Never has a pop artist fallen so hard in between album projects.
When Selena Gomez started veering from the dance-pop influences of her early work, trading it all in for a sultry, R&B vibe on "Good For You", she was praised for very good reason. The then-new sound worked with her toned down aesthetic. It actually sounded as if she was taking control of her own music career, of course, with the help of brilliant songwriters Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels. Even when she wasn't promoting her own work, she was still jumping on gems with the likes of Zedd, Kygo and Charlie Puth.
Unfortunately, that sense of innovation and success is nowhere to be found on Gomez' brand new lead offering "Bad Liar", officially out today. Hoping to create positive buzz for the artist's upcoming third solo studio album, the single does not contain an ounce of personality. Gomez sounds to just be going through the motions, with a few instances of vocal flare that will at least keep listeners engaged until the end (this blogger turned the first listen off within two minutes).
Built on top of a bassline ripped from Talking Heads' 1977 moderately successful "Psycho Killer", the song plays off as intentionally off-beat and strangely urgent, at times causing Gomez to trip over her lyrical delivery. She mumbles and stretches herself thin, indicating she's far from the level of her vocal powerhouse counterparts. "In my room there's a king size space, bigger than it used to be, if you want you can rent that place," the artist sings on the opening verse, trying to clear her mind of break up aftermath, just to immediately get sucked back into the madness with one look or thought of her former flame.
When a listener has a chance to ignore the numerous distractions and focus on the revealing songwriting, they will hear a emotive story of heartbreak and indecision created by Tranter and Michaels. All the feels are buried within the lyrical content. However, the songwriters can't save "Bad Liar" by themselves. The song is crushed flat by the weight of a lazy, over-stretched chorus that goes nowhere, ultimately causing some to actually contemplate whether the release is a cruel joke.
"Bad Liar" has certain components that should have translated into a successful finished project. Even if Gomez wanted to steer clear of the pop genre for her new era, she could have spent a bit more time on the detailing and polish. Instead, what she presented fans and critics with is simply a watered down version of "Hands to Myself" that now takes her innocent sex persona and throws it into the spotlight in an eerie, borderline criminal, fashion.
We were fooled by Gomez' apparent desire to make real music... guess she's just a bad liar. Can we have the second single now?
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