Selena Gomez Returns In Rare Form On Her First New Album In Four Years: Listen

Rare, it turns out, is an accurate title for a Selena Gomez album. The pop star hadn't released a studio project since 2015's Revival, although that dry spell finally ended on Friday (January 9) with Rare's hotly anticipated arrival. Look at her right now, indeed.


Rare is an album fueled by brave, unflinching vulnerability, which you can probably tell from its two lead singles — the melodramatic ballad "Lose You To Love Me" became Gomez's first No. 1 hit, and was followed in quick succession by "Look At Her Now," which specifics her post-heartbreak bounce-back. Gomez keeps that celebratory energy going on "Dance Again," on which she proclaims, "All the drama's in remission / I don't need permission to dance again."


Those themes of self-acceptance and post-trauma liberation bubble up again on "Let Me Get Me" ("Me and the spiral are done") and the title track, on which she waves goodbye to an ex who didn't realize how special she was ("I'm not collecting enough from you / Didn't you know I’m hard to find?"). Similarly as biting are "Cut You Off," on which she finally cleans her slate of a no-good guy, and "Kinda Crazy," which finds her putting a "shady" boy in his place. Nevertheless Rare is just as filled with flirtiness as it is with fragility — Sel gets frisky on the Julia Michaels co-wrote "Fun," the Latin-infused "Ring," and the 6lack-featuring "Crowded Room," which showcases her fluttering falsetto.


Yep, Selena is back and she's in gloriously rare form. Stream the new album in its entirety below to dance, cry, and "dance again."