Few songs have ever cared less than Gomez's new single. There’s something kind of magical about that.
By Yiming Fu
photo: Interscope Records
Our queen of mediocre pop music is back! And she’s just the same as ever.
Selena Gomez released her unseriously titled single, “Single Soon” on August 25, featuring her signature light vocals over a dark synth. We’ve seen this production done before, and possibly done better on her previous albums “Revival” in 2017 and “Rare” in 2020. It’s sonically just very…Selena Gomez.
Lyrically, she flirts with the idea of ending a relationship and the exciting possibilities that may come next. “Should I do it on the phone? Should I leave a little note? In the pocket of his coat?” she practically giggles, picturing the many ways she can finally leave a man who has been holding her back. It’s almost like we’re her friends, and she’s got us sitting on pillows in a circle in her bedroom and asking us for advice.
For a pop star of her magnitude and following, the song is pretty basic. It doesn’t have any explosive beat drops, high notes, exhilarating bridge nor creative dance break. The lyrics lack wordplay or metaphor. But it all works.
Where Selena really succeeds is leaning into the vein of “I don’t give a f*ck” marketing and the natural, unbothered, not-trying attitude that defines today’s mega-stars. An “it-girl” these days needs to be effortless. Gone are purposefully unnatural looking asses and overlined lips. These days it’s all about glowing skin, lifted eyelashes and radiating simplicity. It’s one thing to be on top, but it’s another thing to be so without lifting a finger.
Selena has certainly not lifted that finger. For starters, the song is literally called “Single Soon,” a tongue-in-cheek title that we all thought was a place filler for a different title until she revealed that her single coming soon was, indeed, called “Single Soon.” And Selena’s promo for the song has been scarce. She teased the song quickly on August 17, writing “Since I’m not quite done with SG3, I wanted to put out a fun little song I wrote a while back that’s perfect for the end of summer.”
I think the caption is kind of hilarious. She literally admits that she hasn’t finished the project that she was apparently working on (which is too relatable…) and completely dismisses the importance of the song by using diminutives like “fun” and “little.” She also distances herself, telling us that she wrote the song “a while back,” almost as if to say that the song doesn’t really matter to her right now or isn’t representative of what she believes in right now, but she’s just going to release it anyway. This is a musical artist telling us that her music is unimportant.
photo: Selena Gomez
Everything about this rollout screams “IM CASUAL.” Selena also released a merch line for “Single Soon,” which features a tank top, t-shirt, sweatpants, lace tank and boxers. It’s all very pijama-coded, something that you would wear to bed or on a casual day off. It’s quiet, comfy and snoozy in the best way.
When an Instagram fan account posted that Gomez’s single would debut in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts, Gomez quickly commented back to distract and deflect from the successful numbers. “Broke my hand and had surgery,” Gomez said. “I don’t care about selling anything. I’m just happy to make music with my friends.”
I think “I don’t care about selling anything” is a little crazy to say because she could’ve just not released the song — or the accompanying merch line. That truly would’ve been not selling anything. Selena Gomez is a multimillionaire with multiple top 10 singles and a beauty line whose blush alone has made over $70 million. She has a massive team to help her with songwriting, production and marketing, as well as day to day life tasks. The truth is, she is selling.
While I am critical of forced casualness as a marketing tactic, I’m not mad at it for Selena. It fits her brand extremely well. Her Instagram presence is very slice-of-life, and her makeup line “Rare Beauty” has a simple pale pink color scheme and the name itself reminds users of their natural brilliance.
I personally love “Single Soon” because it’s so nonchalant. Imagine giddily singing about how you’re about to end a relationship. No pining, no drama, no residual tears. No Taylor Swift “screaming, crying, perfect storms'' — Selena really could not care less about anything. That is the beautiful fantasy she’s selling us, and I’m buying it every time because I want to feel that way too.
Selena has paid her dues, selling her soul for Disney channel and surviving the media windstorm that was “Jelena.” And I’m honestly so glad she’s at a victory point where she really doesn’t care anymore, and she can build her entire brand around that not caring feeling. I am rooting for Selena Gomez, and I aspire to her cool, confident, nonchalance. But always keep in mind, just as a no-makeup makeup look takes more blending than a high-coverage beat, an easy appearance doesn't always mean low effort. And as shocking and horrifying as it is for me to report, our dreams are still going to need hard work before we can all celebrate like Selena.
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