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Selena Gomez promised her fans to take better care of her mental and physical health on her 2015 album, Revival. In the more dance-y Rare we can see her promise being put into action—the solo album is full of a ruthless Gomez dancing out the poison that had been weighing down on her since the last album, giving off a load of Lizzo’s “I love me even if you don’t” energy.
A beautiful beginning
The singer had already released her sadder energy in the form of “Lose You to Love Me” before she dropped the rest of the album. This treacly ballad talks about her self-care routine post-heartbreak, her reconciliation with her own self, and the pain that she had to face, in the for of a guitar-driven and rather dance-y bop.
The track opens the album as Gomez celebrates her own uniqueness and sings about how she deserves a person who can recognize that as well. The song is delicate, and her signature delivery in a breathy tone provides it with just the right touch of vulnerability.
The song “Vulnerable” fittingly follows a similar theme, where Gomez promises her partner that she will bare her weaknesses, secrets, and inner demons as long as they can work through it together.
A stark contrast from her painful years
Gomez’s last few years before the release of this album has been both privately and publicly painful—from struggling with lupus and getting a kidney transplant, to staying in treatment centers for mental health and going through breakups, the young woman faced a lot to turn her experiences into a shockingly upbeat album.
She aims to “Dance Again” by throwing a party for her new self, who’s ready to accept love again. She concludes that the emotional baggage shouldn’t stop her from accepting her sensuality and love.
Album highlights
“Fun” and “Kinda Crazy” are the highlights of the album, where Gomez invites a small amount of trouble back into her life because she feels like she’s finally strong enough to handle it. The closer of the album, “A Sweeter Place” is an invitation to listeners to get a glimpse of her private life in the last few years, with lines like “living out of the scene” providing a melodic and hopeful moment after all the suffering.
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