“I needed to hate you to love me.” 

When “Lose You to Love Me” was released on Oct. 23, Selena Gomez surprised the world with her raw and emotional ballad about her revelation of giving up the person she loved to be able to love herself. This was quickly followed by her next single release of “Look At Her Now” which shared her redemption after the break up and how it made her into the person she is today. This led to Gomez’s surprise announcement of her third album Rare, which came out on Jan. 10, 2020. 

From the first track of the album, “Rare,” the message of the album is clear: self love. Immediately, Gomez sings about how she was able to see how rare she truly is even when her ex-boyfriend couldn’t see it. She continues this through the tracks “Dance Again” and “Ring” explaining how truly confident she feels in herself, and how she will no longer determine her self-value from others; she is the one in control. The realization Gomez must have felt when she understood this can be directly felt through each and every song, taking the listener on her emotional journey.  The tracks “Vulnerable” and “People You Know” show the more sensitive side of Gomez. She discloses that even though she feels such confidence in who she is, she still finds it hard to open herself up to people. 

Gomez’s ability to be transparent with the listener is what makes the album what it is. Gomez is telling the world that even with all the struggles she’s faced and the relationships that have broken her, she was still able to rise and love herself again. However, she makes it clear that those scars haven’t faded completely and she still is figuring out how to trust and be completely open with people. For her comeback album, Gomez has created something that every person will be able to relate to in whatever stage of life they are in. Plus with such a preaching of self love and confidence, it makes for the perfect 2020 anthem.