her track to #1.

Also, it's easier for pop stars to bounce back from a bad single as opposed to a bad album cycle. Katy Perry has also just shifted to dropping random singles after the disaster that was Witness.

twitter standom is profoundly silly at best and toxic at worst. like really, dogpiling someone because of the itunes chart. in 2019? digital download sales volumes are way too low to mean much these days.

poor katy perry. it's like people stopped fucking with her music heavy as soon as she stopped having seemingly effortless success

Yeah, the numbers at issue here for each track are around 1,000 sales (in 24 hrs.)

Now, THIS one I like!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia1iuXbEaYQ

(The album is out today.)

F%^&, this is a good track

Try "Dance Again.

I'm not digging that one as much.....

"Crowded Room" (feat. 6LACK) is nice. Her voice is so thin -- I think the more minimalist tracks suit it best, somehow.

I think I'm allergic to her sonic preferences ("Bad Liar" excepted)

not feeling this but it was prob the wrong move to listen to it after the poppy record

like Ariana Grande, she's taken with brevity, to my relief.

I am pretty into this

I'm taken with the way she and her producers use bass.

omg i'm excited, i was just talking about her this AM

I'm taken with the way she and her producers use bass.

Me too

"Fun" is also a kinda cool track. I feel like she goes in a for a lot of Swift-isms...

Nothing else on here comes close to the opening track for me (sadly)!

That calypso-ish beat just kills me

new album is really good!

really into Crowded Room

bottom heavy album for sure! i'm into it!

not enough explicit criticism of the male gaze for me tbh - while there's something despairing (and desperate) about the way she sings + the synth drone, it still seems all too besotted with phallocentricity of objectification

It's Selena Gomez ffs, not Huggy Bear.

gimme more phallocentricity with a side of objectification

The Target version of this CD tacks on “Bad Liar,” “Fetish,” “Wolves,” and a few others. It’s tempting...

Love this on first listen.

it's really very solid, if a little quaint. still, it's her signature. it works!

Found myself in Target with some extra $$, so... I’ve been listening to the CD as I drive around today. After the fantastic opening track, it’s pretty mediocre (IMO) until around track 9 or 10 — where it hits a good, final stretch. She’s such a limited vocalist; the best tracks find a way to take advantage of what she offers (in addition to just being good songs).

The Target CD is worth buying for the bonus tracks (FYI, it’s $11.99 on Target.com; they’ll price-match in store).

Just want to back up Johnny Fever who very early on praised “Lose You To Love Me” which sounds so incredible to me while playing through this as a whole. You were an early adopter and it is truly amazing.

kind of a martina topley-bird feel to this, maybe? track more than vocal

i was just going to ask how people rate "lose you to love me" now, several months later. admittedly i never really warmed to it.

It does nothing for me, I’m surprised it performed so well. Clearly I don’t have my finger on the pulse, lol

i was just going to ask how people rate "lose you to love me" now, several months later. admittedly i never really warmed to it.

― dyl, Sunday, January 12, 2020 1:52 AM (thirty minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

still an extremely boring piano ballad propped up by an unconvincing fake narrative

Im kind of a sucker for this sort of a ballad. Anyway, didn't mean to start anything but sounds beautiful to me. Loving "Rare" and "Crowded Room" too.

Whoa - there’s a songwriter demo of “Rare” that sounds almost identical(?)

there usually are, the question is whether they ever become public

i like lose you to love me cuz i just went thru a breakup and i totally feel her sentiment

xp Does that mean the credited producers on the track also probably worked on the demo (for it to be so fully produced, with all the same sonic touches etc.)?

Wow! Just finishing up my first listen though this. Think there may have been a couple plodding pop-by-numbers kinda tracks in the middle, but the last few tracks are strong! Good record to start off the year with.

the last few tracks are strong! to the point where i start thinking i'm really getting into the album and then it's over lol

Yep! The singles are the weakest links imo

in today's country industry a large proportion of hits are written and produced entirely without the input of the artists that go on to record them... so it's quite common for demos submitted for consideration by artists/management/a&r to be essentially completed tracks w/ v high production values, all the bells 'n' whistles, etc, just w/o the artist's vocal. i remember reading an interview with a (non-artist) songwriter or producer about how that goes, and how the nearly-finished quality of such demos is almost considered necessary to stand out among all the other submissions.

i assume the situation is similar in pop as well, at least when it comes to pitching to artists who contribute little-to-nothing as songwriters (tho in some cases the recording artist will also end up getting credited as a songwriter even if the finished product doesn't differ at all from the demo besides the vocal)

xp

i was just going to ask how people rate "lose you to love me" now, several months later. admittedly i never really warmed to it.

― dyl, Sunday, January 12, 2020 1:52 AM (thirty minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I love it

i am also pro-"lose you to love me" so i don't completely agree with alfred

xxp Thanks, dyl (Gomez does indeed have a songwriting credit on the track).

The production work on "Rare" is so fantastic, I think it deserves a breakdown (probably by someone better than me, but here goes):

0:00 - a little bongo trill fades in - the first thing you hear - telegraphing rhythmic elements that will reappear later
0:01 - that (acoustic?) bassline; that distant, muffled beat... the foundations of the track; love them both
0:18 - more of the rhythm comes in (bongos), but it's still not fully fleshed out
0:34 - the chorus hits, along with some additional background tones, and a more booming (but still subtle) bassline. And yet, the track's STILL not yet in full bloom, until...
0:51 - boom! the tinny trap-lite / calypso beat is in full effect - it's so lovely
1:08 - after the chorus, everything drops out, leaving just the acoustic bassline again
1:21 - echoing "ah-ahhs" and other backing vocal embellishments add to the mood
2:15 - great bridge... the song feels organic, each section flowing naturally from the previous one
2:42 - these ominous little background drones sound like they may have been inspired by Taylor Swife"Call It What You Want"(?)
3:38 - final bongo trill. fin.

The (excellent) guitar solo in 'Cut You Off,' I realized, reminds me of something from Haim's first album.

Is it just me or does anyone else think "Crowded Room" owes more than a bit to Cassie's "Me & U". Not a criticism.

lately i've taken to listening to "lose you to love me" on repeat and crying

Is it just me or does anyone else think "Crowded Room" owes more than a bit to Cassie's "Me & U". Not a criticism.

― daavid, Friday, January 17, 2020 9:28 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

yes i realized this on second listen of crowded room for sure

no thread for Rare on its own? Late pass but the deluxe version is gonna be top ten for sure for me.

I love the album

things i can pass on the deluxe album: lose you to love me, crowded room, sweeter place
things I love: everything else.

changemymind.jpg

This is my distilled / must-hear version of the deluxe album:

Rare
Crowded Room
Vulnerable
Ring
Cut You Off
Kinda Crazy
Fun

The new Saved by the Bell series apparently has some background graffiti saying “Does Selena Gomez even have kidneys?” — so the Selenators have got RESPECT SELENA GOMEZ trending

Just danced to "Rare" and "Ice Cream" in Just Dance 2021... pretty great