Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Pendulum - The Island (Madeon Remix) review

 
The Island is a song by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum that was released on September 19, 2010. It served as the third single for their third studio album Immersion.
 
The Island is a song that is spilt into two parts, which are "Dawn" and "Dusk".
 
Pendulum also held a remix competition to promote their single where they released a free pack of remix stems taken from the "Dawn" part of the song.
 
 
French music producer Madeon produced his own verison of "The Island" and posted it on SoundCloud and YouTube on October 13, 2010. He ultimately won the remix competition when he was just 16 years old.
 
Madeon describes his remix of the track on his YouTube channel as a "synth micro-cuts with chip arcs, a vocal morphing into a dubstep wobble and other weird stuff."
 
Pendulum sings on the first verse:
 

You arrive in the rising sun
The hidden passenger that I've been taking
Close your eyes, let's forget again
As you drag me down, I will take you in

 
Then they continues on the chorus by telling the story about how two young lovers overcame adversity with the lyrics:
 

When everything is said and done
So looking for answers if only one
Turn my back, the urge has gone
Left with no reason, we come undone

 
And throughout the whole song, you can hear the French producer working his magic by bringing that upbeat vibe to this track using aggressive drum beats and so much more.
 
 
I love this remix by Madeon. The dubstep wobble, the vocal morphing and everything in between is what makes this song sound out of this world.
 
 Whenever I listen to this song, it either makes me feel bubbly inside or like I want to get up out of my chair and start dancing all over the place. I am so thankful that my good friend sent me this hidden gem that I had no idea even existed. Until now.
 
Listen to Pendulum - The Island (Madeon Remix) on YouTube and SoundCloud now:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Halsey Manic album review



Manic is the third studio album by singer-songwriter Halsey that was released on January 17, 2020. It serves as a follow-up to 2017's Hopeless fountain kingdom. Originally, Manic was supposed to be an angry and rebellious album, but after writing the song "Nightmare", Halsey found herself wanting to make a very "calm and introspective" record instead.



Ashley
 
Ashley serves as the opening track for Manic. This is the first time that Halsey is showing us the real her without playing the role of any character.
 
The singer begins to take her fans on a different journey into a new era on the album singing:


Took my heart and sold it out to a vision that I wrote myself
And I don't wanna be somebody in America just fighting the hysteria
I only wanna die some days

On the chorus, Ashley refers to the day when she is no longer alive. And that the dust will be the only thing that her fans will remember by with the lyrics:


Someday, someday, when I burst into flames
I'll leave you the dust, my love

 
Before the song ends, you can hear an audio recording taken from the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as Kate Winslet speaks:


Too many guys think I'm a concept, or
I complete them, or I'm gonna make them alive
I'm just a fucked up girl who's lookin' for my own peace of mind
Don't assign me yours



clementine

 On "clementine", Halsey is building her own personality and also channeling her vulnerable side as well. Ironically, the song title was inspired by the name of Winslet's character from the same movie that the singer played an audio recording of on the previous track "Ashley".
 
She sings on the first verse:


I'd like to tell you that my sky's not blue, it's violent rain
And in my world, the people on the street don't know my name
In my world, I'm seven feet tall
And the boys always call, and the girls do too

 
Then, Halsey makes mention of her bipolar disorder, which is something that she has been very open about, on the chorus with the lyrics:


'Cause I don't need anyone
I don't need anyone
I just need everyone and then some
I don't need anyone
I don't need anyone
I just need everyone and then some




Graveyard
 
Graveyard talks about loving someone who is in a bad place. And loving them so much without realizing that you're going into that same dark road with them.
 
Halsey starts things off slow on the first verse singing:

It's crazy when
The thing you love the most is the detriment
Let that sink in

 
 
 Before the beat of the song changes into a very catchy chorus with the lyrics:
 

Oh, 'cause I keep diggin' myself down deeper
I won't stop 'til I get where you are
I keep running when both my feet hurt
I won't stop 'til I get where you are
Oh, when you go down all your darkest roads
I woulda followed all the way to the graveyard

 
 


You should be sad

You should be sad is a country inspired song that finds the singer throwing shade at her former lover. She sings:
 

No, you're not half the man you think that you are
And you can't fill the hole inside of you with money, drugs, and cars
I'm so glad I never ever had a baby with you

 
Halsey admits that she tried her best to help her ex-boyfriend. But in the end, she is also glad that she got out of that relationship on the chorus with the lyrics:
 

Oh, I feel so sorry, I feel so sad
I tried to help you, it just made you mad
And I had no warning about who you are
I'm just glad I made it out without breaking down
And then ran so f****** far
That you would never ever touch me again

 
 



Forever … (is a long time)

Forever ... (is a long time) showcases the journey of falling in love and then later sabotaging it with your own paranoia or insecurities.
 
The song begins with in a major key on the intro as Halsey sings:


I spent a long time watering a plant made out of plastic
And I cursed the ground for growing green
I spent a long time substituting honest with sarcastic
And I cursed my tongue for being mean

 
Before transitioning to minor where the singer paints a picture of what happens in her life once she starts getting in her head with the lyrics:


Would cower at this small brunette
To my surprise, not six feet high
Who'd reach and grab the moon if I
Should ask or just imply
That I wanted a bit more light
So I could look inside his eyes
And get the colors just right

Then the piano starts fading out a little bit towards the end while Halsey expresses her disbelief in love saying:


'Cause I could never hold a perfect thing and not demolish it
What am I thinking? What does this mean?
How could somebody ever love me?
Talk to your man, tell him he's got bad news comin'

 



Dominic's Interlude featuring Dominic Fike
 
 Dominic's Interlude serves as one of the three interludes on Halsey's third studio album. It features vocal from Los Angeles singer Dominic Fike.
 
The song is about brotherly love and represents the different relationships that Halsey has been in as Dom sings on the first verse:
 

Your eyes are drawn to the wine list (Wine, baby, baby)
The usual, the towers in your world are sinkin'
And if you're lookin' for signs then, you should know (Ooh)
There's power in the words you're thinkin'

He also interpolates the outro lyrics from the previous track "Forever ... (is a long time) on the chorus with:


Talk to your man
Tell him he got bad news comin' (Yeah)




I HATE EVERYBODY
 
I HATE EVERYBODY is the singer's first track to be stylized in all uppercase. The song is about Halsey being young and letting her second thoughts get the best of her.
 
She sings:
 

I'm my own biggest enemy
Yeah, all my empathy's a disaster
Feelin' somethin' like a scaly thing
Wrapped too tightly 'round my own master

 
Then Halsey talks about how could she fall in love with somebody who doesn't love her back on the chorus with the lyrics:
 

So I'll just hate everybody
Well, then why can't I go home without somebody?
And really, I could fall in love with anybody who don't want me
So I just keep sayin' I hate everybody

 
 
 

3am

3am comes right after the preceding song "I HATE EVERYBODY". The singer talks about how drinking has affected with her mental health while also calling all of her friends early in the morning just to feel loved.
 
She sings on the first verse:

Think I took it way too far
And I'm stumblin' drunk, getting in a car
My insecurities are hurtin' me
Someone please come and flirt with me

 
 Then, Halsey continues on the chorus about how she doesn't want to be alone after a long night out with the lyrics:

'Cause it's 3 AM
And I'm callin' everybody that I know
And here we go again
While I'm runnin' through the numbers in my phone
And yeah, I'll take fake moans and dial tones
Let 'em spill right down the microphone
I need it digital 'cause, baby, when it's physical
I end up alone

 
 Halsey then closes out the track with a voicemail from singer John Mayer before it goes into the next song "Without Me". He talks about the song's success saying:


Your, your best song is a song that's currently on the radio
How many people can say that?
That their best song is the one that's currently about to be a massive hit?
It's already a hit, it's just gonna get more massive
How many people can say it? Not very many
Congratulations!




Without Me

 On "Without Me", Halsey tackles on a breakup from a public relationship with her ex-boyfriend, possibly referring to G-Eazy, after she was cheated on in front of the entire world.
 
The singer begins to let it all of her feelings out on the pre-chorus with:
 

I said I'd catch you if you fall (Fall)
And if they laugh, then f*** 'em all (All)
And then I got you off your knees
Put you right back on your feet
Just so you could take advantage of me

 
On the heartbreaking chorus, Halsey sings:


Thinkin' you could live without me
Thinkin' you could live without me
Baby, I'm the one who put you up there
I don't know why (Yeah, I don't know why)

 


 
 
Finally // beautiful stranger
 
Finally // beautiful stranger is an acoustic love song that tells the story on how Halsey met her future boyfriend YUNGBLUD. The pair had split up in September 2019, three months before the song was released.
 
Halsey sings on the first verse:


Your eyes, so crisp, so green
Sour apple baby, but you taste so sweet
You got hips like Jagger and two left feet
And I wonder if you'd like to meet

 
Then later on the chorus, you can hear the singer falling in love with this handsome guy with the lyrics:
 

Beautiful stranger, here you are in my arms and I know
That beautiful strangers only come along to do me wrong
And I hope, beautiful stranger, here you are in my arms
But I think it's finally, finally, finally, finally, finally safe
For me to fall

 
 
 
 
Alanis' Interlude featuring Alanis Morissette
 
The singer taps Alanis Morissette for this bisexual anthem that talks about loving women and also representing sexual and professional empowerment.
 
On the chorus, the singers do a classic spin on John Mayer's 2002 hit song "Your Body Is A Wonderland" singing:


'Cause your p**** is a wonderland
And I could be a better man
It doesn't matter to me

 
Then, Halsey makes mention of hooking up with a female counselor when she was 16 years old at a summer camp with the lyrics:


And my girl, she always wore a skirt in the classroom
Eatin' my dessert in the bathroom
Can't get caught, so we stiller than a statue

 
With a little help from Alanis, Halsey is sick of all of the labels when it comes to her bisexuality on the post-chorus with:
 

'Cause he is she is her
And her and he are love
And I have never felt the difference
'Cause he is she is her
And her and he are love
Tirin' all these labels

 
 
 
 
killing boys
 
killing boys is about how a woman should be strong and independent after a breakup. The intro interpolates voices by Amanda Seyfried & Megan Fox from the 2009 horror film "Jennifer's Body" with them saying:


You're killing people
No, I'm killing boys
Boys are just placeholders, they come and they go
You're my best friend, and I wanna help you
But I won't let you kill again
That's a lose-lose

 Then, Halsey comes in on the first verse singing:
 

Told me pick my battles and be pickin' 'em wise
But I wanna pick 'em all and I don't wanna decide
No more, no more, anymore

 
The singer can be heard on the chorus making it very clear that she wants nothing to do with her ex. While also, seeking for revenge in return on him with the lyrics:

And I won't ever try again
And all I want in return is revenge
'Cause I don't need you anymore, woah
So where do you go?

 


SUGA's Interlude featuring Suga of BTS

This dreamy like track tells the story from both Halsey and Suga's point of view about falling in and out of love with music.

Halsey begins to open up the intro singing:
 

I've been trying all my life
To separate the time
In between the having it all
And giving it up, yeah

 
Then, Suga discusses the challenges of being a musician on the English translation lyrics rapping:
 

Ayy, this wandering, with only blueness inside my head
Self-loathing and pride live in my heart
I was full of dreams, then I grew and made all of it come true
Yet keeping dreams as dreams would be better
I thought, while living at the same time
May my leap not be a fall

 


 

More

More has been described as the singer's most personal song with her talking about the loss of her unborn child. 

Halsey sings:

Lyin' awake, and I stare at the door
I just can't take it no more
They told me it's useless, there's no hope in store

 
After confessing her trials and tribulations from having a miscarriage, the singer finds herself showing increased for her future child on the chorus with the lyrics:

I want you more
Somehow, I just want you more
I want you more
Somehow, I just want you more



Still Learning

On "Still Learning", the singer is having a hard time with loving herself despite achieving so much success with her music.

Halsey highlights her lack of self-esteem on the first verse singing:

I should be living the dream

But I'm livin' with a security team

And that ain't gonna change, no

I got a paranoia in me


Then, she continues to bare her vulnerable side on the chorus with the lyrics:

But I'm still learning to love myself
(To love my–, to love my–, to love my–)
I'm still learning to love myself





929

929 is the closing song on Manic. The title of the track takes its name from Halsey's birthday, which is September 29, 1994. 
 
She starts off the track with a spoken intro saying:
 

I really was born at 9:29 AM on 9/29
You think I'm lying, but I'm, I'm being dead serious
Okay, I'll prove it

Then, Halsey begins to talk about her humble beginnings with the lyrics:


Well, who am I? I'm almost 25
Can't remember half the time that I've been alive
'Cause half was in a cheap apartment
And half was on the Eastside

 
It appears that the singer could be taking another dig at her ex G-Eazy by referring to a collaboration that was supposed to be on the rapper's "B-Sides" EP singing:


They said don't meet your heroes, they're all f*****' weirdos
And God knows that they were right
Because nobody loves you, they just try to f*** you
Then put you on a feature on the B-Side

 
I have been a huge fan of Halsey's music since May 2019. And yet, when I listened to the whole Manic album from beginning to end, I saw the singer's different perspective on things as Ashley and not as Halsey.
 
The way that the New Jersey superstar took on confessional pop for her third studio album without holding anything back is absolutely breathtaking. She definitely didn't disappoint fans with Manic along with its many genres like hip-hop, country and alternative rock music.
 
Buy and stream Manic on Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, Google Play, Apple Music, Pandora and more:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Purchase the Target Exclusive version of Manic to get one voice memo and bonus song from Halsey:
 
 
 

Monday, January 27, 2020

Demi Lovato "Anyone" review

 
Demi Lovato is back with a brand new song titled "Anyone". The track was released as a single on January 26, 2020 through Hollywood and Island Records. The song will also be featured on Lovato's upcoming seventh studio album.
 
Demi first performed "Anyone" live on the 62nd Grammy Awards last night. You can watch the full emotional performance by the singer here:
 
 
 
 
Lovato wrote and recorded "Anyone" on July 20, 2018 in Montana, four days before she suffered a drug overdose.
 
The singer first revealed the title of the song during an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music's New Music Daily on January 24, 2020. You can watch the interview here:
 
 
 
Anyone is a piano ballad that talks about Demi's personal struggles and also wanting someone to be there through all of the tough times with her.
 
She sings on the first verse:


I tried to talk to my piano
I tried to talk to my guitar
Talk to my imagination
Confided into alcohol

 
Then, Demi mentions that nobody is listening to her cries for help on the pre-chorus with:
 

A hundred million stories
And a hundred million songs
I feel stupid when I sing
Nobody's listening to me
Nobody's listening

 
 
Lovato can be heard letting out all of her feelings on the chorus with the lyrics:
 

Anyone, please send me anyone
Lord, is there anyone?
I need someone, oh
Anyone, please send me anyone
Lord, is there anyone?
I need someone

 
 
I have to say that Anyone is Demi Lovato's most vulnerable song to date. In 2011, the singer released her comeback single "Skyscraper" to start off the new era for her third studio album Unbroken. That was almost nine years ago.
 
For Demi to be able to come back in the spotlight and to also share her story with her fans, it just absolutely amazing. I am declaring that 2020 will be the year of Demi Lovato. And I can't wait for her to release more music in the following months.
 
 
Buy and stream Anyone on Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, Google Play, Pandora, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal and Napster:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Halsey - Road To Manic (Episode 1) review



With only one day left until Halsey's third studio album Manic is out, I wanted to introduce you all to the singer's new web series called Road To Manic. The series is available on Halsey's official  YouTube channel with new episodes being added every Thursday.

The first episode was released on November 7, 2019. The video begins with an instrumental version of the singer's third single "clementine". Then, you can see Halsey talking about how excited she is to release Manic but she has some things to do first before her album drops.

In the next scene, we see the singer traveling to Stockholm, Sweden and rehearsing for her performance on Swedish Idol. She can also be seen giving some encouraging words to some contestants on the show as Halsey says to them:

"Don't be nervous. Just have fun. And just know that you're doing what you are supposed to be doing. Be confident in that fact."

After she is finished with Swedish Idol, Halsey flies to Seville, Spain for the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards to sing her hit song "Graveyard".

Before the video ends, Ashley starts talking about what her album will be.

"You heard my album called Manic. And you think that it's going to be like super sad and dark. And it's not. It's like really colorful. Like kinda of funny sometimes. It's scary because it's so much of me. So when people don't like it I feel like they don't like me."

I love that Halsey is doing a web series that not only documents her life around the world, but we also get to hear her talk more about the creative process with her album.

Watch the first episode of Road To Manic for yourself on YouTube now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF2zbKekGkg







 

Selena Gomez "Lose You To Love Me" Alternative Video review


Selena Gomez is getting real when it comes to heartbreak on the alternative video for her hit single "Lose You To Love Me". The singer released the alternative video on her official YouTube channel on January 13, 2020. It was shot on an iPhone Pro just the original black and white video minus the woozy effects.

We see Selena sitting down and playing the song on the piano as she sings:

You promised the world and I fell for it
I put you first and you adored it
Set fires to my forest
And you let it burn
Sang off-key in my chorus
'Cause it wasn't yours

Then, Gomez turns around in the chair and starts facing the camera before belting out the chorus:

I needed to hate you to love me, yeah
To love, love, yeah
To love, love, yeah
To love, yeah
I needed to lose you to love me

I really like the "Lose You To Love Me" alternative video by Selena. Just seeing her play the piano and then how she came out on top towards the end of the video with that mesmerizing voice was just absolutely amazing.

You can watch the official alternative video to "Lose You To Love Me" right here:

 
And don't forget to buy or stream Selena's comeback album Rare, which is available now on all streaming platforms and stores everywhere.



Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Hayley Kiyoko "She" review


She is a song by singer-songwriter Hayley Kiyoko that was released on January 14, 2020. It is the fifth and final single for Kiyoko's fourth extended play I'm Too Sensitive For This S**t. 

On "She", the singer tells the story of being a closeted teenager with big dreams of becoming a superstar. Hayley opens up on the first verse singing:

She acts like she's in seventh grade
But actually, she's twenty-gay
And she been
Tellin' people she don't date, that it ain't for her
She's been
So in love for a really long time and it ain't her first

Kiyoko is making it clear that she wants to be the girl who stands out on the chorus with the lyrics:

Don't wanna be dreamin', warm in bed
Don't wanna be old with one regret
Gotta be a diva, have respect
Be that girl you can't forget
If you try to make her less
She'll stand up and pound her chest


She by Hayley Kiyoko is such a good song. Every track that the singer has released so far leading up to her latest project "I'm Too Sensitive For This S**t" have been nothing hits from the very start.

Buy and stream I'm Too Sensitive For This S**t on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, Google Play and more:







Watch the official music video for She on YouTube:

 



Sunday, January 12, 2020

Kaskade vs. Tiesto, Swanky Tunes & Dyro - Room For Noise review

 
DJ and EDM producer Kaskade is probably best known for his remixes and mashups of some of your favorite songs like Lana Del Rey's Young & Beautiful, Alicia Keys' In Common, Britney Spears' Womanizer and so on.
 
I didn't know anything about Kaskade at first until a friend of mine sent me a link to his track called Room For Noise (Kaskade EDC Mashup) from SoundCloud.
 
Room For Noise contains a mashup of Skylar Grey's vocals from "Room For Happiness" and Tiesto & Swanky Tunes' "Make Some Noise (Dyro Remix)". It was released on January 30, 2014.
 
After the song's infectious opening, Skylar sings on the first verse with:
 

Sometimes I wish I never felt the influence of you
'Cause now I feel the disconnect, like an open wound
Where you once were, there is a space that runs as deep as hell
But every morning when I wake I tell myself

 
Grey continues on the chorus singing:

Don't be fooled by your emptiness,
There's so much more room for happiness
Don't be fooled by your emptiness,
There's so much more room for happiness
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Then, you can start to hear the beat drop throughout the whole track. I love Room For Noise (Kaskade EDC Mashup) along with the production for it, which is currently off the walls. So, I am really glad that I found this hidden gem thanks to my good friend.
 
Listen to Room For Noise by Kaskade on YouTube and SoundCloud now:
 
 
 
 

Friday, January 10, 2020

Selena Gomez Rare album review



 
Rare is the third studio album by singer Selena Gomez that was released on January 10, 2020, through Interscope Records. This is Gomez's first album in four years following 2015's Revival. She described this album as a diary from the past few years.



 
Rare
 
 Rare is the title track for the singer's album of the same name. The song is a self-empowerment anthem that talks about independence.
 
Selena begins on the first verse with:
 

Baby
You've been so distant from me lately
And lately
Don’t even wanna call you "baby"

 
Then, Gomez sing about loving herself instead of having to seek love from someone else on the chorus with the lyrics:
 

It feels like you don't care
Why don't you recognize I'm so rare?
Always there
You don't do the same for me, that's not fair
I don't have it all
I'm not claiming to
But I know that I’m special (So special), yeah

 
 
 
 
 
Dance Again
 
 On "Dance Again", Selena does not want to wait for happiness. She makes that very clear on the first verse singing:
 

Happiness
Ain't something you sit back and you wait for
Mmm, ah
Confidence
Is throwing your heart through every brick wall

 
And after everything that Gomez has been through in her life, she lets everyone knows on the chorus that it "feels good to dance again" with the lyrics:


Feels so, feels so, feels so good to dance again
Feels so, feels so, feels so good to dance again
With my emotions undressed, I'm going in with everything
To dance again

 
 
Look At Her Now
 
Look At Her Now is an upbeat song that finds the singer becoming a stronger person after a turbulent relationship, which could be a reference to her on and off again romance with Justin Bieber.
 
She sings on the first verse:


It was her first real lover
His too 'til he had another
Oh, God, when she found out
Trust levels went way down

 
Then, Gomez moves into a very catchy chorus on the track with the lyrics:
 

Mm-mm-mm, mm-mm-mm, mm-mm
Look at her now, watch her go
Mm-mm-mm, mm-mm-mm, mm-mm
Wow, look at her now

 
 
 
Lose You to Love Me
 
 Lose You to Love Me is a strong pop ballad that continues on with the theme of self-love for Rare. Selena bares it all on the first verse singing:


You promised the world and I fell for it
I put you first and you adored it
Set fires to my forest
And you let it burn
Sang off-key in my chorus
'Cause it wasn't yours

 
Gomez starts to get very emotional on the chorus of the song with the lyrics:
 

To love, love, yeah
To love, love, yeah
To love, yeah
I needed to lose you to love me, yeah

 
 
 
Ring
 
 Ring is a latin influenced song that talks about Gomez knowing her worth. She has her guy actually where she wants him on the pre-chorus with the lyrics:
 

Obviously, you know, I'm aware of that
I'm breakin' hearts like a heart attack
Got him right where the carats at

Before Gomez makes it known that she wants to keep her lover wrapped around her finger like he is a ring on the chorus with:
 

Wrapped 'round my finger like a ring, ring, ring
They just like puppets on a string, string, string
I put it down, they call me up
They doin' way too much
So I'll just let it ring, ring, ring (Oh-oh)

 
 
Vulnerable
 
Vulnerable is a song where someone is taking advantage of your feelings. In Selena's case, she is unsure of what her lover's intentions are if she opens herself up to them.
 
Selena opens up with the first four lines singing:
 

If I give you every piece of me, I know that you could drop it
Give you the chance, I know that you could take advantage once you got it
If I open up my heart to you, I know that you could lock it
Throw away the key, and keep it there forever in your pocket

 
On the pre-chorus, the singer comes in on a personal note with the lyrics:
 

If I show you all my demons, and we dive into the deep end
Would we crash and burn like every time before?
I would tell you all my secrets, wrap your arms around my weakness
If the only other option's letting go

 
Then, Gomez starting showing off her beautiful vocals on the chorus with:


I'll stay vulnerable, yeah
I'll stay vulnerable, yeah
I'll stay vulnerable

 
 
 
People You Know
 
On the seventh track titled "People You Know", Gomez is telling a story about someone that she loves is drifting away from her.
 
Selena talks about how much of her time was wasted on the pre-chorus with:
 

So many wasted (Wasted)
Nights with (Nights with) you (You)
I still can taste it (Taste it)
I hate it, wish I could take it back 'cause

 
The person that Gomez had loved now is just someone from her past as she sings:


We used to be close, but people can go
From people you know to people you don't
And what hurts the most is people can go

 
 
 
Let Me Get Me
 
On this up-tempo song, Gomez has finally found a sense of freedom from the thoughts that were weighing her down in her head.
 
Selena makes mention about her mental health issues with the lyrics:


Like a prayer surroundin' us, movin' effortlessly
Every word is relief
I'm in dance floor therapy, all my babies and me
But tonight, it's for free
No self-sabotage, no letting my thoughts run
Me and this spiral are done

Then, Gomez lets her listeners know that she is okay on the chorus singing:
 

Don't get me down, I won't let me get me (Ooh)
Don't get me down, I won't let me get me (Ooh)
I'm good right now, I won't let me get me
Take that tired heart and go and turn it inside-out

 
 
Crowded Room featuring 6LACK
 
Crowded Room is about falling head over heels for someone so much that when you're with them, it feels like no one else is in the room.
 
Selena sings on the first verse:
 

Baby, it's just me and you
Just us two
Even in a crowded room
Baby, it's just me and you, yeah

 
Then, 6LACK makes his appearance on the third verse singing:
 

It's just us two in the crowd, we feel alone
I turn every chair that you sit in into a throne
Not too many of 'em put it down like me
I say it humbly, but they don't wear the crown like me
It's all in your eyes, locked, loaded, we were rolling
You make the whole room feel slow-motion
You make me feel like I'm drowning in a potion

 
 
 
Kinda Crazy
 
Kinda Crazy is where you are dating someone and slowly but surely find out that they're "kinda crazy" once they start to show their true colors.
 
On the chorus, Selena sings:


I think you're kind of crazy
And not the good kind, baby
'Cause you're actin' super shady
You know it, you know it
Been dodgin' phone calls lately
But still textin' me, "Baby"
Yeah, I think you're kind of crazy

 
She also talks about being gas lit by her so called lover on the second verse with the lyrics:
 

And now you're treatin' me like I'm insane
You're insane

 
 
Fun
 
Fun is a pop song about seeing a guy who just isn't right for you but you do it because it's so much fun. Selena is making some references to her mental health again like she did in "Let Me Get Me" , but this time, she is doing it in a more flirty kind of way.
 
On the first verse, Gomez sings:


This is just what the doctor ordered (Yeah)
Put a gold star on my disorder
Yeah, we've talked around every corner
If I'm lookin' at you and me, we're on some kind of symmetry

 And then, she goes into the chorus with the lyrics:
 

Can't stop myself, it's true
I like the way you move, uh-huh
Oh, we got somethin' in this room
Can't make that up
You may not be the one, uh-huh
But you look like fun

 
 
Cut You Off
 
Cut You Off is the only explicit track on the album that talks about heartbreak and moving on from a  relationship while also feeling better about yourself. This song is also rumored to be about her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber as Gomez sings on the pre-chorus:
 

The truth is that I think I've had enough
Professionally messin' with my trust
How could I confuse that s*** for love?

 
Selena wants to let go of the thoughts of her former lover on the chorus with:
 

When I'm without you
I don't overthink it, I just carry on, get
You out my head now
I just cut you off

 
 
A Sweeter Place featuring Kid Cudi
 
A Sweeter Place serves as the closing song for Selena's third album. The singer talks about starting a new chapter in her life after going through so much turmoil.
 
Gomez begins singing about wanting to find a place to keep her worries away with the lyrics:
 

Is there a place where I can hide away?
Red lips, french kiss my worries all away
There must be a sweeter place
We can sugarcoat the taste
Sweeter place

 
Then, Kid Cudi exchanges his verse on the track rapping:
 

As I fantasize
So much to see, I'm in paradise, oh, I
Always seems I'm new inside
Deep, deep down in me, I go now, baby, born to fly, oh, I
Now see, how could it be?
We will find our way, we'll find the things we seek, ooh-ee

 

Rare is officially Selena's best album to date in my book. I love the different emotions that she channeled on each song from beginning to end. And the messages of self-acceptance, love and empowerment is a reminder that Gomez is a force to be reckon after coming out of a dark and stepping into the light. This girl absolutely slayed this album. It turns out that Rare was definitely worth the wait after all.
 
Buy and stream Rare on Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, Deezer, and more:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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