Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco - I Said I Love You First (Album Review)
Monday, 31 March 2025
Written by Issy Herring
Photo: Petra Collins
Five years have passed since ‘Rare’ and Selena Gomez has opted for a change of pace with ‘I Said I Love You First’, steering things in an electrifying direction in collaboration with her producer fiancé Benny Blanco. While her most recent album primarily revolved around themes of self-empowerment and discovery, here we find Gomez in a much more centred place, having found a healthy love again.
In what is a far cry from the EDM and electro-pop base of Gomez’s early work, ‘I Said I Love You First’ is more experimental, leaning heavily into hyperpop and Latin pop. The highlight is I Can’t Get Enough with J Balvin and Tainy, where Gomez vocalises the thrills of being in the honeymoon phase over an infectious moombahton-infused beat.
Call Me When You Break Up, meanwhile, is an infectious synth-pop track featuring Gracie Abrams. Detailing Gomez’s support for a friend whose relationship isn’t set to last, it is a punchy number that is extraordinarily relatable.
So too is the gut-wrenching ballad How Does It Feel To Be Forgotten, where Gomez confidently belts her final au revoirs to toxic ex-partners.
The Marías collaboration Ojos Tristes offers something distinct, with a sultry flavour which is hard to ignore, and Do You Wanna Be Perfect is a fantastic spoken interlude in which Gomez expresses the rising societal pressure felt among young women to look perfect.
During Bluest Flame, though, where the wheels threaten to fall off for a brief second. Boasting pop powerhouse Charli XCX among its team of writers, its brash approach should signal a certified banger, but instead it is disjointed and something of a stylistic sore thumb.
‘I Said I Loved You First’ is a celebration of healing and moving on. It is Gomez’s most exciting work in some time, arriving packed to the brim with catchy hooks and instantly accessible lyrical themes that are sure to satisfy fans old and new.
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