Selena Gomez's highly anticipated third studio album, Rare, dropped this Friday, January 10, and it will certainly make her fans happy. Sonically, the record is right on par with her critically praised 2015 LP, Revival: minimalistic and midtempo with spurts of buzzy, electronic energy. The focus on Rare is definitely the lyrics, with subtle production that doesn't overshadow Gomez's stream of consciousness. The singer wrote in November 2019 that this record is her "diary from the past few years," and that's absolutely apparent.
Hell, we knew this from the first two singles, "Lose You to Love Me" and "Look at Her Now," alone. Nothing's been confirmed, but it's widely speculated both of those songs center on Gomez's breakup with Justin Bieber, who's now married to Hailey Baldwin. Lyrics like "In two months you replaced us like it was easy" have fans thinking Gomez is referring to how quickly Bieber began dating Baldwin after ending things with her in 2018.
And now we have a full album of lyrics to dissect. To be clear, there's nothing on here explicitly about Bieber—just general musings about heartbreak and healing. But if the album really is a diary of her past few years, Bieber no doubt inspired some of what we're hearing. Below, a breakdown of all the lyrics from Rare that could be about him (emphasis on could—think of this like a big fan theory more than anything):
This plucky pop tune is all about realizing that someone who doesn't realize your worth is not worth your time. The lyrics are general but depict a romantic relationship—so that opens up the possibility this song is about Bieber.
"Baby, you've been so distant from me lately," Gomez sings. "And lately, don't even wanna call you baby. Waiting up for you upstairs. Why you act like I'm not there?"
"It feels like you don't care," she continues. "Oh, why don't you recognize I'm so rare?"
At one point, Gomez flat out questions why she's staying with this person. "Baby, don't make me count up all the reasons to stay with you," she says. "No reason why you and I are not succeeding at all." Bieber and Gomez ultimately ended their relationship in 2018, at which point he started dating Baldwin.
By far the most uptempo track on the album "Dance Again" is light and fun—centering on Gomez letting go after months of stress. "I kick-start the rhythm," she sings. "All the drama's in remission." The drama she's referring to could be about Bieber. It wouldn't be a stretch, seeing as how their relationship was operatically documented by tabloids.
Read our full lyrical breakdown of this song here.
Again, we have a full analysis of the maybe-about-Bieber lyrics here.
On this song, Gomez questions entering a relationship with a person. "If I give you every piece of me, I know that you could drop it," she sings. "Give you the chance, I know that you could take advantage once you got it. If I open up my heart to you, I know that you could lock it. Throw away the key, and keep it there forever in your pocket. If I give the opportunity to you, then would you blow it?"
It's possible she's singing about The Weeknd, whom she dated in 2017—but one specific lyric indicates the person she's referring to is someone she has history with. "If I show you all my demons, and we dive into the deep end, would we crash and burn like every time before?" Key word there being before.
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"People You Know" has a relatively universal theme; it shows Gomez musing about a person whom she was once close with but doesn't know at all anymore. Lyrics like "When it was good, we were on fire" suggest she's singing about a boyfriend.
The real hint that this track could be about Bieber is the mention of time. Whoever Gomez is singing about, it's clear she's known them for a while. "So many wasted nights with you," she sings, also adding, "These days, we couldn't be farther."
And the chorus itself is heartbreaking: "We used to be close, but people can go from people you know to people you don't. And what hurts the most is people can go from people you know to people you don't." Gomez was on and off with Bieber for nearly 10 years; it's safe to assume that, at one point, she knew him very well. But perhaps that's not the case anymore.
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It's a toss-up as far as who this song is about: Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, a flame we don't know. Whoever this person is, though, they made Gomez feel "crazy" in the relationship when it was actually their fault.
"You're the one who started talkin' to me," she sings. "Made the move, asked me to be your bae. And now you're treating me like I'm insane. You're insane."
The beginning of the track has Gomez describing the regression of said relationship: "You started out sweeter than hard candy. Words were like licorice to the taste. But slowly, all the sugar, it went to waste."
She says this person "started getting funny with no jokes" and that she "started seeing through [them] like a ghost." At one point, Gomez adds they've also been "lying just for fun." It's a textbook "My ex is the worst" diss track.
"I think you're kind of crazy," she sings in the chorus. "And not the good kind, baby. ’Cause you're acting super shady."
Gomez's situations with both The Weeknd and Bieber were dramatic—to the public, at least—so it's not far-fetched to think they partially inspired this song.
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"Cut You Off" is a paint-by-numbers "I need to get over my ex-boyfriend" jam. The lyrics are somewhat generic: "Pull up to the mirror, staring at my face. Gotta chop-chop all the extra weight," she sings. "I've been carrying it for fourteen-hundred and sixty days. Gotta, gotta, gotta clean my slate."
Gomez could be singing about anyone, but the "fourteen-hundred and sixty days" lyric implies Bieber is the subject. That amount comes out to four years, and the only person the public knows Gomez dated for more than a year is—you guessed it—Justin Bieber.
Like I said earlier, there's nothing on Rare that specifically calls out Bieber. It's possible he inspired none of these lyrics, but thinking he did is a perfectly valid interpretation. Gomez will probably never confirm or deny one way or the other. She'll let the music speak for itself—so happy analyzing, Selenators. Rare is now available for streaming.
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