Rare is the third solo studio album by the pop star, Selena Gomez. Almost five years after the release of Gomez’s second album, Revival, her new album, released on January 10, 2020, tops the charts at #1. Since her last album release in 2015, Gomez’s voice and meaning have grown tremendously. In this new album, the singer explores a new confidence and understanding about who she is. After experiencing a number of both mental and physical complications, Selena Gomez isn’t afraid to express her raw feelings in these 13 tracks. This album makes it clear that the pop star is only going to go up from here.

This new era of music from Gomez is about growth and acceptance, and being the true individual she is. Despite the media being at her door about her past relationships and health struggles, her new album paints her as a strong, satisfied individual. Selena Gomez stated on Jimmy Fallon that at the beginning of writing this new album, she knew it would be titled Rare. “The word is so special and it means a lot…” Gomez’s interpretation of the word is that everyone is meant to be their own individual self. “…this word is eliminating that because you weren’t meant to look like everyone else. You’re meant to be who you are and that’s unique and that’s rare.”

The album is filled with uplifting sounds and lyrics, with the occasional ballad here and there. The singer released the ballad “Lose You to Love Me” in late October of last year, which introduced her new sound to fans everywhere. The song was written to be a self-anthem about exploring individualism and lost love. It quickly became Selena Gomez’s first song on Billboard No. 1. Not even a full 24 hours later, Gomez released the song “Look At Her Now”. This song, compared to “Lose You to Love Me”, is very upbeat and a song you can dance to. The song could be looked at as a self-healing anthem, where the singer is thankful for the recent growth that she’s experienced.

The first track on the Rare album, funny enough is titled “Rare”. The song introduces the albums theme; independence and self-love. “Rare” is a funky, sassy, song that is definitely different from Selena’s past tracks. Despite being named after the album, “Rare” is a great song to introduce her new album, and easily in my top three from the album. The lyrics within this song makes it clear that Gomez has moved on from her past and is ready for the road ahead. “I don’t have it all / I’m not claiming to / But I know that I’m special / And I’ll bet there’s somebody else out there”. The tracklist includes songs that could be classified as “funky”. The funky tunes are “Kinda Crazy” and “Fun”. Like past tracks from Gomez, some songs on this album are dance-like, upbeat and have tricky melodies, for example, “Dance Again” and “Let Me Get Me”.

“Vulnerable” was confirmed by the artist herself that it was one of her favorite songs from the album. In this song, she expresses her emotions of accepting and being okay with the past. All of this is clear within the lyrics; “I would tell you all my secrets / wrap your arms around my weakness / if the only other option’s letting go / I’ll stay vulnerable”. The song, “People You Know” is a personal favorite of mine, simply because of the catchy tune and lyrics. The lyrics in this song are very meaningful, and it holds lines that everyone can relate to. “We used to be close / But people can go / From people you know / To people you don’t”. Selena Gomez shares the stage with two separate artists on two different songs on this album. One song with 6BLACK, which is titled “Crowded Room”, which shows off Gomez’s falsetto voice that she’s been working to perfect over the years. She does a great job with her range in this song. The other artist she worked with is Kid Cudi, on the track “A Sweeter Place”. This song is the other song in my top three, because of the catchy lyrics and the best that you catch yourself tapping your foot to.

Overall, I am very happy with this album that Selena Gomez put five years of hard work into. After experimenting with new sounds, thoughts, and ideas, I truly believe Gomez has found her sound, and she truly rocks it. If you’re not a fan, you should be. Over the years, Selena Gomez has continued to surprise her fans with her amazing work, and she certainly didn’t let them down with this album. I recommend this album to everyone who caught themselves singing along to Gomez’s song, “Love You Like A Love Song” back in 2011, as well as anyone searching for new sounds and meaningful lyrics.