Music Review: Selena Gomez "The Heart Wants What It Wants"

Selena Gomez

The Heart Wants What It Wants

Album: For You

Year: 2014

           Selena Gomez is hung up on her ex-boyfriend in the heartwrenching  “The Heart Wants What It Wants.”

             Muffled vocals and misty synths open the single, setting a lamentable tone. In the intro, she says she can’t help who she loves. (“What the heart wants/What the heart wants/What the heart wants.”)

             He was her first. Nothing will ever change that fact. All her crushes are measured against him. She tries to feel some emotion with the other guys but she can’t make it last. Hearing from again made her want to burst. It took her a while to get her bearings back. Her friends and family are telling her to calm down but she doesn’t want to. She really wants it to work out this time. (“You got me sipping on something/I can't compare to nothing/I've ever known, I'm hoping/That after this fever I'll survive/I know I'm acting a bit crazy/Strung out, a little bit hazy/Hand over heart, I'm praying/That I'm gonna make it out alive.”)

               In the pre-chorus, she touches what was once his side of the bed and stares at his space, imagining him with her. They might be back together soon. He wants to give their relationship another try. Until then, she will wait and try not to crumble. He says has to grow up some more. He wants to have it together. She realizes his points are valid. But she still wants to be with him anyway. (“The bed's getting cold and you're not here/The future that we hold is so unclear/But I'm not alive until you call/And now I bet the odds against it all/Save your advice cause I won't hear/You might be right, but I don't care/There's a million reasons/Why I should give you up.”)

                    In th chorus, she once again says she can’t help who she loves. (“But the heart wants what it wants/The heart wants what it wants.”)

                 She doesn’t know what to think. She’s reading into his every action and word, trying to figure out what he’s thinking. He said they’ll talk more later. But now it’s three days and she hasn’t heard anything from him. She checks her phone all the time. She has to get over him and break the cycle. She’s just not ready, though. (“You got me scattered in pieces/Shining like stars and screaming/Lighting me up like Venus/But then you disappear and make me wait/And every second's like torture/Hell, couldn't take no more, so/Finding a way to let go/Baby, baby, no I can't escape.”)

            The pre-chorus is sung again.

             An extended chorus is sung. (“But the heart wants what it wants/The heart wants what it wants/The heart wants what it wants/The heart wants what it wants.”)

           In the bridge, she says their relationship is normal, according to current standards. It’s complicated and tragic. There isn’t much hope for them. But he’s in her memory every day. (“This is a modern/Fairytale/No happy ending/No wind in our sails/But I can't imagine/A life without/Breathless moments/Breaking me down, down, down, down.”)

       The pre-chorus and extended chorus are sung again.

        In the final section, she says she still loves him. (“The heart wants what it wants, baby/The heart wants what it wants, baby/It wants what it wants/It wants what it wants.”)

         Gomez’s stoic vocals have accepted that her feelings are what they are. They aren’t ever going to go away. She can’t ever be truly happy. Oh Selena, you have a promising movie and music career. You’re young and will have many great boys to meet and date. Don’t screw up your life over Justin Bieber. Get away from him and your life will get better. Don’t worry, we all go through it in our 20s. Ok? Ok?

       The  doleful  “The Heart Wants What It Wants” experiences its quarterlife crisis, wondering if it will be alone forever.