Selena Gomez has had a rough past few months. She’s been subject to internet bullying about her state of mind, her weight and supposed substance abuse issues, and this week she revealed the difficult news that she stepped out of the spotlight to receive chemotherapy treatments for Lupus.
It’s no surprise that the release of her new album, her first in two years, is under intense scrutiny. Revival has been much-anticipated by her fans and by the industry who loves to analyze her every move.
From the album title to lyrics like “What I’ve learned is so vital/ More than just survival/ This is my revival” each song makes a statement about everything going on in her life. Sometimes that statement is that she’s back and better than ever while others say something along the lines of she hates Justin Bieber. Some standouts from the album include:
“Revival”: The song that has given the album its name. It starts off with a spoken intro, which seems to be more and more popular these days. In this song, Gomez sings about how she is tired of being held down by all the negativity around her and has decided to let it go. “Chains around me are finally breaking” shows that now that her health issues are out in the open and she is finally past most of the Bieber drama. She now feels free to get back to doing what she loves and making music. This song will pick you up, dust you off and get you back on your feet.
“Same Old Love”: Anyone who’s had an ex try to get them back can relate to this song. The same old thing gets old pretty quickly. It’s safe to assume that this song is about Gomez’s on-again off-again relationship with Bieber; their relationship has been a rollercoaster for years now and no one knew when she would finally walk away. With lyrics like, “I’m so sick of that same old love ….., it tears me up I’m so sick of that same old love, my body’s had enough,” we can definitely tell that she’s over it.
“Me and the Rhythm”: This song is another attempt subtweet the Biebs. Its got a girl power feel as Gomez sings, “Yeah all I need is the rhythm, me and the rhythm.” She comes back to the theme of breaking out of everything that has been holding her down with lyrics like, “Feeling like I’m truly free.” The beat of this song makes me want to dance with the rhythm.
Gomez is definitely saying something with her new album, and I think it’s, “I’m back.”