Selena Gomez “Rare”
Unlike many of her previous albums, Selena Gomez’s “Rare” embraces independence and self-confidence rather than heartbreak and lost love. Many of her songs are upbeat and have a faster rhythm, while “Lose You To Love Me” breaks that pattern and follows in the steps of her older songs as a heartbreak ballad. Her song “Crowded Room” was one of two songs where she collaborated with other artists, this one being with 6LACK. This was another one of her slower songs where she explored her full vocal range, bringing out beautiful high notes and impressing us with her low ones. This is another typical love song, and while the meaning isn’t very deep, it is still beautiful.
“Rare” came out to be an interesting upbeat song with a faster tempo and strong energy. This song embraced her individuality and confidence, radiating empowerment. “Let Me Get Me” has a similar tone, and is even more fast-paced, giving it more energy. While it is very repetitive and isn’t the most interesting song of her album, it boasts a similar meaning to “Rare,” and is able to fill the listener with confidence. Like “Let Me Get Me”, “People You Know” was also repetitive, and the most disappointing song from the album due to its repetitiveness and how it quickly lost the interest of listeners. All in all, Selena Gomez’s newfound confidence creates some interesting and powerful songs, however, the album in its entirety didn’t blow me away.
Eminem “Music To Be Murdered By”
“Music To Be Murdered By” is Eminem’s 11th album, and was not a disappointment. Many of his songs displayed deep, relevant messages, but his most well-known song from this album is “Godzilla” featuring Juice WRLD, where he broke the Guinness world record for the fastest rap. His speed is impressive, and thus it’s nearly impossible to make out the words.
His other songs in the album hold deep meanings that are relevant in today’s world. “Darkness” reflects on the Las Vegas shooting, from the shooter’s perspective. It’s political and deep and gets the listener thinking about America’s current political and social climate. Similarly, the song “Stepdad” follows the dark and deep pattern of his songs, and tells the story of an abusive relationship through the stepson’s lens. This is likely his angriest song in the album, and brings out passion, love, and hate all at once. More personally, “Never Love Again” follows Eminem’s love/hate relationship and struggles with drugs by likening his addiction to a romantic relationship to portray this metaphorically.
By creating deep meanings behind his songs and addressing issues rarely talked about, Eminem successfully creates a powerful and personal album that lovers of all genres will enjoy.