In “Revelación”, Selena Gomez comes back to her Latin roots without losing her essence. Even in Spanish, the singer remains herself and continues to sing in her unique way. However, in various tracks of the EP, we can notice more of a shy and less bold way.
Even with the success that “Revelación” brought, breaking records in Spotify and predicted to appear on the Top 15 of Billboard 200, the singer has talked about potentially retiring once and for all from the music career. In an interview with VOGUE, Gomez said that she feels like a lot of people don’t take her seriously. With that, she must try another time with a new album. If the same feedback continues, she may start thinking about retiring from this side of her career, and focus more on acting and producing.
“I’ve had moments where I’ve been like, ‘What’s the point? Why do I keep doing this?’ ‘Lose You to Love Me’ I felt was the best song I’ve ever released, and for some people, it still wasn’t enough. I think there are a lot of people who enjoy my music, and for that, I’m so thankful, for that I keep going, but I think the next time I do an album it’ll be different,” said the singer during the interview.
With Mexican origins on her father’s side, Gomez always wanted to work with the Spanish language. In her time as a Disney actress, the singer flirted with the language on “Dices” and “Un Año Sin Lluvia”, versions in Spanish of “Who Says” and “A Year Without Rain” respectively, and on “Bidi Bidi Boom Boom“, a cover of a song released in 1994 by Selena Quintanilla.
Including “De Una Vez” and “Baila Conmigo”, her new EP, “Revelación”, was a bold bet of a new era for the singer. All seven tracks are – almost – entirely in Spanish, with danceable beats and a pinch from other eras of the singer. But the features are not impressive, since she seems to be reluctant in bringing bigger names, like Maluma. The repetitive melodies become generic and a little bit dull. The heavier tracks are those sung only by Gomez.
“The project is really an homage to my heritage,” she told the magazine.
Track by track:
The story begins with “De Una Vez”. The singer’s first single exposes her more independent and intimate side. Its music video, directed by Los Pérez, contains several references to her career and the Mexican culture. In the first seconds, we can see a heart being restored, since it’s a reference to Milagro, a symbol of Mexican culture, which is said to protect its users against love disappointments, its light is a metaphor for the cure. Another important detail is the big green couch on the room, which was also used in another one of her clips, “Good For You”.
The video also contains other references, like the flowers used in Gomez’ hair and dress that bring the idea of birth and renovation. Throughout the house, we can see some old albums of the singer spread around, and the mirror scene is a funny reference to the opening of “Wizards of Waverly Place”, the Disney show Selena starred in.
On the dancing premise with a great touch of reggaeton, “Baila Conmigo”, with Rauw Alejandro, is more similar to US hits, having a repetitive and a little cloying tune. We can also see this in the song “Dámelo To”, a partnership with Myke Towers, being the weakest track of the EP.
Two of the bigger tracks are “Vicio” and “Adiós”. Despite the shorter length, the songs are strong and charm the audience, making us want to press the replay button. The first, with a more seductive and intriguing tone, and the second more agitated and danceable. With that, the artist shows herself devoted and confident in the songs, giving everything she’s got.
To finish the EP we have “Selfish Love”, with DJ Snake. The song combines the two languages spoken by Gomez, Spanish and English. The track becomes more Americanized, without many Mexican traces, and completely a dance song. In 2018, they did another collaboration, “Taki Taki” – a worldwide hit song with over 1 billion plays on Spotify.
Despite some failures with the collaboration tracks and the little publicity of the EP, since with more marketing, it could have received more visibility and made the public more excited for the artist’s first big project in Spanish, this could be the moment for Selena Gomez to become a Latin icon, making her music a conduit for telling more of her history and thoughts.
Check the EP on Spotify here.
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The article above was translated by Isabela Novelli Maciel and edited by Laura Okida.
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