Revival (Selena Gomez album)

Background

Speculation that Gomez would be releasing a compilation album to complete her recording obligations with her longtime label Hollywood Records first surfaced in July 2014. Later reports published in September suggested that she had secured a new recording contract with Interscope chairman John Janick. At that time, Gomez had already sold around 2.8 million albums and 18.1 million singles in the United States, including three studio albums with her band Selena Gomez & the Scene. Her compilation album For You and its lead single "The Heart Wants What It Wants" were released as her final projects with Hollywood Records in November, while Gomez officially announced her change in labels the following month. After promoting the song during the 2014 American Music Awards, Gomez revealed she was already recording a new studio album, saying: "I have been writing and recording — now. I just started." While being asked to reveal who she was working with, she claimed, "I don’t wanna say just yet. You’ll see it. It’ll be all over Instagram soon." She also cited "The Heart Wants What It Wants" as a reference point, stating, "It’s exciting for me to start off with something like [it]. And then start leading into writing about all the other things that are going on in my life and have gone on in the past year or so. Even if it’s things that people may not necessarily know about. So I’m excited to kind of put more of my heart and soul into the next chapter of music."

Development

Gomez first hinted at a collaboration with Australian singer Sia Furler by a picture posted to Instagram in November 2014; Furler later stated that she had composed some material for Gomez. In December, Gomez commented that she had been recording new music for about four months, and suggested a possible partnership with producer and disc jockey Zedd, as well as posting pictures of herself recording songs from the album with producers Dreamlab and Ruffian. In the same month, production team Stargate were announced to be working with her again, after producing "Come & Get It" (2013). She initially expected that the record would contain 15 "extremely exciting" songs. In January 2015, production duo Rock Mafia announced they were working with Gomez on the album. Swedish songwriter and record producer Max Martin and British singer and songwriter Charli XCX also collaborated on the album, however both didn't work physically with the singer. Midway through the album's recording process, Gomez went on a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with her crew to find inspiration, she said: "Hit-Boy and a few [members] of his producing team, Rock Mafia, and [songwriters] Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels. It was all of us in one house for five or six days. We would go out, listen to live music, and go back and create in this studio – in a closet, basically. We did four songs there. Only two ended up making the record ['Revival' and 'Body Heat'], but that trip was so crucial. I was just figuring out what I wanted to say."

Composition

Musically, Revival is primarily a dance-pop and electropop album with R&B vibes, which has been also described as "a heady mix of electronic dance music pop". It has a "warm, tropical beach-pop sound", and as noted by AllMusic's Tim Sendra, "[it] veers away from the bubblegum nature of her early work or the genre-hopping aspects of other releases." As he continued, "the album sticks pretty close to a club bangers-and-ballads mix with a couple of R&B-inspired jams thrown in." Other critics also saw that the album has "midtempo pop", minimalist dance beats and smoldering R&B grooves. Steve Knopper of Newsday also highlighted that "[t]he album is frequently dark and ominous, full of torch songs, with just enough stylish electronic dance music synths and upbeat melodies to enliven the mood." Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times and Mike Wass of Idolator both compared it to the works of Janet Jackson, with Wood comparing to her 2015 record, Unbreakable in terms of sound, and Wass to her breakthrough album, Control (1986) in terms of its empowering themes. The title track, "Revival", was considered "an experimental electro-adventure" with an "uplifting chorus." "Same Old Love", a electropop and synthpop track is built on a "rickety" piano sample and backgrounded Italo synths, starting off with a "whimsical ‘60s feel, but morph[ing] into a punchy bass dance track," meanwhile "Good for You" is an electro-R&B song, with pendulum-swing rhythm, swirling keyboard atmospherics and affirming ASAP Rocky rap; it also has Gomez "exploring her lower range and playing up the smokier edges of her speaking voice." "Body Heat" brings Latin fusion with saxophone, horns and brass, and was inspired by Mexican culture, while "Outta My Hands (Loco)" was compared to her earlier albums, Stars Dance (2013) and When the Sun Goes Down (2011).

"Kill Em with Kindness" is described as a dance, club-banger with a "tropical house breeze" and "added bells and whistles". "Hands to Myself" is a dance-pop and synthpop number, and has influences of American recording artist Prince. As remarked by Gomez, "When 'Hands to Myself' started, [she and Julia Michaels] were just like, 'What are girls not doing? I want to know what girls aren’t doing.' I feel like I tackled the love, I tackled the emotion and the heart and how I view the world, but what’s going to be super fresh? We had a cup, and Julia was banging the cup on to the desk. Then she had this Prince-y hook and was like, 'What if we make it Prince-like?' I’m like, 'Oh my gosh, I’m obsessed. Let’s do that.' Within 24 hours, that’s where 'Hands to Myself' came from." Then, Mattman & Robin, the song's producers, contacted Max Martin, who came up with the song's chorus where it goes "se-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-elf", added the song's hook and changed some of the pre-chorus." "Me & the Rhythm" is a dance, disco, R&B and "breathy" synthpop song, with an "icy" Scandinavian arrangement, while the trance-inspired "Survivors" mixes EDM, futuristic R&B and house revivalism. On the other hand, "Rise" contains a gospel chorus, whooping and a spoken-word prayer. "Sober" brings ‘80s "slamming" synthesizers to the fore and "girlie yelps", while "Camouflage" is a piano ballad. "Me & My Girls" was considered a "party-jam", with a "Robert Rodriguez inspired sound," "Nobody" has syncopated beats, finger snaps and features a synth flute and trip hop beats, "Perfect" is a modern R&B performance that has a "dreamy, harp-smattered production," and "Cologne" has a "mellow, midtempo" vibe.

In an interview to Entertainment Weekly, Gomez stated that she was influenced by a wide range of artists while growing up, from Janet Jackson to Britney Spears and NSYNC, but she stated her main influence for the album was Christina Aguilera, specifically her album Stripped (2002). Gomez stated, "I would buy the copy, read the thank yous, and felt like I knew them. Christina's Stripped was one of my favorites." She further said: "I wanted [the album] to feel very personal. I love albums, I really do. I know they don’t sell or whatever, but Christina Aguilera’s 'Stripped' got me through so much of my life and told such a story. That whole album was her 'Revival'. Now, I’m in the place of my life where I released an album at 16—nobody’s going to relate [to that]. They’re going to be like, 'Great, what are you singing about?' Because of how much my life was exposed, I almost had to utilize that for this record. People can’t say, 'You don’t know what you’re talking about. You haven’t been through this.' It’s like, you’ve all grown up with me at this point!." In an interview for Ryan Seacrest, she also commented that 'Stripped' was used as the examplar of what an album should be, claiming: "That was kind of what I started off Revival as — as some sort of story. I mean that album for [Christina] was incredible. Like 'Beautiful,' 'Can't Hold Us Down'... That’s the stuff that I love. That was an album, that was complete. On my record, I have 'Rise,' 'Survivors,' 'Revival,' 'Kill Em with Kindness.' Like my stuff is an album, it’s a piece, it’s something that I’m proud of."

Themes and lyrical content

Gomez discussed that her new material would reflect upon the "journey" she experienced since 2013, with Christina Garibaldi from MTV News assuming her comments were referencing her former relationship with Justin Bieber, a period spent in rehab in 2014, the quality time that she had with her friends, her life among media, among other subjects. In an interview with Ryan Seacrest in June, Gomez said "there's hints of" her highly publicized breakup with Bieber on the record, but for the most part, it is about her "new-found confidence". Her voice coach also commented that the album was going to be "more adult, more feminine and more about Selena’s experiences." In an interview for iHeartRadio, she commented that "[Fans] can expect a lot of insight on my perception of things. I think it shows a lot, not just about love. It’s more about perception on retaliation or friendships or pain in different ways. [...] Faith. Having a spiritual connection. It kind of covers all bases." While discussing the album's themes with MTV News, she noted that "the album in general is my perspective on things — it’s not about one thing" and that it discusses "everything from kindness, to having faith and heartbreak and the passion of a relationship, being my own person." As the album's executive producer, she "wanted to know that every single song meant the world to me, whether I wrote it or not. For me, I had to discover what was going to separate me. I know that I’m not the world’s greatest singer, but I do know that I have a unique tone. And I’m an actress—I love being able to translate everything I’m feeling inside through my voice and through the songs. [...] This whole record is extremely intimate."

Songs

The album's title track, "Revival", deals with themes of self-care, embracing one's inner power and self-restoration. It starts with a spoken-word introduction, where she says: "I'm reborn in every moment, so who knows what I'll become?," before singing "It's my time to butterfly," where "the word 'butterfly' serving as both a state of being and an intransitive verb." Gomez also explained that the song gathers everything she was feeling the past two years prior the album's release and the need she felt to be heard. The lines, 'I'll admit it's been painful, but I'll be honest and grateful,' is one of her favorites because "ultimately its led me and pushed me to be where I am today. Nothing has been handed to me. I've had to strive for it, and really put my all in it." "Kill Em with Kindness" offers positive advice for dealing with critics: instead of raising the proverbial middle finger, it suggests to take the high road and kill them with kindness. For Gomez, "[i]t's kind of my motto for life. It's so much easier to be mean. It's so easy to just kind of give yourself that, but it's so hard to walk away from a situation, turn your cheek the other way, and be the bigger person."

"Hands to Myself" is a flirty and sassy song about seduction, while "Same Old Love" is about how people perceive love, and how everyone has a cycle, whether it's friendship, family, a relationship. She further explained it: "People get uncomfortable with change, and they compromise, and I think this song is representing the angst, and the pain, and a little bit of the anger that it comes with." "Sober" talks about social awkwardness and how a significant other doesn’t know how to love unless alcohol is involved and the recognition that the boundaries in a relationship aren't so great. According to Gomez, the inspiration came after she and one of the song's writers, Chloe Angelides, talked about social awkwardness and how Gomez "would hang out with people and they would drink and they’re so fun, then the next day it would be weird." "Good for You" deals with confidence, embracing one's sexuality and feeling comfortable in your own skin. "Camouflage" addresses the end of a relationship, and even though she has 'so much shit' to say, she doesn’t know how since the person that she was with is no longer recognizable."

"Me & the Rhythm" talks about losing yourself on the dance floor, while being free within that moment, being free within yourself. "Survivors", as emphasized by Gomez, talks about "surviving every day, in our circumstances [...] and bringing each other up instead of tearing each other down, ’cause we’re all just surviving." She completed: "'Survivors' is a community thing ... What's mine is yours. It's us. It's ours together." "Body Heat" talks about sex, while "Rise" is "an empowerment anthem encouraging perseverance and determination in tough moments." "Me & My Girls" has themes of female empowerment, "Nobody" finds the singer paying tribute to her lover, and as she claimed, it was written about her faith and connection with God, while "Perfect" is about "feeling downright obsessive as she wrestles with her man moving on to the next one," and Gomez admitted that the song is "very, very personal song, and it was extremely accurate. [...] In a way, it's a little sad. It's beautiful too." "Cologne" talks about "constantly having a certain someone on her mind, and loving herself when they are not around."

Release and artwork

In July 2015, Gomez announced that her record would be named Revival and was scheduled to be released on October 9. Its track listing and black-and-white deluxe edition cover were revealed in September, the latter of which depicts Gomez dressed in high-waisted black shorts with her hair and arms crossed over covering her breasts. Gomez felt that the cover gave "a little Linda Ronstadt ’70s vibe," and described the picture as "a beautiful representation of where I am." Christina Garibaldi from MTV News highlighted similarities to the visuals for Stripped by Christina Aguilera (2002), a record which Gomez specified as a source of inspiration during the recording process. The original standard edition cover depicts Gomez in a sequined red dress; it currently used by online music stores, although it was replaced by the deluxe edition cover for physical pressings released after November 30.

Promotion

Gomez held an invitation-only "Revival Event" at the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles for 800 fans on September 16. It was advertised as an advanced screening of her music video for "Same Old Love," although Gomez delivered a previously-unannounced performance of the song to the audience before revealing that they would be included in the final clip. On October 2, Gomez confirmed that she would embark on the Revival Tour in May 2016; first-leg tour dates in the United States and Canada were announced on October 5. On October 7, snippets of the eleven songs from the standard edition of Revival were made available for preview.

On September 25, 2015, Gomez made her live debut of "Good for You" on Alan Carr: Chatty Man, where she also gave an interview. In the same day, she performed an acoustic version of the song, along with a cover of Magic!'s "Rude" on BBC's Live Lounge. Three days later, she performed the song on Le Grand Journal. On October 12, 2015, she went to Today and performed "Good for You", "Same Old Love" and a medley of previous hit "Come & Get It" with "Me & the Rhythm". "Same Old Love" was also performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 2015 American Music Awards, and at the 2015 Billboard Women in Music. During the 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, she performed "Hands to Myself" and "Me & My Girls". Gomez also made a set during the Jingle Ball Tour 2015, where she performed "Same Old Love", "Good for You", "Love You Like a Love Song," "Hands to Myself" and, for the first time, "Kill Em with Kindness". Gomez was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live for the episode dated January 23, where she performed a medley of "Good for You" and "Same Old Love", as well as the full television debut of "Hands to Myself".

Singles

"Good for You" was released as the album's lead single on June 22, 2015. Gomez created anticipation for the release of the single by posting several teasers of the song on Instagram. The song was released to warm critical reception. It debuted at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming her third top 10 song on the chart and her highest charting debut. "Good for You" has reached number five on the chart, making it her highest charting single. It sold 179,000 downloads in its first week, marking the first time Gomez topped the Digital Songs chart, and becoming her highest first-week sales of any of her songs. The song's video was released on June 26, 2015. In conclusion, the song also topped the US Mainstream Top 40 chart in September 2015, reached the top-ten in five countries and top-twenty in other four.

In early August, Billboard confirmed "Same Old Love" as the second single from the album. On August 5, 2015, Gomez was at the first day of iHeartMedia's Music Summit where she played the song. The song was made available for digital download with the pre-order of the album on September 10. The music video was shot in downtown Los Angeles on August 15 and part of it was shot at the Revival event. Fans from the event appeared at the end of the video. The music video was released to Apple Music on September 22, and to Vevo on October 7, 2015. The song has peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five, thus tying with "Good for You" to become her highest charting single, and has become her second number one on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. Elsewhere, it reached the top-ten in Canada and top-forty in five countries.

In early October, during an interview with USA Today, Gomez admitted her desire to release "Sober" as a single from Revival "at some point". On October 2, Gomez released "Me & the Rhythm" as a promotional single. It reached number fifty-seven on the Canadian Hot 100.

"Hands to Myself" was serviced to contemporary hit radio as the third single from Revival in the US on January 26, 2016. The music video premiered as an Apple Music exclusive on December 21, 2015, and was released on Vevo on January 20, 2016. The song has reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Internationally, it has reached number five in New Zealand and number nine in Slovakia, as well as the top 40 in several other countries, such as Australia and Czech Republic.

In March 2016, Gomez confirmed "Kill Em with Kindness" as the fourth and final single from Revival. It was sent to contemporary hit radio on May 3, 2016.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, it received an average score of 74, based on 9 reviews. Writing for Rolling Stone, Brittany Spanos stated that "Revival is an audacious name for a 23-year-old singer's second album, but from start to finish, Gomez earns it," noting that "[t]his is the sound of a newly empowered pop artist growing into her strengths like never before." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine was very receptive, noting that "[s]ong for song, 'Revival' rivals Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Emotion' for breakout pop album of the year, but if it similarly falls short of greatness, it's due in large part to a lack of originality. [...] And yet, all of those songs are standouts." James Reed from Boston Globe opined that Revival is " a forthright album of pop songs that make it clear she is ready to be honest and even vulnerable in her music." Mike Wass of Idolator agreed, calling it "an immaculately curated collection that showcases the 23-year-old's ability to genre-hop and experiment, while staying true to herself." Steve Knopper from Newsday applauded Gomez for sounding "appealingly desperate and hungry, and this quality transcends the most familiar-sounding material," adding: "Something in Selena Gomez's pop formula is nicely soft-spoken and mysterious."

Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times praised the album for being "surprisingly modest, from its midtempo pacing to its thoughtful introspection," acknowledging the fact that "Gomez is finding freedom in control, kudos to her for getting there so quickly." Writing for USA Today, Elysa Gardner noted that the album "is generally at its best when Gomez keeps her tone light and bright and her energy positive. [...] At this rate, Gomez is bound to get at least a few skeptics off of Instagram and onto the dance floor." Tim Stack wrote for Entertainment Weekly that "[o]n her fifth album Gomez goes for mood-setting, and the result is "a gripping batch of sultry pop jams that are more 'Netflix and chill,' less 'Let's hit the curb,'" claiming that it is "as fresh and forward-thinking as the music of indie darlings Tove Lo and FKA twigs." Christina Jaleru of The Washington Times was positive, commending it for "breez[ing] through to the finish line – the dance floor -with 11 nearly impeccable tracks that skip from the 1960s to the ‘80s to right this minute."

While seeing some "generecism" on the album, Jia Tolentino of Spin highlighted that "[a]t its high points, 'Revival' is marked by this lush, sphinx-like readiness: as if, after a decade and a half of being nonstop front and center, Gomez has finally figured out what it means to center herself." Katherine St. Asaph of Time emphasized that "[w]here she falters most is what 'Revival' is ostensibly about: bratty confidence," noticing that "[m]usically, though, Revival is most interesting when it’s still in the cocoon." Tim Sendra from AllMusic, however, gave the album a mixed review, writing that "[Revival] makes for a solid pop album overall, but it's a little too formulaic and predictable to rate among her best work." Emily Mackay of The Observer also gave a mixed review, perceiving that "[t]he most surprising thing about Revival is its understatement, despite the hit-making co-writers."

Year-end lists

Revival was featured on several year-end list of best albums. It was listed at number 43 on Rolling Stone's "50 Best Albums of 2015" list, with the editors commenting "If Gomez started the year as one of many bright young celebrity faces, she ended it as a pop star who demands to be taken seriously."

Commercial performance

In the United States, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. It earned 117,000 album-equivalent units in its first week (85,000 pure album sales). It also gave her highest first week sales as of October 2015, surpassing her previous album. In its second week on the chart, Revival fell to number seven with 46,000 units. As of April 2016, the album has sold 333,000 copies in the US. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA, for combined album sales, on-demand audio, video streams and track-sale equivalent of 1,000,000 units.

The album entered the New Zealand Albums Chart at number two, giving Gomez her second solo top ten album and highest charting release. In Australia, the album debuted at number three, becoming her highest album on the chart and second to debut inside the top-ten. In Greece, the album debuted at number one, while in Brazil it reached number three, receiving a platinum certification in the latter for selling over 40,000 copies. The album also reached the top-ten in other 17 countries, including Canada, France, Ireland, Netherlands, and Sweden.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.