Selens Gomez

On her first Spanish-language EP, 2021's Revelación, Selena Gomez conjures a romantic atmosphere that balances chic studio-cool with warm vulnerability. It's a mature sound and one that builds nicely upon her genre-blending 2020 studio album Rare, which found Gomez pushing the stylistic boundaries of her mainstream aesthetic, experimenting with French disco, R&B, and some Latin-influenced rhythms. It was also one of her most intimate-sounding albums, revealing diary-like lyrics about personal feelings and desires. On Revelación, she remains just as artistically fearless, embracing her Latin roots and further pushing her sound in a sophisticated pop direction.

Of Rossini’s thirty-nine operas Il barbiere di Siviglia is the only one to have remained in the repertoire since its composition. When the composer met Beethoven in Vienna the great man told Rossini to only compose buffa operas like Il Barbiere. Verdi was also a great admirer of the work as he was of Rossini’s opera seria and particularly his William Tell. Il Barbiere was one of the works Rossini squeezed in during his contract as Musical Director of the Royal Theatres at Naples and where he was supposed to present two new works every year.

The big news for Selena Gomez before the release of her sixth album, Rare, is that she finally had a number one single after years of getting close. The introspective and emotionally raw ballad "Lose You to Love Me" surrounded Gomez's aching vocals with sparse piano, swirling strings, and lush background vocals, and connected instantly with her fans and anyone who ever had to ditch someone in order to save themselves. That song, and the record it appears on, mark something of a turning point in her career.