Stars Dance
Stars Dance is the debut solo album by American singer Selena Gomez. It was released on July 19, 2013, by Hollywood Records. Gomez began planning the project in 2012, at which time she announced that her band Selena Gomez & the Scene would be taking an indefinite hiatus. Stars Dance is an EDM and electropop album, incorporating elements of dubstep, techno, disco, electro house and worldbeat. Gomez worked on the album through March 2013 with producers such as Rock Mafia and the Cataracs.
Upon its release, Stars Dance received generally mixed reviews from music critics, many of whom complimented Gomez's maturing image and the album's content both lyrically and vocally, but criticized the electronic-heavy production style. It marked her first album to debut at number 1 on the Billboard 200. The album sold 97,000 copies domestically in its first week of release. This achievement was surpassed by its successor, Revival, which sold 117,000 units in its first week. Stars Dance became her fourth Top 20 entry in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 14. Elsewhere, Stars Dance topped the charts in Canada, Norway, Mexico, Taiwan and China. By 2017, the album had sold an estimated 410,000 copies in the United States.
The album's lead single, "Come & Get It" featured heavy electronic and worldbeat themes, and became Gomez's first Top 10 entry in the United States, entering the Top 10 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada, among others. It was also successful on pop radio, reaching number 2 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. The second single, "Slow Down", reached the Top 30 in the United States. It was met with success on pop radio, reaching the Top 10 of the Mainstream Top 40 chart. Gomez promoted the album through a number of high-profile performances, such as the 2013 Billboard Music Awards. She embarked on the Stars Dance Tour to further promote the release.
Background
's third studio album, When the Sun Goes Down, was musically rooted in electropop and dance-pop, similar to the group's second album, A Year Without Rain. Although reviews from contemporary music critics were mixed, the album was a commercial success. In January 2012, Gomez announced that she would put her music career on hold to focus on her acting career, and that the band would be taking a hiatus: "my band and I are going our separate ways for a while. This year is all about films and acting and I want my band to play music wherever with whoever. We will be back but, it will be a good while." Despite her earlier statements, Gomez first confirmed in October 2012 that work had begun on an upcoming album, and later said it would be her solo debut album, rather than her band's fourth album. Gomez announced in March that the album's lead single would be released the following month, and that the album would follow that summer. On April 15, Gomez revealed plans of her first world tour, known as the Stars Dance Tour. Gomez officially confirmed on June 3 that the album would be titled Stars Dance, and also revealed the album's track listing and cover art.On her return to music, Gomez stated "I miss it. I want to be able to write about things I've never talked about before and tell a story with this album, because I've never actually had time to go in and do that." For the album, Gomez made it with production team The Cataracs, as well as the Norwegian Stargate. Gomez also worked with Rock Mafia on numerous tracks on the album, having previously worked with them on previous singles with The Scene. For Stars Dance, Gomez attempted to have more creative control over her music, stating "It's definitely the hardest I have ever worked on a record, that's for sure. I wanted to have more creative control over the album's direction." Jason Evigan, who worked with Gomez on the album, said "She's not a little girl anymore. She wants to be like that and be respected like the great pop artists out there And I think she is. I think this album is really gonna blossom her into a new realm of electronic pop dance artist." Prior to the album's release, Gomez announced she would be taking a musical hiatus after Stars Dance, commenting "I've been saying that I worked really hard on this record and I feel like it might be my last one for a while I definitely love acting and I love film and I don't feel like I've done enough of that."
Following the album's announcement, numerous sources began claiming that the majority of the album was written about Gomez's relationship with Canadian singer Justin Bieber. These rumors continued to rise in popularity following the release of "Come & Get It", and prompted Gomez to confirm that the song was not about Bieber. She later said, however, that the song "Love Will Remember" is about her relationship with Bieber; an early version that leaked online just prior to the release of the album included a voicemail at the start of the song by Bieber himself that was removed from the final track. She revealed the song was "the most personal track on the record", and added "I think it's a sweet way of releasing it. It's not an aggressive approach to what people are probably expecting. I'm sure he'll love mikey too." The song "Birthday" was the first song recorded for the album. Gomez has listed "Forget Forever" as one of her favorite tracks on the album saying, "It's a really beautiful song. It has meaning behind it and it was a really special time in the studio. I got to be with the writers and just enjoy being in that moment. That was a really fun emotional song for me to sing but then I just kind of wanted to dance after I released it because it felt like I got to release this feeling that I had and it's a beautiful song." She later spoke of "Forget Forever" by stating "It's forgetting all the troubles, about the past, just enjoying everything else." Recording artist Jennifer Lopez wanted to record the song "Save the Day" for her 2013 album, but failed to get it from Gomez. "Come & Get It" was initially recorded by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna for her sixth studio album Talk That Talk, however, she decided against using the song.
Musical style and themes
Musically, Stars Dance is an album rooted stylistically in EDM and pop, this later specifically showcased as electropop while also containing strong elements of dubstep, techno, disco and worldbeat. Jocelyn Vena of MTV News described the music on Stars Dance as "dance-song-heavy" dubstep, that contains "wobbly synths, loopy vocals, fist-pumping beats and crunchy breakdowns". The album contains a highly diverse musical composition, highlighted by Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian as "darting efficiently from EDM to Bollywood". The majority of the album contains dubstep breakdowns, requisite stabs of synths, and according to Jim Farber of New York Daily News, "features a frisson of sex previously absent from this good-girl singer's work." Jason Evigan said of the album's musical style, "She's got some really cool like ethnic influence, kind of tribally dance drums and stuff like that", stating that it was similar to music by Jennifer Lopez. August Brown of the Los Angeles Times called Stars Dance a "sassy" pop-EDM album, noting its composition included "oxygen-sucking" sub-bass, trap snares. Brown noted the influence of Spring Breakers on the album, saying that Gomez wasn't ready to leave the "neon-splattered emotional hellscape of Spring Breakers just yet". He further went on to say: "Stars Dance is exactly the kind of album one makes in 2013 if you want to keep the pop sugar of the Disney tween cabal but mix in some broken glass and a club bathroom nosebleed. Its productions are rooted in today's pop-EDM default mode, but as that stuff goes, 'Slow Down' is pretty capable, and the bhangra-appropriating 'Come & Get It' is guilelessly silly enough to work."The album's title track was described by Gomez as being "kind of sensual", while "Like a Champion" is said to feature Jamaican and reggae influences. When talking about the song "Save the Day", Gomez stated "Do you ever have moments where you don't ever want them to end? I've had those moments. It's about saving those moments and never wanting it to go away." The song "Write Your Name" is about the feeling of falling in love. Gomez described B.E.A.T. by saying "The song is cool and the lyrics are great, but it was more, 'I can't wait to perform this song onstage because I love the way I feel when I hear this song.' It's just dope." Gomez later stated that "Undercover" was her favorite song on the album, commenting "I've never had the confidence to do different licks and melody changes. I messed up a lot that one." The album's lead single, "Come & Get It", has been described as featuring "Bollywood" influences, as well as tribal music.
On-air personality Peter Dee noted that the song featured various electropop elements. "Slow Down" is noted as featuring various dubstep influences, while the song's lyrics speak of taking a relationship slowly rather than rushing into things. Gomez has listed Britney Spears and Janet Jackson as some of the album's biggest influences, and later cited Skrillex, Taylor Swift, and Christina Aguilera as major influences on the record. She listed dubstep producer Skrillex as an influence to the album, with him having previously worked on the soundtrack for Gomez's film Spring Breakers. She later stated "Doing Spring Breakers was really fun, because Skrillex and Cliff Martinez did the soundtrack, and kind of inspired me with a baby dubstep, because I have a few songs that have that." In an interview with Teen Vogue, Gomez mentioned electropop singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding, while she described the sound of the record, stating: "they are all really fun, pop songs-a little Ellie Goulding-ish, a little island-y feel. It's a really fun pop record."Jim Farber of New York Daily News noted influences of Spears, Jennifer Lopez, and Janet Jackson, although going on to say "Gomez's writer and producers have aped other stars' tricks gamely enough to create a pretty good time. It helps that Gomez boasts a far richer voice than her idols, Britney, J.Lo and Janet."