Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s album “I Said I Love You First” was released on Friday, March 21. The album is Gomez’s first album since her 2020 album, “Rare,” and Blanco’s first album since his 2021 album “FRIENDS KEEP SECRETS 2.”
Gomez and Blanco first worked together on Gomez’s song “I Can’t Get Enough,” released in 2019. Four years later, the pair worked on Gomez’s droplet, “Single Soon,” and began dating during the process, and are now engaged as of December of 2024. “I Said I Love You First” is their first full-length body of work as a pair.
The second song released from the 14-track album was “Call Me When You Break Up (feat. Gracie Abrams).” The two artists began teasing their collaboration at the beginning of February 2025, eventually releasing the song a few weeks later.
“I love ‘Call Me When You Break Up’ the most on the album,” said Addie Reusch, a senior at Wadsworth High School. “Selena and Gracie’s vocals match so well. It was a combination I never even saw happening but I’m so glad it did.”
The best song on the album is “Don’t Wanna Cry.” Gomez’s vocals evoke the desperation of the lyrics, and her vocals also coincide perfectly with Blanco’s production.
“This is not an album where I had any expectations because it is something we got to do together that was for us,” Blanco said in an interview with Spotify.
The album is a step away sonically from Gomez’s previous work. The sounds on the album are unlike anything we’ve heard from Gomez before, yet they work so well with her voice. Gomez takes a softer tone to the singing on the album, but Blanco’s production compliments her vocals very well.
Overall, the album is a great body of work. The album perfectly reflects how well Gomez and Blanco can work together musically, and it definitely shows off their strengths in vocals, lyrics and producing.
