Swinging back onto the music scene after mainly promoting her acting career, Selena Gomez has released a brand new album. Versatile across genres and lyrics, I Said I Love You First brings out a depth in Gomez previously unseen. The album was produced and co-written by her fiance, Benny Blanco, likely the first of many collaborations between the artistic pair.
The eponymous first track on the record is both everything and nothing like a song. In the track, Gomez speaks to a crowd of her closest friends around her, professing her love for them and expressing her gratitude for the support she has received from them. While technically an interlude, the contents of the track carry all of the messages that can be seen in a song to friends: care and eternal gratefulness. This starting track immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album to come, establishing itself as an ode of love to those close to her.
A slow and melancholy ballad, “Younger and Hotter Than Me” reflects on unrequited love and the pain that tags along with it. Gomez sings of past pleasantries and the sudden disappearance of them in favor of an ingenuine, fresh someone to dote upon. One of the most vulnerable songs on the album, Gomez is able to describe the indescribable feeling of grief and frustration with amazing accuracy. While unbelievably intimate, it also lacks the extra depth it was so close to reaching.
Similar to the upbeat pop scene of 2025, “Call Me When You Break Up” provides comforting, yet humorously familiar insight on the realities of modern dating and the need to lend support to friends in need. Featuring mirroring vocals from Gracie Abrams, the track highlights the importance of friendships in the face of adversity, reminding listeners that friendship is the most enduring form of love. Many have criticized Abrams for her lacking vocals, and while Gomez does provide sufficient backup, it is not enough to truly save the song.
“Ojos Tristes,” which translates from Spanish to English as “sad eyes”, exudes a sensual and mellow vibe, translating the message to listeners no matter what language they speak. First sung in English, then continued for the rest of the song in Spanish, the theme of persistent love is continued here as Gomez sings of her love’s emotions changing for the better after their connection. María Zardoya, the lead singer of the Latin pop band The Marías, lent her vocals to this song, adding a slow and deeply emotional layer to the track. The song is a homage to Gomez’s family heritage and past, as her first language growing up was Spanish. Thoroughly tender, “Ojos Tristes” stands out as one of the only truly remarkable tracks.
The fifth track, “Don’t Wanna Cry,” follows the rest of the album with a similarly upbeat track with vulnerable lyricism. Containing a deeply rhythmic melody paired with well-placed synth, “Don’t Wanna Cry” stands out, despite largely following the path forged by previous songs on the album. Even though the instrumentals do not necessarily automatically evoke a heartbroken feeling, Gomez’s strong vocals do the brunt of the work, altering the vibe of the song to emphasize the emotion layered within the lyrics.
“Cowboy” is a deeply sensual and lightly explicit song, filled with double entendres, exposing a more adult nature of Gomez that has previously remained hidden. The heavy bass adds an adult tone that is otherwise not present in many of the other songs on the album. Further deviating from the rest of the songs, there is a spoken outro from rapper GloRilla heightening the sexuality of the song. While many might enjoy GloRilla’s feature, it adds a crass nature to the song that, in a way, slightly defiles the genuine sensuality present in Gomez’s previous lyrics.
An abrupt shift in mood, “Bluest Flame” drowns in itself. The lyrics are repetitive and fast-paced, symptoms of a typical techno beat. The lyrics are barely able to be heard over the synth and heavy bump of the instrumentals, and once they are heard, you almost wish they had remained hidden. After listening to an album full of sensitive and open-hearted songs, “Bluest Flame” fell short, and added nothing but a painful two and a half minutes to the record.
“How Does It Feel To Be Forgotten” presents itself as a slow and soft track, but in reality, sits as a subtle dig at her past relationships as she flaunts the happiness and passion within her current relationship. The majority of the song is dreamlike and fantastical, until the last fifteen seconds. Two lines of spoken Spanish at the end have seemingly their opposite effect since they take away from the airiness of the song and plant the lyrics too far into reality. It is overly obvious what Gomez intended the audience to take away from the song, and this does nothing but damage itself.
Perhaps the oddest and most out of place of all the tracks, the second interlude, “Do You Wanna Be Perfect” is a 37 second message of self-love. An automated product advertisement is played, promoting a beauty product, before Gomez interrupts the advertisement to tell her listeners, “Just be exactly who you are. There’s literally no one like you.” Where most of the album speaks of loving someone else, this is a short message to emphasize self-love above all. Though a bit of a strange concept, it is wonderfully executed and translates well.
Most reminiscent of Gomez’s music of the last decade, “I Can’t Get Enough” is a fusion of Latin pop and EDM. Similar to “Ojos Tristes”, “I Can’t Get Enough” is sung in both English and Spanish. The backing beat is particularly unique, created from Gomez’s own humming rather than an instrument. J Balvin and Gomez’s vocals seamlessly mix together and contrast each other beautifully. While the techno beat may not be for everyone, and the lyrics are slightly repetitive, it is certainly a song of note.
The final song on the album, “Scared of Loving You” is the softest and slowest song on the album. Calm and acoustic, it shines as the sweetest track. Gomez sings of her fear of losing her partner as they embrace the human and imperfect sides of each other. Amazingly closing out the album, this song proves that even the shortest and quietest of tracks can still be the best.
I Said I Love You First might not be an album that redefines pop music or becomes a cultural phenomenon, but it could be an excellent addition to your music library if you’re looking for fun and unique tunes to carry you through a heavy week. I Said I Love You First falls short of what we know Gomez is capable of: the record is enjoyable, but lacks the depth it seeks to contain. The majority of the songs insist upon themselves, and as a result, suffer for it.
